Let’s Knit Fish for Fish & Chips Day
There are certain foods that feel less like a meal and more like a cultural institution, and in the United Kingdom, fish and chips occupies that hallowed space with total confidence. The smell of vinegar cutting through the warm, salty air. The crinkle of paper wrapping. The way the batter shatters when you break into it to reveal that perfectly steamed fish underneath. It is comfort food elevated to an art form, and on Fish & Chips Day — celebrated every year on the first Friday of June — the whole nation gets to pause and pay proper tribute to this beloved dish.
At Purple Knitting, we like to celebrate the things we love in the most colourful, woolly, slightly ridiculous way possible. So this year, instead of simply ordering a portion from your local chippy, why not also pick up your needles and knit yourself a little fishy friend to mark the occasion? Whether you want to display a knitted fish on your windowsill, use it as a pin cushion, stuff it into a child’s toy basket, or hang a whole shoal of them from your ceiling, this is the project that is equal parts satisfying and completely charming.
This post will walk you through everything: the background to Fish & Chips Day, why knitted fish make such a delightful project, what yarns and needles you will need, and a full pattern guide to help you knit your very own fish in time for the big day.
A Little History on Fish and Chips
Before we get our needles out, it feels right to tip our hats to the dish itself. Fish and chips as we know it today is generally traced back to the mid-nineteenth century in England. The combination of battered fried fish — likely introduced to Britain by Jewish immigrants who had a tradition of frying fish in batter — and chipped potatoes, which were becoming increasingly popular as a filling and affordable meal, came together somewhere around the 1860s. The first fish and chip shop is a matter of some friendly regional debate, with both Oldham in Lancashire and London’s East End staking their respective claims.
By the early twentieth century, fish and chip shops — affectionately known as chippies — had become a fixture of British working-class life. During the Second World War, fish and chips was one of the few foods not rationed, a deliberate decision to keep morale up across the country. Winston Churchill allegedly referred to fish and chips as “the good companions,” and while historians debate whether he really said it, the sentiment captures something true about the dish’s role in British life.
Today there are around ten thousand fish and chip shops across the UK, serving approximately 382 million portions every year. That is a lot of battered cod. And it is precisely why Fish & Chips Day exists: to celebrate an industry, a tradition, and a taste that has shaped British culture for over a century and a half.
Why Knit a Fish?
Now, you might reasonably ask: what does any of this have to do with knitting? And the answer is: everything, obviously.
Knitting has always been a way of honouring the things we find meaningful, funny, beautiful, or beloved. Knitters have been creating miniature replicas of food since novelty knitting became popular, and there is something particularly satisfying about a knitted fish. The shape lends itself beautifully to the craft. You have got gentle curves, a lovely opportunity to play with colour, the fun of adding fins and a tail, and the very pleasing moment when you stuff it and watch it take on its round, plump, slightly pompous little shape.
A knitted fish also makes a wonderful gift. Children adore them. They work beautifully as pincushions if you leave out the toy stuffing and use polyfill lightly. They can be hung as decorations. A whole knitted fish and chips scene — complete with a little cone of chips in cream and yellow yarn — would make a spectacular display piece for any kitchen.
And perhaps most importantly, making something with your hands in honour of a tradition you love is its own form of celebration. It is a way of slowing down, being present, and connecting with something that brings you joy. On Fish & Chips Day, while the oil heats and the batter rests, you could have your needles going and a cheerful little knitted fish taking shape in your lap.
What You Will Need
For a basic knitted fish that measures approximately 20cm from nose to tail when finished, you will need the following:
Yarn: Double knitting weight (DK) yarn works beautifully for this project. You will need a main colour for the body — something in the family of silvery grey, pale blue, or even a bold orange or red if you want a more fantastical fish — and a contrast colour for the fins, tail, and any detail work. You will need approximately 50 grams of your main colour and a small amount (no more than 15 grams) of your contrast colour. If you are making several fish, a single 100-gram ball of each colour will see you through a whole shoal.
Needles: A pair of 3.5mm or 4mm knitting needles. The tighter your tension, the better the stuffing will stay inside without poking through, so if you tend to knit loosely, go down a needle size.
Stuffing: Toy stuffing or polyfill, available from any craft or haberdashery shop. For a pincushion, you might also use dried lavender mixed in with the stuffing for a lovely functional touch.
