“Hello, my name is… John Merrick… and I’m… very pleased… to meet you.”

Joseph Carey Merrick (often wrongly named as John) was an Englishman in the Victorian era. He suffered from what is now believed to have been Proteus syndrome which led to deformities throughout his body, so he therefore spent much of his life working as a sideshow act.

However, after being given permanent residence at the Royal London Hospital, it emerged that he was a highly sensitive and intelligent man. He would end letters with poetry and enjoyed collecting wild flowers. He was immortalised in the 1980 film “The Elephant Man”, where he was played by John Hurt.

He’s a decent size, measuring at 5” tall in a sitting position. No special yarn is needed to make the hair - just normal yarn and a pet slicker or hairbrush (preferably a slicker).

You may not redistribute this pattern. However, you CAN sell toys made from this pattern, but you must include a reference to mrfox.etsy.com and a link to the pattern page within item listings. Text for the referral is provided below:

Created from a crochet pattern by Maffers at mrfox.etsy.com, available at https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/56076618/merrick-the-elep...