For this Iron Craft challenge we were to create something inspired by the town we lived in (or one we lived in the past). I currently live in Minneapolis, but when I first moved to the Twin Cities I lived in St. Paul, so I figured an inspiration from either one would work. I had a lot of ideas, but I was really time challenges as I only had two days to do my project before leaving on vacation.

I decided to take my inspiration from St. Paul’s original name, Pig’s Eye. The town got its name from the first person of European descent to live in it, Pierre “Pig’s Eye” Parrant. Pierre was a fur trapper with a dubious reputation with law enforcement, probably because he was also a bootlegger. He opened a tavern by the name Pig’s Eye Pandemonium that was so popular the town took its name. Of course, the Catholic priests who moved into the area couldn’t stand for the town to be named after a man of ill-repute and changed it to St. Paul.

In honor of Pig’s Eye, I’ve adapted my Tiny Knit Bunny pattern to make it into a pig.

This little guy has a rounder belly than the bunnies, plus a curly tail and a snout. Of course, his ears are pointed rather than floppy. I had knit him up a pair of overalls, but decided he was cuter in the buff, maybe I’ll show him with the overalls later this week. (They still need a second strap.)

Just like the bunnies, this pig can be knit with any weight yarn you want. I used fingering and ended up with a pig that is just about 2″ tall.

Tiny Pig

Download the Tiny Pig Pattern.

Supplies:

• 6g/52yrds pink yarn (I used a random fingering from my stash
• Four double-pointed needles in the appropriate weight for your yarn (I used size 1.)
• Stitch marker
• Tapestry needle
• Stuffing
• Black thread
• Hand sewing needle

Gauge: Gauge is not important for this project. The bigger the yarn the bigger the pig, mine was about 2” tall. Just make sure you are knitting a tight fabric so the stuffing doesn’t show through. (My gauge 10 stitches and 12 rows per inch in fingering.)

As usual, this pattern has only been tested by me, if you find an error in it, please let me know.