Other bits: A yarn needle for seaming and weaving in ends. A small button or safety eye for each fish. Scissors. And optionally, a little black yarn or embroidery thread for adding detail like a smiling mouth or decorative lines along the body.
Getting Your Tension Right
Before diving into the pattern, it is worth spending five minutes knitting a small swatch. For DK yarn on 3.5mm needles, you are aiming for approximately 22 stitches and 30 rows to a 10cm square in stocking stitch. Since this is a small decorative or toy item and the exact size is not critical, you do not need to be too precise — but getting close to this tension will ensure your fish has a nice firm fabric that holds its shape well when stuffed.
The Pattern: A Simple Knitted Fish
This pattern is written for beginner to intermediate knitters. It uses basic techniques including casting on, stocking stitch, simple shaping with increases and decreases, and mattress stitch seaming. If you are comfortable knitting in the round you can adapt it easily, but the flat version given here works very well and the seam can be neatened to run along the fish’s belly where it will not be seen.
Abbreviations used throughout:
K — knit, P — purl, K2tog — knit two stitches together (a right-leaning decrease), SSK — slip, slip, knit (a left-leaning decrease), M1 — make one stitch (an increase), CO — cast on, BO — bind off (cast off), RS — right side, WS — wrong side, St st — stocking stitch (knit on RS, purl on WS).
The Body
Using your main colour and 3.5mm needles, cast on 8 stitches.
Row 1 (RS): Knit across.
Row 2 (WS): Purl across.
Row 3: K1, M1, knit to last stitch, M1, K1. (10 sts)
Row 4: Purl across.
Row 5: K1, M1, knit to last stitch, M1, K1. (12 sts)
Row 6: Purl across.
Row 7: K1, M1, knit to last stitch, M1, K1. (14 sts)
Row 8: Purl across.
Row 9: K1, M1, knit to last stitch, M1, K1. (16 sts)
Row 10: Purl across.
Row 11: K1, M1, knit to last stitch, M1, K1. (18 sts)
Row 12: Purl across.
Row 13: K1, M1, knit to last stitch, M1, K1. (20 sts)
Continue in St st (knit RS rows, purl WS rows) without further shaping for 20 rows. Your work should now measure approximately 10cm from cast-on edge, and the body is at its widest point.
Now begin decreasing to shape the tail end:
Next row (RS): K1, SSK, knit to last 3 sts, K2tog, K1. (18 sts)
Next row (WS): Purl across.
Repeat these two rows until you have 10 stitches remaining, ending on a WS row.
Do not cast off. Cut yarn leaving a tail of approximately 20cm for seaming, and place stitches on a stitch holder or spare piece of yarn.
Make a second identical body piece.
The Tail
The tail is worked separately and then attached at seaming.
Using your contrast colour, cast on 3 stitches.
Row 1 (RS): Knit.
Row 2 (WS): Purl.
Row 3: K1, M1, K1, M1, K1. (5 sts)
Row 4: Purl.
Row 5: K1, M1, knit to last stitch, M1, K1. (7 sts)
Row 6: Purl.
Row 7: K1, M1, knit to last stitch, M1, K1. (9 sts)
Row 8: Purl.
Row 9: K1, M1, knit to last stitch, M1, K1. (11 sts)
Row 10: Purl.
Cast off all stitches. This creates a fan-shaped tail piece. Fold it in half lengthways to give it a slight V-shape and press gently, then set aside.
The Top Fin
Using your contrast colour, cast on 2 stitches.
Row 1: Knit.
Row 2: Purl.
Row 3: K1, M1, K1. (3 sts)
Row 4: Purl.
Row 5: K1, M1, K1, M1, K1. (5 sts)
Row 6: Purl.
Row 7: K1, M1, knit to last stitch, M1, K1. (7 sts)
Row 8: Purl.
Row 9: Knit.
Row 10: Purl.
Row 11: K1, K2tog, knit to last 3 sts, SSK, K1. (5 sts)
Row 12: Purl.
Cast off. This creates a small triangular fin. Set aside.
The Side Fins (make two)
Using your contrast colour, cast on 2 stitches.
Row 1: Knit.
Row 2: Purl.
Row 3: K1, M1, K1. (3 sts)
Row 4: Purl.
