Furles Mini Pig Pattern

Skill Level:

Finished Size: These miniature piggies are close to life-sized, which means great piggy hugs!

Materials:

• Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Superwash Bulky in (A) Blossom Heather, (B) Oyster Heather, and (C) Mineral Heather [nose, main body and spots, respectively]
• Furls Alpha Series olivewood crochet hook size G (4.0mm) or G+ (4.5mm)
• Stuffing
• 10mm plastic snap-in eyes
• Yarn/tapestry needle
• Sewing pins (optional)
• Stitch marker (I use a small scrap of yarn)

Gauge:


Abbreviations, Notes and Tips:

• Ch = chain
• Sc = single crochet
• Dc = double crochet
• Dc dec = double crochet decrease
• Dec = decrease
• FO = finish off
• inc = increase [2 sc in same stitch]
• PM = place marker
• Rep = repeat
• Slp st = slip stitch
• Sk = skip
• 2x, 3x, etc = 2 times, 3 times, etc

Notes:
Part I of the CAL includes the head and body of the piggy, Part II will add the ears and legs (the tail is part of the body!).

There are no color charts for the spots because every piggy's spots are unique and this design reflects that. Pool your color in wherever feels right! You may want to make a solid colored piggy first to get a feel for the pattern before bringing randomized color changes in.

Instructions:

Nose, Face, Body
Foundation: With color A (snout), ch 3.
1. 2 sc in 2nd ch from hook, 4 sc in last ch, rotating your work so you're working along the bottom of the chain (see picture), 2 sc in same ch space as 1st 2 sc (8)
2. 5 inc, sc, slp st (loose), sc. (13)
3. *3 dc in 1st st, 3 sc,* rep *-* around, remove marker (leaving the last sc unworked). Do not fasten off.

End of Snout (color variations show construction)

Attach color B, (pig's body) (Let color A rest for now.)
4. Replace marker. In BLO, dec, inc, 2 sc, dec, 3 sc, dec, 2 sc, inc, dec, 2 sc. (17)
5. In both loops, 2 inc, 10 sc, 2 inc, sc, dec. (20)
6. 6 sc, 7 slp st (loosely), 7 sc. (20)

Snout with beginning of side. (color variations show construction)

Working with color A in the front loops of round 4: 2 Slp st, ch 1, 6 slp st, ch 1, 6 sl st, ch 1, 5 sl st. Fasten Off color A leaving space to knot the ends.

Snout with slip stitch border. (color variations show construction)

Tie the two yarn ends snugly together and weave them in, or use your crochet hook to pull them through to the back and tuck them inside the snout. Tah dah! Now we can return to our regularly scheduled pattern.
7. 3 sc, *inc, sc, inc,* 8 sc, rep *-*, 3 sc. (24)
8. inc, 3 sc, *inc, 2 sc,* rep *-* 6x, 2 sc. (31)
9. 2 sc, inc, 11 sc, *inc, sc,* rep *-* 3x total, 11 sc. (35)
10. Sc, inc, 5 sc, *inc, sc, inc,* 20 sc, rep *-*, 2 sc. (40)
11. 16 Sc, dec, 2 sc, *inc, 2 sc,* rep *-* 3x total, dec, 9 sc. (41)
12. Sc, 2 dec, 7 sc, inc, 2 sc, dec, 2 sc, *inc, 2 sc,* rep *-* 3x total, 3 sc, dec, 2 sc, inc, 5 sc. (42)
13. Sc in each sc around. (42)
14. 14 sc, *inc, 2 sc, inc,* 11 sc, rep *-* 1x, 9 sc. (46)
15. Sc in each. (46)
Put snap-in eyes between rounds 11-12. The left eye should be between and covering the decreases on the left side of the face, the right eye should be just above the decreases on the right side of the face (see picture).

Face showing right eye placement.


