Baby Hedgie is a tiny, a bit vulnerable creature who would sometimes rather hide inside a spiky little shelter and sleep until the world feels manageable again.

This small knitted hedgehog is part of my #nopressurepatterns series: simple projects made for using yarn scraps, trying new techniques and letting tiny knitted creatures develop their own personalities.

The hedgehog is worked in the round, beginning with Judy’s Magic Cast-On. His limbs are shaped directly while knitting the body, and the little nose is made afterwards from a few tiny knots. The spiky shell is worked separately in seed stitch and can be used as a shelter.
The pattern is suitable for an adventurous beginner and includes instructions for:
• working a small toy in the round
• Judy’s Magic Cast-On
• simple increases and decreases
• shaping the ears
• making the knotted nose
• knitting the removable seed-stitch shell
• embroidering the facial details

Gauge is not important. The finished size depends entirely on the yarn and needles you choose, making this a good project for using small leftovers from other knits.
Use needles smaller than those recommended for your yarn to create a dense fabric that keeps the stuffing safely inside.

Baby Hedgie was released together with the Chestnut pattern. Once it has rested and gathered enough courage to sit up again, there will be a little chestnut friend waiting nearby. :)