Row 5: K1, M1, K1, M1, K1. (5 sts)
Row 6: Purl.
Row 7: K2tog, K1, SSK. (3 sts)
Row 8: Purl.
Row 9: Slip 1, K2tog, PSSO. (1 st)
Draw yarn through remaining stitch and fasten off. These small rounded fins will sit on either side of the body. Set aside.
Assembling Your Fish
Lay your two body pieces flat with wrong sides facing each other. Take the tail piece and tuck it between the two layers at the narrow end, with the wider edge of the tail sitting inside the body pieces and the fan shape pointing outward. Pin or hold in place.
Using your yarn needle and main colour yarn, seam around the edge of the fish using mattress stitch, working along one side, across the nose end (the cast-on edge), and back along the other side, leaving the tail end partially open and leaving a gap of approximately 5cm somewhere along the bottom edge for stuffing.
Before closing completely, push the live stitches from the stitch holder at the tail end of each body piece through to the wrong side and weave them in securely, or use a three-needle cast-off to join the two sets of live stitches at the tail, sandwiching the tail piece in place as you do so.
Stuff the fish firmly through the gap you left, shaping it as you go to create a nice plump body. Close the gap using mattress stitch and weave in all ends.
Attach the top fin to the top centre of the body using a few stitches of your yarn needle and contrast colour yarn. Attach the two side fins on either side of the body, positioning them roughly one-third of the way back from the nose.
Attach a safety eye or sew on a small button to each side of the head. If you like, use a length of black yarn or embroidery thread to stitch a gentle curve for a smile, and add a few decorative stitches along the body to suggest scales.
Colour Ideas and Variations
Once you have made your first fish, the possibilities really open up. Here are some ideas to spark your imagination:
A silver-grey fish with white fins and a bright yellow button eye makes a beautifully realistic cod or haddock — perfect for the fish and chips theme. Carry the theme further by knitting a small cone from cream and golden yellow yarn, stuff it lightly, and fill it with tightly coiled lengths of pale yellow yarn cut into short pieces to represent chips. Display your knitted fish beside the chip cone on a little wooden board and you have got the most charming kitchen decoration imaginable.
For children, go bold. Bright orange, cherry red, electric blue — fish in vivid colours are fantastically appealing to small hands and are incredibly robust as toys because there is nothing to break. You can make a mobile by hanging a whole group of different-coloured fish from a length of driftwood using invisible thread.
For a more sophisticated decorative project, try making your fish in a tweedy or speckled yarn that captures that lovely dappled quality of light through water. A pale blue-green with flecks of white and silver would look stunning hung in a bathroom or beach house kitchen.
Making It a Celebration
Fish & Chips Day is the first Friday of June, which gives you a lovely deadline to work toward if you start this project at the beginning of the month. But even if you find this post the day before, a single fish is very achievable in an evening’s knitting if you are confident with the techniques.
Consider making it a social knit. Gather a few knitting friends, order in fish and chips from your local chippy — because there is absolutely no reason you cannot do both — and spend the evening crafting together. By the end of the night you could have a whole ocean’s worth of knitted fish to show for it, and a very satisfied stomach.
You could also use your knitted fish as part of a display at a school, library, or community centre to celebrate the day. A banner reading “Happy Fish & Chips Day” in bright yarn letters, surrounded by a shoal of knitted fish, would draw smiles from anyone who walked past.
A Few Final Thoughts
There is something wonderfully apt about marking Fish & Chips Day with knitting. Both are crafts, really — the craft of the frier who knows exactly when the oil is hot enough, who reads the colour of the batter and the sound of the sizzle, who has spent years perfecting the balance of crisp and soft — and the craft of the knitter who reads their yarn, adjusts their tension, and turns a length of fibre into something that has shape and life and personality.
Both take patience. Both produce something that brings people genuine pleasure. And both are deeply, warmly human activities that connect us to each other and to the traditions and tastes that make up the texture of everyday life.
So this Fish & Chips Day, celebrate with your heart, your stomach, and your hands. Cast on a fish. Order a portion. Sit somewhere comfortable. And enjoy every bit of it.
Happy Fish & Chips Day from all of us at Purple Knitting. We would love to see your finished fish — share your photos with us and tag us so we can admire your work. If you have any questions about the pattern, drop them in the comments below and we will help you out.
