The Gruffalo Rhyme
He has knobbly knees and turned out toes
And a poisonous wart at the end of his nose,
His eyes are orange, his tongue is black;
He has purple prickles all over his back,
Oh help! Oh no!
It’s a Gruffalo!’
It’s a Gruffalo!

I have been challenged to knit a Gruffalo, and I will probably regret doing this for the Ravelympics 2010…

I am a dumbass, how did I miss the warthog pattern in Sarah Keen’s book? the perfect basis for my gruffalo

13/2 and the front and back of the body are done. I also have a plan for the head shape now.

14/2 the body and head are done, now the difficult bits…

14/2 (much later) I now have a snout. I kind of looks like Grover off the Muppets at the moment but I’m sure once it has its ‘terrible teeth’ and a warty nose it’ll look more like a Gruffalo. The snout was done with 5 pieces as I just couldn’t figure out a simpler way to do it. I’m now using the pattern for the Panda for the legs and arms as they are closest to the right shape.

16/2 limbs attached and onto the ears!

17/2 done!

I’ve been asked for pattern notes several times, and will be putting these together soon. However it is mainly cobbled together from various patterns in Sarah Keen’s Knitted Wild Animals so the notes will refer back to the book - I think it’s an essential addition to anybody’s knitted toy library! Anyone who wants to get started: the body and head are from the Warthog, the legs are the Panda’s, but with 6 extra rows added after the decrease, and the arms are also the Panda. The tusks are from the Rhino pattern, and the horns are the tusks with some extra rows added. More soon!

6/3 OK here we go for the snout instructions. The lower jaw is knitted in 3 pieces, because I’m not very experienced- I’m sure someone can come up with a better way!

There are two flat pieces, sort of arch shaped, for the bottom of the jaw and the inside of the mouth, with a long narrow piece to join them.

Bottom jaw: Cast on 15 sts, ss 16 rows starting with a K row.
next row, dec 1 st at each end of next row (13 sts)
P 1 row
repeat last 2 rows (11sts)
ss 2 rows and cast off.
Top of jaw: using black yarn, cast on 13 sts, ss 16 rows starting with a K row.
next row- dec 1 st each end (11 sts)
P1 row
repeat last 2 rows
cast off.

strip to join top and bottom jaw: cast on 45 sts, P 1 row.
next row: K16, inc 1 into next st, K11, inc 1 into next st, K16 (47 sts)
P1 row
next row: K16, inc 1 into next 2 sts, K11, inc 1 into next 2 sts, K16 (51 sts)
ss 4 rows and cast off.

The 3 pieces are stitched together to form a kind of 3D arch shape, with the flat ends left open to join onto the head. Stuff lightly.

The snout part is knitted in 2 pieces, a triangular piece for the front of the nose, in a contrasting colour, and a flat bit that curves around it. I’m not explaining myself very well!

Triangular snout piece: cast on 2sts in light brown/beige
P1 row
inc 1 into 1st st (3sts)
P1 row
inc 1 each end of next row (5sts)
Repeat last 2 rows until you have 9 sts.
ss 3 rows and cast off

Other snout piece: cast on 10 sts and ss 23 rows. cast off.
With the cast-off edge of the triangular piece at the bottom, curve the flat piece around the other two sides and stitch together. the end opposite the triangular piece will attach to the head.

Now attach the snout piece to the jaw piece, leaving what will look like too much underbite- once you attach the tusks and teeth it will look right! (I wasn’t sure about it til I finished it). Stuff the snout piece and attach the whole thing to the face. It should fit low down on the face, with the bottom of the jaw pretty much into the neck.

Tusks: make 2 as for the Rhino and attach to the bottom jaw as shown.

teeth: cast on 4 sts, P 1 row, (K2tog) twice, cut the yarn leaving enough of a tail to stitch through the 2 sts on needle, draw up tightly and fasten off. Make as many of these as you want! Attach them to the jutting lower jaw until you have the right effect.

Horns: as for the tusks but add an extra row between decreases.

The ears are from the Rhino pattern.

Paw pads: Using light brown/beige, Cast on 4 sts. P 1 row.
Inc 1 each end of next row (6 sts)
ss 5 rows
Dec 1 st each end (4 sts)
P 1 row
cast off.
stitch onto bottom of feet. the ‘toes’ are stitched on in satin stitch and the claws are French knots with a couple of extra stitches going back through the knots.

The purple prickles all over his back are the same as the claws- kind of French knots with a couple more stitches through the knots to make them stand out more.

The warts on his knees and nose are the warts from the Warthog pattern in Sarah Keen’s book.

Using a crochet hook, I fastened a few strands of yarn to the top of his head for the tuft of hair.

The eyes are satin-stitched in orange yarn, with a chain stitched black border and pupils. The pupil placement was touch, I undid it a few times as he looked too fierce for a toddler’s toy.

Hope these notes make sense, I’d welcome any questions or comments as I would like to start writing my patterns up, but when writing up my notes I seem to become a bit inarticulate!