These little fish are so simple and stylish. You can make them as plain or as decorated as you wish by adding embroidery, accent stitching and beads. Make them as single dangles or create ‘today’s catch’ by hanging them together from a large ring.
5–8g body colour merino roving
2 × size 40 triangular needles, for shaping
1–2 × size 42 triangular needles, for surface finishing
2 × black seed beads
Scraps of complementary coloured merino roving, for adding decoration
Embroidery and cotton threads, for extra decoration
Seed beads, for extra embellishment
1 small jump ring (optional)
Cord, twine or decorative braid, for hanging (optional)
Finished size: 9cm for the fish featured here, but the size will vary depending on your fish design
1 To make a 9cm fish as shown, take a length of roving measuring 15 × 4cm. Begin shaping with two size 40 needles, turning the fish as you work.
2 When the body is firm, cover it with a thin layer of wool and neaten the surface using one size 42 needle. Where possible, make sure the covering fibres follow the same direction as the body fibres.
3 Sew in the eye beads using the sideways method and then decorate with contrasting wool, adding stitching, beads or embroidery (see here).
4 You can either make a loop in the top of the cord and make a single dangly fish, or make a shoal and hang them together. Vary the size of the fish by increasing or decreasing the amount of roving used.