Pig in a Granny Square Blanket – Free Crochet Pattern

A pig of about 7 cm, wrapped in a granny square blanket. It takes 22 metres of DK — around 8 grams — which makes it the ideal use for the end of a ball, and the blanket is a single square worked in three colours.

Two details give it the character. The ears are not crocheted in the round at all: each is a flat chain of ten, decreased by one stitch at the start of every row until it comes to a point, then folded so the point meets the opposite corner. That fold is what makes a pig’s ear rather than a triangle. And the snout is a small cup worked with its third round in the back loops only, so the flat front of the nose sits proud of the muzzle.

Everything is written out below, including the blanket round for round.

What you need

• Body: 22 m of DK — about 8 g; the original uses Scheepjes Softfun in Peach
• Blanket: small amounts of 4-ply in three colours
• Snout and ears: a little 2-ply cotton in a darker pink
• Hooks: 3 mm for the body, 2.5 mm for the blanket, 1.5 mm steel for the ears and snout
• Notions: 2 × 5 mm safety eyes or dark thread, stuffing, black or dark brown thread for the nostrils, sewing needle, stitch marker

Gauge does not matter. US terms.

Abbreviations

ch chain, sc single crochet, dc double crochet, sc2tog decrease by working two stitches together, slst slip stitch, sk skip, MC main colour, SCL snout and ear colour, C1-C3 blanket colours.

The body

Worked in continuous rounds from the top down. Move the marker up at the start of each round.

• R1: with the 3 mm hook and MC, ch 2 and work 6 sc into the second chain — or 6 sc in a magic ring and tighten (6)
• R2: 2 sc in each stitch (12)
• R3: (sc, 2 sc in next) around (18)
• R4: (2 sc, 2 sc in next) around (24)
• R5–8: 24 sc — 4 rounds
• R9: (3 sc, 2 sc in next) around (30)
• R10–12: 30 sc — 3 rounds

Place the eyes now, between R6 and R7, 2 to 3 stitches apart — safety eyes, or French knots in dark thread.

• R13–17: 30 sc — 5 rounds
• R18: (3 sc, sc2tog) around (24)
• R19: (2 sc, sc2tog) around (18)

Stuff most of the body now, and top it up after the next round.

• R20: (sc, sc2tog) around (12)
• R21: sc2tog around (6)
• R22: fasten off, run the tail through the remaining 6 stitches, pull tight and sew in.

The ears (make 2)

1.5 mm hook, SCL, leaving a long tail from the start for sewing.

• Row 1: ch 10, turn
• Row 2: skip the first stitch, 9 sc, ch 1, turn
• Row 3: skip the first stitch, 8 sc, ch 1, turn
• Row 4: skip, 7 sc, ch 1, turn
• Row 5: skip, 6 sc, ch 1, turn
• Row 6: skip, 5 sc, ch 1, turn
• Row 7: skip, 4 sc, ch 1, turn
• Row 8: skip, 3 sc, ch 1, turn
• Row 9: skip, 2 sc, ch 1, turn
• Row 10: skip, 1 sc, cut the yarn leaving a long end, pull it through to close the point

Fold the point of the ear down to one corner and secure it with a stitch — that is the fold. Do the second ear to the opposite corner so the pair is symmetrical. Sew them to the top of the head, roughly between R2 and R5.

The snout

1.5 mm hook, SCL, in the round.

• R1: 6 sc in MR, tighten (6)
• R2: 2 sc in each stitch (12)
• R3: working in the back loops only, 12 sc
• R4: 12 sc

Fasten off leaving ends for sewing. Embroider two small stitches in dark thread at either side of the front for the nostrils. Add a tiny bit of stuffing and sew the snout to the face, one row below and between the eyes.

The blanket

2.5 mm hook, C1. This is one large granny square, worked from a starting chain rather than a ring.

• Round 1: ch 25. 2 dc in the 4th chain from the hook, then (skip 2 chains, 3 dc in the next chain) until 3 chains remain — that is 6 clusters of 3 dc. Skip 2 chains, and in the last chain work 3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc. Turn the work and come back along the other side of the starting chain: (skip 2 chains, 3 dc in the next chain) to the last 2 chains, skip those, then 3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc, ch 2 in the final chain. Join with a slst to the starting chain.
• Round 2: right side facing, join C2 between any two clusters on a long side. Ch 3 (counts as the first dc), 2 dc in the same space, then 3 dc in every space between clusters, and in each ch-2 corner space work 3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc. Slst to the top of the ch 3.
• Round 3: repeat round 2 in C3.
• Round 4: right side facing, join C1 anywhere on a long side, ch 1, then 1 sc in every stitch around, working 1 sc, ch 2, 1 sc into each corner space.

Fasten off and neaten the ends.

Putting it together

1. Fold and stitch both ears, then sew them to the head between R2 and R5.
2. Sew the snout one row below the eyes, centred.
3. Wrap the blanket around the pig, pin it where you want it, then stitch along the top edge and the two top corners. Invisible thread is the neatest here — the stitches then disappear into the pig’s side.

Notes

The body is only 30 stitches at its widest, so the whole pig works up in well under an hour; the time goes into the ears on the 1.5 mm hook, where a skipped stitch at the start of a row is easy to lose. Count the stitches at the end of every row rather than trusting the shape — the point of the ear is what gives it away.

For a hanging ornament, work a chain loop into the top of the head between the ears before sewing them on.

More small makes: Three Little Kittens is the other 14 cm animal, Lily Bunny is the big soft one, and Amanita Mushroom House is the one with a doll inside. Everything is on the patterns page.

Pattern source: Pig in a Granny Square Blanket.

If you like faces made with stitches, Sorting Hat opens its mouth with a band of half double crochet.

For a whole doll’s room, Doll Bed and Blanket adds a cot, a pillow and two 4 cm animals.