12 days of woodland creatures

Introducing!! 12 Days of Woodland Creatures (and Their Favourite Things)!

Hedgehog

You’re invited to a crochet-along! :D

I’ve been planning this for a while now. Every year I try to do a “daily practice” kind of project, where I make something everyday, as a way of keeping creativity flowing, like the square-a-day project. This year I was asked by a good friend to make a forest-themed mobile for the newest member of her family (exciting!!). So, to honour my friend’s generous spirit I thought I would share how I make each creature with everyone on this blog :D

And then I thought this would be a perfect opportunity for a crochet-along! The creatures don’t only belong on a mobile, they can be used for a lot of different things…

Brooches?

Applique?

Ornaments? Maybe for an advent calender like this? Or, by the end of the project you would have a set of woodland ornaments for the Christmas tree, just in time for the holiday season!

Characters for felt storyboards, with velcro on the back?

Carry-along plush toys?

Pocket pets?

Possibilities are endless :)

 

So! This is how it works: 

Every 2–3 days I will post a pattern for a crochet woodland creature (or its favourite things). And I won’t be pre-announcing what the creatures are, so it will be a surprise every time! At the end there will be 12 patterns. You can crochet along for all of the patterns, or just one, or pick the ones you like. And if you send me pictures or blog posts about what you have created, I will share it here, like our craft-along gallery a couple of years ago (that was lots of fun! :D), then we can see all the different and fun and creative ways that everyone has used for the creatures!

I’d love to know if you’d like to join in the fun, please make a comment below! :D

AND!! Today we have our first creature — yup, you guessed it. The hedgehog!

hedgehog fuzzy

Love the fuzzy yarn on this one :)

I also learned the loop stitch in the making of the hedgehog. There’s a great photo tutorial of it if you haven’t made it before.

I used:

Worsted weight yarn — one colour for the body and a contrasting colour for the head.

4 mm hook

2 small black beads for eyes (just one if you’re making a brooch)

Needle and thread for sewing

Pink embroidery thread and brown yarn for embroidering rosy cheeks and nose

 

Note: the turning ch 1 in this pattern does not count as a stitch. The pattern alternates between loop stitch (lp st) rows and single crochet (sc) rows, with the increases and decreases made in the sc rows and working even in the lp st rows)

Pattern:

With body colour, ch 5

Row 1: sc in 2nd ch from hook, sc in each ch across, turn.

Row 2: ch 1, loop stitch (lp st) in each sc across (4 lp st), turn.

Row 3: ch 1, 1 sc in each of the next 2 lp st, 2 sc in each of the next 2 lp st, turn.

Row 4: ch 1, lp st in each sc across (6 lp st), turn.

Row 5: ch 1, 1 sc in each of the next 4 lp st, 2 sc in each of the remaining 2 lp st, turn.

Row 6: ch 1, lp st in each sc across (8 lp st), turn.

Row 7: ch 1, 1 sc in each lp st across, turn.

Row 8: ch 1, lp st in each sc across (8 lp st), turn.

Row 9 & 10: repeat rows 7 & 8 (8 lp st).

Row 11: ch 1, 1 sc in each of the next 2 lp st, *2 sc tog over next 2 lp st*, repeat from * to * twice, turn.

Row 12: ch 1, lp st in each sc across (5 lp st), turn.

Change to head colour, fasten off body colour.

Row 13: ch 1, sc in each lp st, turn.

Row 14: ch 1, 2 sc tog over first 2 sc, 1 sc in each remaining sc across, turn.

Row 15: ch 1, 1 sc in each of the next 2 sc, 2 sc tog over the remaining 2 sc, turn.

Row 16: 3 sc tog, fasten off.

If you’re making a double-sided hedgehog:

Make a mirror image of the above hedgehog shape by reversing the increases and decrease in the pattern, i.e. if the row ends with increase/decrease stitches in the pattern, start with increase/decrease stitches when making a mirror image, and vice versa. Leave a long tail for sewing when fastening off both the body colour and the head colour. Sew on eyes, embroider nose and rosy cheeks, then sew the two hedgehog shapes together, using the long tail of head colour when sewing the head section and the long tail of body colour when sewing the body section.

If you’re making a single-sided hedgehog, like a brooch:

Make a back piece for the hedgehog using head colour following the pattern above, replacing all lp st rows with sc rows. Sew pin back to the back piece, sew on eye, nose and rosy cheek, then sew the back piece to the hedgehog.

And that’s it! You have a new hedgehog friend :D

Hope you like the pattern, and please drop me a note if you want to join me in crocheting along!

 

 

 

12 thoughts on “12 days of woodland creatures

  1. I absolutely couldn’t resist making one of these—what a fun, quick little pattern (as always. you are awesome at the cute-and-tiny!), and a great way to practice loop stitch.

    Here’s my little hedgie: http://33.media.tumblr.com/538c0e928a2a33cc9f501ff839fc5a90/tumblr_nc6l2pUB2y1qg14njo1_500.jpg

    I’ll be keeping an eye out for (a) the pattern on Ravelry so I can link this up! and (b) the other eleven woodland patterns. I can’t wait to make them.

  2. Thanks Amy! and yes, the creatures and their patterns will always be here for when you need a quick last minute gift or pocket friend! :D

  3. thanks so much for visiting, Sarah! these creatures take little time (and yarn) to make, and i’m slowing down a bit this week because of other things going on, so i’m sure you’ll catch up in no time :)

  4. I LOVE these. I’ll be making them in colours to match my gloves and handbags. Thank you so much for sharing.

Comments are closed.