Free Printable Easy Felt Mermaid Doll Pattern – Great for Beginners and Kids

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I’m so excited to share this fun and beginner friendly sewing project with you!  Today, we’ll be making a simple felt mermaid that’s great for beginners… (though this one is a little more complicated than some of my other patterns, and I wouldn’t recommend it as a VERY FIRST sewing project like many of my others. In any case I think this is a great project for crafty kids ages 10 and up (with a little adult supervision) or anyone who wants a beginner friendly doll craft. Ready to dive in? Then let’s get started!

What You’ll Need:

• Felt (in your chosen colors for the mermaid’s body, tail, shirt and hair)
• Free Mermaid pattern (link below)
• Markers (or similar) for tracing
• Embroidery floss (try to match the colors to your felt)
• Black Thread
• Needle with the big eye / Embroidery Needle
• Scissors
• Stuffing (polyester filler, scrap felt, or even ripped-up plastic grocery bags)

Before anything else, grab your free pattern, print it out, and let’s trace! This pattern includes the mermaid’s body, tail, hair, arms and shirt.

Click image to download and print

Click Image to Download and Print

Step 1: Trace and Cut

To start, lay the pattern pieces on your felt and trace around them using your marker. A sharpie works wonderfully on felt, ensuring good visibility. Remember to flip the pattern pieces when tracing any that you trace twice, so that you have mirror images for the front and back. After tracing, carefully cut out your felt pieces, cutting off your marker lines where you can. (Hang onto any scrap felt; it works great as stuffing for the mermaid!)

Step 2: Create the Eyes, Nose, and Lips

Add some eyes! You can do a simple “knot eye” or more detailed sewn eyes with eyelashes.

To start find the middle of your mermaids face, the very middle.  It seems like eyes go higher on the face, but if you sew them in the top half of your mermaid face circle they’ll end up being on her forehead when your mermaid is all sewn together… which is probably not what you want.

Option 1) Knot Eye

1. Make a simple knot at the end of the floss, then poke the needle from the back of the mermaids body piece to the front where you want the eye to be placed.
2. Secure it by making a “knot stitch” — just pull the thread tight and tie a little knot by looping the floss and pulling it through.
3. Repeat for the second eye.

Option 2) Detailed Eye

1. For the example above I did a slight more complicated eye, to give it a try rather than using embroidery floss I used standard thread for the eye (which is much thinner) I threaded my need and pulled the two ends of the thread together before tying a loop knot.
2. Then I started the stitch on the back of the mermaids face and poked it forward and made a very small stitch before poking back into the mermaids head.  Then I poked the needle forward again, just a little bit down from where I’d made my first stitch, and made sure that when I poked my thread back through, I went through the starting stitch hole of my first stitch. and repeated those steps a 3rd time.
3. For the eyelashes I poked my needle up a little away from the end of the eye, and then poked my need back through the end of the eye hole, and repeated that 3 times.

Nose: 

I used the same process as the “Detailed” eye above, but used my skin colored embroidery floss to create the mermaids nose, and sewed a small two sided triangle.

Mouth: 

I used the same process as the “Detailed” eye above, but used my pink embroidery floss to create the mermaids lips, and sewed a small “v” shape.

Step 3: Start Sewing the Shirt

Next I placed my shirt on the mermaid, making sure the side that showed any tracing lines was facing in, and I did a running stitch around the shirt and the top piece of the mermaids body to attach it.

How to Do a Running Stitch: Start by bringing your needle up through the fabric from the back to the front and pull it all the way through. Move the needle a little forward and push it back down through the fabric, leaving a small gap. Pull the thread tight. Then, bring the needle back up through the same spot where it just came down, creating a small stitch. Continue this back-and-forth motion, moving slightly forward each time until you reach the desired end point of your stitching.

Step 4: Sew the top of the tail piece to each of the body pieces

I placed the tail pieces on the mermaid, again making sure the side that showed any tracing lines was facing in, and I did a running stitch along the top of the tail piece to attach the mermaids body to it for both front and back pieces.

 

Step 4: Start Sewing the Tail piece together

Take the front and back pieces of the mermaids tail and line them up. Starting at the top of the tail, near the stomach, make a knot stitch to anchor your thread, then use a blanket stitch to sew the edges of tail felt together until you’re a finger width or two from the point at the end of the tail. Pause there to add the tail fin.

How to Blanket Stitch:

1. To create a blanket stitch, insert your needle through both pieces of fabric and pause before pulling it all the way through.
2. Pull the thread end (from your last stitch) around the top of your needle, then pull the needle fully through the fabric.
3. Move down your felt slightly, poke the needle back through on the same side as your previous stitch, and again loop the tail end of the thread over the top of the needle before pulling it all the way out.
4. Keep repeating this process, ensuring your stitches are evenly spaced and snug, until you reach the end of your stitching line.

Step 5: Add the Tail Fin

When you reach the bottom, it’s time to attach the tail fin! Position the tail fin piece in between the two tail pieces at the bottom, and use a running stitch to sew the tail in place. Then continue with a blanket stitch up the other side of the mermaids tail until you reach the mermaids skin.  There knot of your tail thread, and add the skin colored thread to your needle.

How to Do a Running Stitch:

1. Start by bringing your needle up through the fabric from the back to the front and pull it all the way through.
2. Move the needle slightly forward and push it back down through the fabric, making a small gap, then pull the thread tight.
3. Next, bring the needle back up through the same spot, creating a small stitch.
4. Continue this back-and-forth motion, moving slightly forward each time until you reach your desired end point.

Step 6: Add the Arms

Use a knot stitch to anchor your new skin colored thread to your mermaid, right above the tail.  Do a blanket stitch, sewing together the two sides of the mermaid until you reach where you want to add her arm.

Add the arm felt in between the two pieces of body felt, and attach to the two pieces of felt with a running stitch.

The continue with a blanket stitch around the mermaids head.

Step 7: Stuff Your Mermaid

Once there, it’s time to add your stuffing. Add your stuffing using small pieces and stuffing the furthers away parts first, like the mermaid’s head and tail.  If you need help getting it into the head area, use the back of a pencil or a similar tool to push it in. When you’re satisfied with how fluffy it is, add your second arm, and  finish sewing the opening closed with a running stitch, then a blanket stitch once you are past the arm, and tie a secure knot at the end.

 

Step 8: Add the Hair

Get your two pieces of hair and line them up.  Start a blanket stitch around the bangs, and add three blanket stitches sewing just the two pieces of hair together.  Then place the hair on the head of your mermaid, and continue with your blanket stitch, sewing the head between the bangs and the back of the hair, all the way around the crown of the head.  Once you are around the crown of the head continue with a few more blanket stitches sewing the bangs to the hair, and knot it off at the end.

And there you have it—a magical felt mermaid made with your own hands! This project not only introduces kids to sewing basics but also fosters creativity and the joy of crafting. I can’t wait to see all the colorful mermaids you create! Happy sewing!