Whale of a Tale

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by Hannah (BitterSweet)

Busily racing through classes, homework, and more classes, all sense of time seems to fly out the window. Plans for today end up being bumped to tomorrow, and the clock strikes midnight earlier and earlier each evening. Really, it’s enough to drive one mad, what with all of the emails piling up like some horrific car crash, demanding attention and yet remaining unanswered for weeks. Speaking of piling up, that’s exactly what all the dirty dishes have been doing as well. Hasty meals come and go, quickly forgotten, but those darn plates and bowls stay soiled all the same. Returning from another “fun” dash through the rain (or hail, or snow…), the last thing I want to do is to submerge my clammy hands in water yet again and just take care of all those serving vessels, and so the stack continues to grow higher. Resembling a precariously built tower within just a day or two of this neglect, my laziness must be set aside in favor of keeping the mess to something more manageable; Broken ceramic coated in vegetable soup residue would not make a lovely addition to the decor.

Dishes in one hand and soap in another, relocating this whole balancing act was a task in itself. Prepared to thoughtlessly plop the mess into the nearest sink, I may as well have been sleepwalking up to this point. Glancing toward the stainless steel basin, as if awoken by a nightmare, I jumped nearly a foot in the air and came just inches away from dumping my entire load. Well, I was certainly awake now, after having caught sight of the most unusual creature perched atop the faucet.

A bizarre and inexplicable event? Yes, and I’ll understand if you think this is all just one big fish story. I wouldn’t believe it either, had I not seen the tiny blue whale with my own eyes. About the size of a field mouse and as friendly as any standard house cat, it was simply unfathomable from any angle. Perhaps the drain was connected to the ocean, and this miniature whale was just lost? Maybe someone brought him to school as a pet, but became tired of the maintenance work and tried to flush the poor little fellow. No matter, it was hardly a time to ask questions. Quickly rinsing out one of those food-encrusted bowls to a much more hygienic state, I scooped this new friend up and filled this make-shift tank with water. Safe for the time being, his smile appeared to grow even larger, though I doubt much would be able to shake his naturally cheery disposition.

It would be difficult to impossible to locate his proper place, being that this is such a huge mass of people and the ocean is so far away… So this new friend will be staying with me, unless another caretaker comes asking. Instead, perhaps you’d like to adopt someone like him for yourself?

With an F hook and worsted weight yarn, ch 6
Sc into 2nd ch from hook, sc into the following 3 sts, sc 3 times into last stitch. Continuing around, sc into the backs of the next 3 st, sc 2 into the last one (12)
2 sc into first st, sc into next 3, 2sc into next, sc, 2 sc into next, sc 3, sc2 into next, sc (16)
2 sc into first, sc 4, 2sc into next, sc 2, 2sc into next, sc 4, 2sc, sc 2 (20)
Sc for 5 rows
Sc 2, sc2tog, sc3, sc2tog, sc 11 (18)
Sc around
Sc1, sc2tog, sc2, sc2tog, sc11 (16)
Sc1, sc2tog, sc1, sc2tog, sc 10 (14)

Embroider smile and secure eyes

Sc2, sc2tog, sc10 (13)
Sc1, sc3tog, sc 9 (11)

Insert stuffing

Sc1, sc2tog, sc7 (10)
Now crocheting flat…
Sc4, ch 1, sc2 into one, 2 sc, sc2 into one (6)
Sc even
Ch2, dc twice into 2nd st, sl st into next two sts, dc 5 times into next, sl st in last st
Break yarn leaving length to sew. Weave yarn back to opening and sew shut.

(And yes, I do still need to do this dishes.)

62 thoughts on “Whale of a Tale”

  4. Love the whale – what a little cutie! And yes, dishes are unfortunately a never-ending chore anyplace that someone cooks. Grrrr. ;)

  11. another thing I don’t miss about my old college dorm – having to use the sink (which has one working faucet) in the dorm-kitchen, to clean my dishes!! ick!! but hey, maybe I would have enjoyed it more if I ran into that little whale :0D

  12. I know exactly how you feel – I too am in University and the dishes pile up for me as well! I always love reading your posts, they almost make me feel as if i know there are others in my shoes! Plus – your little whale friend is SUPER cute… does he have a name

  23. What fantastic patterns you have. I love your stories. Now before I make this little whale I have to go my sinkfull of dishes. Thank you for sharing.

  24. Thank you for sharing this; it’s on the ‘to do’ list! BTW – are you a Ravelry member yet? People who have made your patterns, such as myself, have posted their creations up there with pix and everything. You really should check it out if you haven’t already! There’s tons of us bittersweetblog pattern peeps!

  27. just adorable!! and, i loved the story too. thank you for creating him, and bringing a smile to our faces. he is so loveable!! :-)

  29. Thanks for the adorable pattern. I throughly enjoy your blog. My little whalelet is crocheted up to the “attach eyes and sew smile” part. Going to look for safety eyes, otherwise I’ve got buttons to use. Thanks – he’s very cute.

  33. Thanks for the pattern! I stuffed him with a little bell and am going to give him to a friend who is having a little Jonah!

  34. Hi,
    I’m making the little whale, but I am having trouble understanding the tail instructions. I just don’t understand how we go from 10 to 6 st (especially when we include 2sc into one). I have just began crocheting, so there might be something I don’t understand, but I’ve always done 2sc into one as to increase, not decrease.