16. 2 sc, *inc, 4 sc,* rep *-* 4x total, 9 sc, rep *-* 3x. (53)
17. 7 sc, *inc, 4 sc, inc,* 33 sc, rep *-* 1x, sc. (57)
18. 19 sc, dec, 10 sc, dec, 11 sc, dec, 11 sc. (54)
19. 20 sc, dec, 18 sc, dec, 12 sc. (52)
20. Sc in each sc around. (52)
21. 2 sc, inc, 3 sc, inc, 19 sc, dec, 5 sc, dec, 17 sc. (52)
22. 23 sc, 7 dec, 8 sc, inc, 2 sc, inc, 3 sc. (47)
23. 13 sc, inc, 2 sc, inc, 20 sc, inc, 3 sc, inc, 4 sc, inc. (51)
24. 11 sc, inc, 3 sc, inc, 3 sc, inc, 4 sc, FLO, *inc, 4 sc,* 2x, inc, both loops 17 sc. (58)
25. Sc around. (58)
26. 29 sc, inc, 8 sc, inc, 19 sc. (60)
STUFF the pig head firmly. You'll bloat the shape here a little bit but you'll fix that with some basic needle shaping when you've got your whole pig bean finished.

Rnds 27-44: Sc around. (60)

45. *Dec, 9 sc,* 6x, 3 sc. (54)
46. Sc around. (54)
47. *Dec, 7 sc,* rep *-* around. (48)
48. *Dec, 6 sc,* rep *-* around. (42)
STUFF the rest of the pig firmly.
49. *Dec, 5 sc,* 4x, ch 9, slp st in 2nd ch from hook, sc in next ch, inc in each of the last 6 ch (tail made!), rep *-* 2x (36)
If following the pattern directions for round 49 places the tail anywhere other than lined up with the snout, just adjust the location of the bolded section of the pattern so that it is centered on the body in relation to the face/snout.

50. *Dec, 4 sc,* rep *-* around. (30)
51. *Dec, 3 sc,* rep *-* around. (24)
52. *Dec, 2 sc,* rep *-* around. (18)
53. *Dec, sc,* rep *-* around. (12)
54. Dec around. (6)
FO, leaving a long tail.

Sew any remaining hole closed and poke the needle all the way through the body (this is why I like to use a long tapestry needle) until you reach the face, just above one of the eyes.

Weave the needle through the sc stitch just above the eye and pull through. Poke the needle through the face across to the stitch right above the other eye, and weave the needle through that stitch. Pull through.

Poke the needle back through to the first side and pull the yarn snug (slowly and not too snug! Watch the effect and stop when you like it!). This will help to redefine that adorable face you had before you stuffed the piggy.

Weave in the end and there you have it, a wonderful pork bean!

Ears - make 2
Foundation: With color B, ch 2

1. 3 sc in 2nd ch from hook, TURN. (3)
2. Sc across, TURN. (3)
3. Sc, inc, 3 sc in last sc, TURN. (6)
4. Sc, 2 inc, sc, dec, TURN. (7)
5. 3 sc, inc, [sc, hdc] both in the next sc, 2 dc in next sc, dc, TURN. (10)
6. Sc, 2 inc, 4 sc, dec, dc, TURN. (11)
7. Dec, 5 sc, dc, dc2tog, TURN. (9)
8. Dec, 3 sc, 2 dc, dc2tog, TURN. (7)
9. Dec, 2 sc, FO leaving remaining stitches unworked. Leave tail for sewing.
The top bit of the ear will naturally want to curl forward; let it. On the other ear, flip that curl inside out so it curls the other way and you end up with a distinct left and right ear. If your ears won't uncurl without a lot of wrestling, you could try blocking the ears before sewing them on to relax the stitches and prevent that bunching. I didn't block the ears of my piggies and the left ears especially have some serious curl going on. Sew the long edges (last rows) of the ears to either side of the head, at about round 17 (about 4-5 rounds of sc buffer between the eyes and the ears) of the face.

Legs - make 4

Foundation: With color B, ch 2 or magic loop


1. 7 sc in 2nd ch from hook. (7)
2. Inc in each sc around. (14)
3. Sc around. (14)
4. *Inc, sc,* rep *-* around. (21)
5. 5-8: Sc around. (21)

9. *Inc, 3 sc,* rep *-* around, sc in last sc. (26)
10. 10-12: Sc around. (26)
11. 13: 21 sc, sl st, TURN. (21)
12. 14: 10 sc. (10)
FO (leave the remaining sts unworked), leaving a long tail for assembly. Add Weight & STUFF each of the legs firmly and sew them to the body of your pig with the last row of each facing out (see picture below). I recommend pinning the legs on first so you can make any adjustments: where you place the legs is going to determine if your pig can stand up on its own based on balance and symmetry.