Behind the Scenes: Whitney the Whale Shark Original Crochet Pattern

After days of crocheting and lots of mistakes, I am pleased to announce my latest original pattern, Whitney the Whale Shark!

This large, huggable fella is the biggest crochet animal I have ever made from scratch. The body alone consists of more than 4,300 stitches!

She's complete with pectoral, dorsal, and tail fins, plus a mouth you can stick your hand into! 😄

The Inspiration Behind Whitney

Often times when I have crocheter's block, I ask my family what they want to see me crochet. My sister suggested a whale shark. Hmmm, I thought, that has the possibility of being adorable, super cool, and pushing me out of my creative comfort zone! For a few days while I finished a different project, I brainstormed.

I don't crochet sea animals that much, so even brainstorming Whitney's shape was difficult for me. I'm used to crocheting something that has four legs and a tail, so I had to think hard for a while and gather my ideas. Thank goodness for Google!

After looking at photos of whale sharks at aquariums and such, I formulated a rough sketch of how I wanted this plushie to look. My crocheting style is, "the chubbier, the better", so I automatically created a picture of a fat fishy in my brain. One sunny morning, I sat down on my couch with my yarn bag, my water bottle, and the TV remote and started crocheting!

When I think of whale sharks, I think "that shark with the huge mouth". 😆 So I wanted to include a big mouth in my stuffed animal. Not to toot my own horn, but I think the way I made the shark's mouth is pretty cool.

I crocheted the shark so at a certain point, I would push the mouth inside out and fold the face over at where I crocheted the "back loops only" stitches, so you can actually stick your hand into it!

I probably had the most fun with her stripes, spots, and speckles. I created a new variation of stitch, the "sc STN" and "sc STW" stitches. That means you make a single crochet, but before you pull the final loop through, you change to the color indicated at the end of the abbreviation. It sounds complicated, but I included in my pattern detailed, easy-to-follow instructions and a link to a video tutorial that walks you through all the new stitches.

My 12 page PDF pattern includes 13 photos, and several pro-tips to make your crocheting experience a breeze!

I'm super proud of this cutie, and I had so much fun making it!

A special thank you to my sister for suggesting it. 😉

Happy crocheting!

~ Julia from The Kotton Kaboodle