Lemon Shark

Notes:

All pieces are worked in the round, except for part of the body.
Specific gauge is unimportant, but the knitting must be tight so the body will hold its shape and stuffing won't escape.
Leave long yarn tails on the fin pieces to use for attaching to the body

Materials:

Approx 35yd (32m) yellow yarn, with small amounts of red and white. (Shown in a lt worsted weight yarn for the yellow body and DK for the mouth. Different weights of yarn may require different yardages.)
Set of DPNs to give tight gauge with selected yarn.
2 safety eyes.
Stuffing.

Techniques and abbreviations:

Some pieces use a magic circle cast-on (circular cast-on)
The red mouth section uses figure 8 cast-on (alternate long-tail cast-on between 2 needles)
RL - Right-lifted increase (counts as 2 st)
LL - Left-lifted increase (counts as 2 st)
M1 - make 1 increase
kf&b - knit through front loop then back loop of st (counts as 2 st)

Body:

Note: Knit all odd rows unless otherwise noted.

With yellow, cast on 6 stitches use magic circle cast-on.

Rows 1-3: K even

Row 4: (RL, LL) X 3 (12 st)

Row 6: (m1, k3) X 4 (16)

Row 8: (k2, m1, k2) X 4 (20)

Row 10: (m1, k5) X 4 (24)

Row 12: (k3, m1, k3) X 4 (28)

Row 14: (m1, k7) X 4 (32)

Row 16: (k4, m1, k4) X 4 (36)

Row 18: (m1, k9) X 4 (40)

Row 20: k

Row 22: (k5, m1, k5) X 4 (44)

Row 24: k

Row 26: (k2tog, k9) X 4 (40)

Row 27: k

Divide for mouth; turn and work off last stitches knit. You will be working the jaw flat.

Row 28: p10; turn

Row 29: k1, ssk, k4, k2tog, k1; turn (8 st for jaw)

Row 30: p8; turn

Row 31: k8; turn

Row 32: p1, p2tog, p2, p2tog tbl, p1; turn (6)

Row 33: k6; turn

Row 34: p6; turn

Bind off 6 jaw stitches

Rejoin yarn immediately to the left of the jaw, so the first row will be knit on the right side. Worked flat (back and forth) until row 36.

Row 28: k1, RL, k2, (k2tog, k8) X 2, k2tog, k2, LL, k1; turn (29 st)

Row 29: p29; turn

Row 30: k1, (k2tog, k7) X 3, k1; turn (26)

Row 31: p1, LL, p22, RL, p1; turn (28)

Row 32: k2, (k3, k2tog, k3) X 3, k2; turn (25)

Row 33: p25; turn

Row 34: k2, (k2tog, k5) X 3, k2; turn (22)

Row 35: p22, cast-on 2st; turn (24)

Resume working in the round, knitting all odd rows plain

Row 36: (k2, k2tog, k2) X 4 (20)

Row 38: (k2tog, k3) X 4 (16)

Row 40: (k1, k2tog, k1) X 4 (12)

Row 42: k2tog X 6 (6)

Rows 43-45: k even

Cut yarn, thread through needle, and pull through all 6 remaining st

Dorsal fin:

With yellow, cast on 4 using magic circle cast-on

Row 1: (Rl, k1) X 2 (6)

Row 2: k

Row 3: (Rl, k2) X 2 (8)

Row 4: k

Row 5: (RL, k3) X 2 (10)

Row 6: k

Row 7: (RL, k4) X 2 (12)

Row 8: k

Row 9: (RL, k5) X 2 (14)

Row 10: m1, k14 (15)

Row 11: RL, k7, RL, k6 (17)

Row 12: m1, k17 (18)

Bind off

Top tail fin:

CO 8, join in round

Rows 1-3: k

Row 4: (k2tog, k2) X 2 (6)

Rows 5-6: k

Row 7: (k2tog, k1) X 2 (4)

Rows 8-9: k

Row 10: k2tog, ssk, pass 1^st st over the 2^nd

Cut yarn, pull through.

Bottom tail fin:

CO 6, join in round.

Rows 1-3: k

Row 4: (k2tog, k1) X 2 (4)

Rows 5-6: k

Row 7: k2tog, ssk, pass 1^st st over the 2^nd

Cut yarn, pull through.

Lateral (side) fins (make 2):

CO 12, join in round

Row 1 and all odd rows: k

Row 2: ssk, k3, kf&b in next 2 st, k3, k2tog (12)

Row 4: ssk, k8, k2tog (10)

Row 6: ssk, k2, kf&b in next 2 st, k2, k2tog (10)

Row 8: ssk, k6, kt2tog (8)

Row 10: ssk, k1, kf&b in next 2 st, k1, k2tog (8)

Row 12: ssk, k4, k2tog (6)

Row 14: ssk, k2, k2tog (4)

Row 16: ssk, k2tog, pass 1^st st over the 2^nd

Cut yarn, pull through.

Mouth inset:

Note: If using yarn the same weight as the body yarn, you may need to change to white yarn and bind off after row 6 or 7 -- check size against the mouth opening in the body

With red yarn, CO 10 st with figure-8 cast-on

Row 1: (k2, p1, k2) X 2 (purl stitch will always be purled for fold line)

Row 2: (k1, m1, k1, m1, p1, k1, m1, k1) X 2 (16)

Row 3: (k4, p1, k3) X 2

Row 4: (k2, m1, k2, p1, m1, k2, m1, k1) X 2 (22)

Row 5: (k5, p1, k5) X 2

Row 6: (m1, k4, m1, k1, p1, k2, m1, k3) X 2 (28)

Row 7: (k7, p1, k7) X 2

Change to white yarn

Bind off as follows: (cast on 2 st using cable cast-on, bind off 3 st (the two just cast on, plus the last st bound off previously), slip st on right-hand needle back to left-hand needle) around until all st bound off.

Assembly:

Place safety eyes if that's what you're using
Partially stuff the body with fiberfill
Pin mouth inset into opening in the body, matching the purled fold line edges to the corner of the mouth

Join the mouth inset to the jaw by working through the back of the teeth and using mattress st to sew through jaw/body.

Before closing the mouth opening, finish stuffing the head and body. I didn't place any stuffing in the lower jaw section.
Attach fins as shown using mattress st and other garment joining techniques.
Secure any yarn ends.

3 July 2012

This pattern for "Lemon Shark" is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Finished objects made from this pattern are for personal use only (to keep or to give as a gift). Neither the pattern nor finished objects made from the pattern are to be sold without written permission from the author. Please contact me by sending an email to gmail.com user knittincrap if you have questions.