This Little Piggy

The new year, 2019, is just days away. Seeing as it’s the year of the pig, I wanted to usher in the new year for my boys with a cute little friend as the very first addition to our family in this new year.

There is now a wolf to go with this pig if you’d like to make a 3 little pigs play set. You can find the wolf pattern HERE.

This little piggy works up very fast, sewing is minimal, and as I usually have trouble closing off circular shapes neatly this one was designed so you sew the opening of neck of the head to the opening of the body. I used back loops to really hide my stitches and keep it clean.

And just look at that cute little curly tail!

Let’s get started!

For this little piggy I used medium weight acrylic yarn (same as nearly all my projects) and a 3.0 mm hook (also the same I always use). I also used a small amount of black cotton light weight yarn to sew the face details.

Abbreviations used:

slst – slip stitch
ch – chain
sc – single crochet
inc – increase
dec – decrease
FO – finish off
MR – magic ring

These are all the pieces you will be making for your little piggy. You’ll make a tail too but I already sewed the tail on as I was making the body so you can’t see it in this picture. You can make the pieces in any order you like but I will introduce them in the order that makes assembly the easiest.

Nose

ch 4, sc in 2nd ch from hook, sc, 4 sc in first ch, (continuing around other side of ch) sc, inc, inc, sc, sc, inc, inc, sc, sc, sc, inc, inc, slst, FO leaving long tail for sewing.

(I wrote that out a bit more long hand because I dislike working ovals and this is exactly what my personal notes look like so I don’t get lost.)

Ears
(make 2)
1. 6 sc in MR (6)
2. [sc, inc] x 3 (9)
3-4. sc in each st (9)
FO leaving long tails for sewing.

Head

1. 6 sc in MR (6)
2. inc in each st around (12)
3. [sc, inc] x 12 (18)
4. [2 sc, inc] x 12 (24)
5. [3 sc, inc] x 12 (30)
6. [4 sc, inc] x 12 (36)
7 – 11. (5 rows) sc evenly around (36)
12. [4 sc, dec] x 12 (30)
13. sc evenly around (30)
14. [3 sc, dec] x 12 (24)
15.[2 sc, dec] x 12 (18)
16. [sc, dec] x 12 (12)
FO leaving a long tail for sewing.
stuff firmly

Assemble head.
I started by stuffing the head but if you want to use safety eyes then you should insert them before stuffing, obviously. Then I sewed the nose piece with the top edge resting right around row 8 of the head. I used loops on the back of the nose piece so the edges would still stand up a bit, giving it a more 3D look. Then I attached the ears on each side of the head beginning in the 3rd round. Lastly, I took my black cotton thread and sewed the facial details.

Ear placement.

Close up of face details.

Tail

Chain 8. In 2nd ch from hook do an increase and continue increasing in each st until you get to the end of chain.

Leave long tails on the beginning and ending so you can insert threads on either side of a stitch on the backside of the body and knot them together on the inside to secure the tail.

Body

Starting with leg color:
1. 6 sc in MR (6)
2. inc x 6 (12)
3-6. (4 rows) sc evenly around (12)
FO

Set aside first leg temporarily and work a second one. Do not finish off. Continue by making first sc of row 7 in first leg to join them together. Make sure you have 12 sc around each leg to get a total of 24sc in that row.

7-8. sc evenly around (24)
change to shirt color
9-14. (6 rows) sc evenly around (24)
note: after a couple of rows of shirt color, you might want to sew in the tail while you have easy access to the inside to hide your knots. See image below for rough placement suggestion.
15. [2 sc, dec] x 6 (18)
16. sc evenly around (18)
17. [sc, dec] x 6 (12)
18. sc evenly around (12)
FO
stuff firmly

Arms
make 2

Start with hand color.

1. 6 sc in MR (6)
2. [sc, inc] x 6 (9)
3-6. (4 rounds) sc evenly around (9)
switch to shirt color
7-9. sc evenly around (9)
FO leaving long tail for sewing.

I did not stuff my arms. I simply tucked in the entire tail of yarn from making my MR and also the tails from the color change. That was enough to plump up the hands and leave the top part of the arm flatter.

Attach the arms in the second to last row of the body, leaving that last row to be able to grab the back loops of the neck opening on both the head and body parts to sew it together while hiding your stitches.

If back loops seem too fiddly for you, just use your preferred method to attach the head to the body.

I really hope you enjoy making your own little piggy!

I have plans to finish up 2 more piggies and design their nemesis as the first set in a series of fairy tale and nursery rhyme themed toy and book sets.

Please consider following to see what’s next.

Hateruma Handmade (owned and operated by Jennifer Hateruma and her immediate family) holds the copyright and asks that you do not copy, reproduce, resell, or redistribute this pattern in any way. Please make as many piggies as you like for your own use and to sell small scale. I appreciate you sharing a link back to this page.