— amigurumi, animal —

Free Pattern: Pig for Chinese New Year

03/02/2019

This year, Chinese New Year starts on February 5th and it’s the year of the pig.
Last year I made a dog and the year before that a rooster for Chinese New Year. Making a Chinese New Year pattern is now kind of a tradition, so here is the pig I made for this year! This pig is extra special for me, because I was also born in the year of the pig.

  • When made with a 4.0mm hook, the pig is about 7 inches/18cm long.
  • When made with a 2.75mm hook, the pig is about 5 inches/13cm long.
  • When made with a 2.0mm hook, the pig is about 3 ¼ inches/8cm long

I will also have a CAL (crochet along) on the Facebook page “With Love Feli – Crochet CALs & Questions”, so be sure to join that group if you want to join the CAL. The CAL starts Monday February 4rd 2019, just before Chinese New Year. The week after that, we’ll have a CAL in the group “Learn Amigurumi Crochet With Us“

This pig is crocheted in the round. Using stitch markers or a contrasting color of yarn can help you to count stitches. Pinning parts like the ears or legs in place before attaching them can help you find the right placement.

Here is a link to this pattern on ravelry. If you want to share what you made, you can tag me on Instagram (@WithLoveFeli) so I can see all of your creations 😀

Abbreviations

  • sc – single crochet
  • inc – increase
  • dec – decrease
  • dinc – double increase (go from 1 sc to 3 sc – see tutorial here)
  • ddec – double decrease (go from 3 sc to 1 sc – see tutorial here)
  • ch – chain
  • slst – slip stitch
  • dc – double crochet
  • sc n – single crochet n times
  • [inc, sc] 6x – repeat the stitches between the brackets the indicated number of times
  • (36) – stitch count at end of round
  • BLO – crochet in back loop only

You will need

  • 2,5mm crochet hook (size 1/B in US, size 12 in Canada)
  • 125g/50m 100% cotton yarn (also called sport, 12wpi or 5 ply) in pink (or any color you want your pig to be – you can also use multiple colors if you want)
  • black yarn for embroidering the eyes – I used embroidery thread, but you can also use other yarn
  • stuffing (this can be polyester fiberfill, fabric scraps or the inside of an old pillow)
  • yarn needle, scissors, stitch markers

Of course you can use any yarn, as long as you change the size of your crochet hook accordingly. Here is a post where I explain how to find the right hook size for your yarn. If you use thicker yarn and a bigger hook, you will get a bigger pig.

  • Nikki’s pig
  • Kathy made this cutie
  • And Calena’s pig!

Pattern

Body

  1. 6sc in magic ring (6)
  2. dinc, sc, inc, sc, dinc, sc (11)
  3. sc, dinc, sc2, inc2, sc2, dinc, sc2 (17)
  4. BLO: sc, ddec, sc3, dec, sc3, ddec, sc2 (12) – Optional: put a piece of cardboard or plastic canvas inside the nose to make it flatter (like shown in this tutorial)
  5. sc12
  6. sc3, inc6, sc3 (18)
  7. sc3, (sc, inc)6x, sc3 (24)
  8. (sc3, inc) 6x (30)
  9. sc30 (30)
  10. sc30 (30)
  11. sc30 (30)
  12. sc30 (30)
  13. sc30 (30)
  14. sc30 (30) – Sc until you are on the bottom of the pig’s head (for me this was 3 stitches)
  15. sc6, (sc, dec)6x, sc6 (24)
  16. inc3, sc3, dec6, sc3, inc3 (24)
  17. (sc, inc)3x, sc12, (sc, inc)3x (30) – Start stuffing the pig’s head
  18. sc30 (30)
  19. sc30 (30)
  20. sc30 (30)
  21. sc30 (30)
  22. sc30 (30)
  23. sc30 (30)
  24. sc30 (30)
  25. sc30 (30)
  26. sc30 (30)
  27. sc30 (30)
  28. sc30 (30)
  29. sc30 (30)
  30. sc30 (30)
  31. sc30 (30)
  32. sc30 (30)
  33. sc30 (30)
  34. (sc3, dec) 6x (24)
  35. (sc2, dec) 6x (18) – Stuff the pig’s body
  36. (sc, dec) 6x (12)
  37. dec6 (6) – Fasten off and weave in ends.
  • Row 14 after sc30, where I folded my work so that the bottom on of the nose is on top
  • I do 3 extra stitches to end the row in the middle

Legs (make 4)

  1. 6sc in magic ring (6)
  2. (sc, inc)3x (9)
  3. sc9 (9)
  4. sc9 (9)
  5. sc9 (9)
  6. sc9 (9)
  7. sc9 (9)
  8. dc3, sc, slst – Stuff the legs. Fasten off, leaving a tail to sew piece to the body.

Ears (make 2) – not worked in the round

  1. chain5
  2. start in 2nd ch from hook: sc4, ch1, turn
  3. sc, dec, sc, ch1, turn
  4. sc, dec, ch1, turn
  5. dec. Fasten off, leaving a tail to sew piece to the body.

Tail – not worked in the round

  1. chain 7
  2. Start in 2nd ch from hook: Slst, inc, sc, inc, sc, inc (9)

Shaping

We’re now going to define the eyes. We do this by inserting the yarn where we want the first indent to be. We then pass the yarn through the head to where we want the second indent to be and back to the first indent again. We pull this yarn tight, so that the two sides of the face get closer together, which gives us 2 little indents and gives this pig’s head a bit more shape.

So put a string of the main color yarn in row 7, with 7 stitches in between them. Now pull the yarn so that you get 2 little indents.

Assembly

  • Eyes: I made 2 french knots between row 7 and 8, with 7 stitches in between the eyes.
  • Ears: attach between row 11-12, with 7 stitches between the ears
  • Front legs: attach between row 18-21, with the insides of the legs 5 stitches apart. The little “flap” we made on the last row on the legs goes on the outside of the body.
  • Back legs: attach between row 28-31, with the insides of the legs 5 stitches apart. The little “flap” we made on the last row on the legs goes on the outside of the body.
  • Tail: row 34-35

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