Let’s Knit Fish for Fish & Chips Day

Let’s Knit Fish for National Fish and Chips Day and raise funds for the National Fishermen’s Mission.

Here in the UK, fish and chips are possibly one of the most popular meals in many homes. While scrolling through my calendar I spotted that there’s even a National Fish and Chips Day which is normally on the first Friday in June though when were all in lockdown due to the pandemic the government moved it to September.

Many things have to happen before we get that delicious plate of food in front of us. Fishermen go out on rough seas to bring it in. Fish and chip shops, restaurants, vans and grocery stores order stocks in so we can buy it to cook at home, or bring it home as takeaways.

Searching a bit further I found that the Fishermen’s Mission is an organization that helps with the welfare of the people who often risk their lives to bring in our favourite meal. They are looking to raise funds, so I thought it might be an idea to knit fish and sell them in the local community with the funds going to this worthy cause.

Knitted Fish Patterns

Young children love cuddly soft toys so fish should go down well with them. The smaller fish could be used to make a nursery fish mobile for a crib or just hanging from the ceiling in their bedroom.

I found many different knitting patterns for fish some free and some available at a small cost.

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Basic small knitted fish suitable for children’s mobiles

This video (below) shows step-by-step how to make a knitted fish of varying sizes that could be used on a mobile for young children. You could also make them bigger and use them as soft toys. I might not add a button for the eyes though as small things can be a choke hazard. Instead, just embroider the eyes with a bit of stitching.

Hopefully, this video will give you ideas. The possibilities are endless as you could –

• change up the colour of the yarn,
• add stripes,
• add dots by changing the yarn colour in one stitch say every 10 stitches in a row
• change the texture by knitting some in stockinette stitch and some in garter stitch
• change the size of the squares that you knit to make different-sized fish

You can use up all your oddments of yarn in your stash to make the knitted squares. It’s therefore a good way to use up small bits of yarn.

FREE Fish Knitting Patterns

I have included some of the many free patterns that I found.

Goldfish with Ribbed Tail

I love the look of these bright goldfish. You can find Susan Dennis’ pattern here

Tiny Fish

This one is small but could be used on a child’s mobile or even for decorations when a few are strung together, or added to a key ring as a gift.

You can find the pattern for this tiny fish from Kino Knits here

Flat Fish Pattern

I like this design as it’s quite usual and does not require stuffing. The pattern and detailed instructions to make this one can be found on Knitty.com

Other Fish Patterns

This collection of knitting patterns requires a small investment to be able to download them.

Rustic Slimline Fish Pattern

I like the look of these fish as they are more like the look of the real thing! Find out how to make them on Lets Knit which is a paid membership site. It is well worth the investment as this site has in excess of 4000 patterns! If you knit regularly this might be a good opportunity.

Steve the Fish

Steve the fish can be made in a weekend. Although he looks quite complex he isn’t as he is mainly made in stockinette stitch. The pattern to make him gives very detailed instructions that you can follow. This pattern is also available through the Lets Knit website here

Community Knitting Patterns for Fish

Knit a Herring for the Shoal

Knit a Herring from the Follow the Herring Project

I found this pattern as part of the Follow the Herring Project. The full instructions can be downloaded here

So, hopefully, these patterns have inspired you to knit a fish whether it be for National Fish and Chips Day, to raise funds for the Fishermen’s Mission or as toys for a young child.