This is a good starter design as it is both quick and easy! Decorate your hedgehog with stitches or beads – or use it as a pincushion.
25g dark brown merino roving
2 × size 40 triangular needles, for shaping
1–2 × size 42 triangular needles, for surface finishing
Small amount of buff merino roving
2 × 3mm black glass eyes or seed beads
Thick black cotton thread
Cream thread or beads, to decorate (optional)
Finished size: 7–8 cm long
1 Measure out a 25 × 4cm length of brown roving, plump it up into a loose ball and, using two size 40 needles, shape it into a fat, bulbous body.
2 Make the back end rounded and the other end flat - this is where the face will be added. Needle the underside of the body so that it is flat.
3 When the wool is firm but still soft, take a good pinch of buff wool and attach the face directly to the body. Use your free fingers to hold the wool in place and pinch a little pointy snout as you work.
4 When you are happy with the shape, neaten up the surfaces with fine layers of wool, using one size 40 needle. Try to keep it all lying in the same direction, as it looks neater.
5 To finish, add a pair of eyes using the front-facing method and stitch a tiny nose with the black thread (see here). You can now use your hedgehog as a sweet pincushion or embellish him with beads or decorative stitching. By increasing or decreasing the length and amount of wool you use, you can make larger or smaller hedgehogs – or even a whole family!