Ariel Little Mermaid Choc Orange Cover

Ariel Little Mermaid Chocolate Orange Cover

Project Overview

This is a charming knitted cover designed by Andrew Lucas that transforms a standard chocolate orange into a delightful Ariel-themed decoration or can be adapted as a 16 cm stuffed toy. The project combines simple shaping techniques with colorwork to create a recognizable character piece, making it an ideal beginner-friendly knitting project that produces an impressive finished result.

What Is Being Made

The pattern creates a fitted cover sized to slip over a chocolate orange (approximately 16 centimeters), though it can also be stuffed with fiberfill to create a standalone plush toy. The design captures Ariel's distinctive features through strategic color placement and basic shaping, resulting in a three-dimensional character piece that is both decorative and functional.

Knitting Techniques Used

• Increases and Decreases: The pattern employs increases worked into every stitch to create the initial fullness for the body, and paired decreases (knit two together) to shape the shoulders and head, allowing the piece to transition smoothly between sections
• Stocking Stitch: The primary fabric structure, created by alternating knit and purl rows, produces a smooth, finished appearance ideal for a character cover
• Garter Stitch: Used selectively for textured sections where a different visual effect is desired
• Color Changes: The pattern incorporates multiple yarn colors including green, light green, beige, red, purple, pink, yellow, and black to define different body parts and facial features
• Bind and Tie Finishing: The pattern uses a specific finishing technique where yarn ends are threaded through remaining stitches on the needle, drawn up, and tied off to close sections cleanly

Stitches and Abbreviations

The pattern uses standard knitting abbreviations and fundamental stitches suitable for beginners:

• inc – increase (adding stitches to widen the fabric)
• dec – decrease (removing stitches to narrow the fabric)
• k – knit stitch
• p – purl stitch
• st st – stocking stitch (alternating knit and purl rows for a smooth fabric)
• tog – together (working stitches as one unit)
• gs – garter stitch (knitting every row for a textured, ridged fabric)
• sl – slip stitch (moving a stitch from one needle to another without working it)
• psso – pass slip stitch over (a decrease method)
• yrn – yarn round needle (creating a new stitch and a decorative eyelet)
• B and T – bind and tie (threading yarn through stitches to close)

Materials Required

Needles: 3.25mm knitting needles throughout the project

Yarn: Double knitting weight wool in eight colors – green (for the body base), light green (for variation), beige (for the face and torso), red (for lips or accent details), purple, pink, and yellow (for additional character features), and black (for eyes and definition). Only small oddments of each color are needed, making this an excellent stash-busting project.

Notions: A small amount of polyester fiberfill stuffing if creating the piece as a standalone toy rather than a cover, and a tapestry needle for finishing and weaving in ends

Difficulty Level

This pattern is rated as beginner-friendly, requiring only fundamental knitting skills including casting on, basic stitches, simple increases and decreases, and color changes. The straightforward construction and repetitive stitch patterns make it accessible to knitters new to the craft while still producing a satisfying, dimensional finished piece.