A huggable fellow, this little doggy is a simple form to practise your shaping skills on. Try tilting the head at different angles for various expressions.
25g white merino roving
2 × size 40 triangular needles, for shaping
1–2 × size 42 triangular needles, for surface finishing
Scrap of red merino roving
Small amount of pink merino roving
2 × 4mm black glass eyes or seed beads
60–80cm length of 3cm wide wire-edged organza ribbon (optional)
Finished size: 8cm tall × 11cm long from tail tip to nose
1 Take two lengths of white roving, one measuring 30 × 4cm, the other 20 × 4cm. Lay the longer piece flat, and gently pull the fibres to loosen them. Fold the left side over more than halfway so that you have a double thickness. Fluff the smaller piece of roving into a ball and insert it into the fold. This plumper area is to be the main body.
2 Pull the sides of the outer wool around the fillingto enclose it and, using two size 40 needles, shape a flat-bottomed bulb, leaving the top wool loose.
3 Fold the loose wool inwards to form a head and take a short length of roving measuring 10 × 4cm. Fluff it into a ball and insert it into the fold of the muzzle, just as you did when you started the body.
4 Now for the head, which should be set at a slightly inquisitive angle. Make the front of the head into an oval lozenge shape. Use the curve of your thumb and forefinger to help you get a sharp edge.
5 Shape a stubby tail from a scrap of wool and fix it to the bottom.
6 From two equal-sized scraps of wool, shape two pointy ears on your mat and then add them to the head.
7 Gently carve a line down the centre of the body, to indicate front legs. Use the sides of your size 40 needles to dig down, but be careful not to break them.
8 Cover the whole body with thin layers of wool to neaten and smooth the surface. Where possible, make sure the covering fibres follow the same direction as the body fibres.
9 Add a tiny red mouth and a big pink nose, then sew in the eyes using the sideways method.
10 As a final touch, you can tie a ribbon around her neck or make a little circus ruff (see here).