    Thanks a lot!

    1. The picture looks wonderful but I’m having the same problem as Emilie and Inge. (I do think “crochet flat” means reverse direction and do not continue forwards in the spiral, but but how do you end up with 6 st?.) I’m also having trouble right at the beginning. At the start of row 1 there should be 5st to be worked (from the ch6). “sc 3 times into last stitch” results in an increase of 2 to give 7 st at the end of row 1. The rest of that paragraph, presumably row 2, seems to deal with only 4 stitches with one increase in the 4th and last stitch. So how are there 12 stitches at the end?

  36. Hi! Thank you so much for the pattern, i’m going to make that lovely whale.
    Greetings from Mexico n_n

  38. Hi,
    Just visited your site and saw the tiny whale….LOVE it…can’t waite to make it but would love the same blue yarn…..what color blue is it….it is perfect….
    craftyann

  39. So cute!!!! I loved making it, but the first time I skipped the five rows of single crochet and made a fish rather than a whale. LOL. I think I did the tail right; is there supposed to be a hole underneath the fin? Also, is one fin/bump larger than the other?

  40. KUDOS! i just completed my whale and he came out great! i used a rattle inside the stuffing to make it a cute baby toy, and used yarn for the eyes instead of beads for “safety first”. i used cotton mixed blue color blend, but i like your bright blue better…..thanks for the pattern!

  41. I love this little guy! I’m at work and didn’t have any stuffing or cotton balls with me, so I ended up putting medical gauze inside =)

    To Estella:: There is a hole under the fin. Once you’re done with the fin, cut off your yarn at about 4 inches and weave it back down the side of the fin. After I did that, I weaved it to close up the hole. I was really confused at first that one side was larger, but it ended up really cute.

    Thanks again!

  42. hi can you explain the tail instructions please? it looks really cute so far but im kinda stuck now

  43. Hello

    The whale is very cute. However, i get lost when making the tale, when you say to “crochet flat”. I read through the comments and see i’m not the only one (what a relief).
    I don’t understand how you end up with 6 stitches, or what you mean bij “sc even”, or why the last row has no similar parts (3dc versus 5 dec).
    Can you help me out? Thanks!

    Inge
    ps english is not my native tongue, so i hope i made not too many mistakes.

      1. Hi Inge and Emilie,

        I was having the same trouble as you with the tail but I think I figured it out. :) My interpretation is below.

        “Now crocheting flat…”
        I think this means crochet across the hole so instead of going in rounds, you put your hook through the stitch preceding the one you just did (i.e. stitch 9 of your last round) and into the one following (i.e. what would be stitch one of the next round). If you do this across, you end up with sc4.

        “Sc4, ch 1, sc2 into one, 2 sc, sc2 into one (6)”

        Okay, so Sc4 refers to the 4 stitches just completed.
        Chain 1.
        TURN!!! (You should a row of 4 stitches in front of your hook).
        sc twice into next stitch, sc, sc, sc twice into next stitch (6).
        TURN
        sc across row (i.e. 6 sc)

        Then comes the next part…

        “Ch2, dc twice into 2nd st, sl st into next two sts, dc 5 times into next, sl st in last st”

        I tried this, but the fins don’t look so great on my little whale as I have used a thicker wool, so am still playing around with it. Will let you know what I end up doing.

        Hope this helps!!

        Cute little whale. Thanks for sharing the pattern!!

  44. I completed the whale using Amy’s suggestions above and he looks great! One fin is slightly larger than the other due to one having 2dc and the other having 5dc but the difference is not really noticeable. Hannah’s last instruction is to “weave yarn back to the opening and sew shut” but my whale has no opening. The less sewing the better for me!
    Perhaps Hannah’s intent after “Now crocheting flat..” was to continue round the spiral for 4sc and then turn at the ch1. This method would leave an opening.
    Thanks to all for the pattern and comments!

  45. i love your whale! it was so cute i ran to go make one, but now i’m kind of stuck. what do you mean by “Continuing around, sc into the backs of the next 3 st, sc 2 into the last one”? i have sc sc sc sc 3sc and then i don’t know what to do…

  46. Hi, I just made this one :) I did him in baby blue, I am going to post a photo on my blog and add your link under it, Hope its ok :)

    Thanks again

  48. the little whale is so sweet! He really made me smile. I’m off to make my own little critter now. Thanks so much for sharing this pattern!!

  49. Nice. I wanted to make something from the sea for a babyshower. Very nice, quick, easy and FAST! Thank you for a great pattern. :)

  51. Hi! is there anyway you could make a goldfish? My friends ask for crocheted stuff a lot and I’m at a loss for the goldfish request. Help please?

  53. I don’t understand the tail part either. I was fine up until the “now crocheting flat…” but the I was lost. I read through the comments, and I found a few tips, but I also noticed that the fins aren’t even. How could I make them even? Any help would be appreciated!
    Thanks,
    Amanda

    1. just do the same amount of double crochets for each fin instead of doing 2 on one and 5 on the other as the pattern says :) i just follow the tail pattern as it says and then leave a longer yarn tail to go back and sew the flat tail piece to the opening that was left

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