My brother loves least weasels. He can’t have a real one because it would kill all the native wildlife. So I thought I’d crochet him a life-sized version instead.

This pattern uses reddish brown and white 8 ply wool and a 3.5 mm hook. The pattern is written in American crochet notation.

The finished least weasel is 18 cm long.

Head and neck

Round 1: 6sc in a magic ring (6 stitches) (3 brown, 3 white)

Round 2: sc in each stitch (6 stitches) (3 brown, 3 white)

Round 3: increase in every stitch (12 stitches) (6 brown, 6 white)

Round 4: sc in each stitch (12 stitches) (6 brown, 6 white)

Round 5: sc in the first stitch, increase in the next stitch – repeat (18 stitches) (1 white, 9 brown, 8 white)

Rounds 6 – 12: sc in each stitch (18 stitches) (1 white, 9 brown, 8 white)

 

Body

Round 13: sc in the first two stitches, increase in the next stitch – repeat (24 stitches) (2 white, 12 brown, 10 white)

Rounds 14 – 15: sc in each stitch (24 stitches) (2 white, 12 brown, 10 white)

Rounds 16 – 20: sc in each stitch (24 stitches) (3 white, 12 brown, 9 white)

Rounds 21 – 25: sc in each stitch (24 stitches) (4 white, 12 brown, 8 white)

Rounds 26 – 30: sc in each stitch (24 stitches) (5 white, 12 brown, 7 white)

Round 31: sc in the first two stitches, decrease the next two stitches together – repeat (18 stitches) (5 white, 9 brown, 4 white)

Stuff

Round 32: sc in the first stitch, decrease the next two stitches together – repeat (12 stitches) (4 white, 6 brown, 2 white)

Now with just brown

Round 33: decrease around (6 stitches)

 

Tail

Rounds 34 – 41: sc in each stitch (6 stitches)

Stuff

Round 42: decrease around until the hole closes. Weave in end.

 

Legs

 

Right front leg

With white wool

Round 1: 6 sc in a magic ring (6 stitches)

Round 2: sc in the first stitch, increase in the next stitch – increase (9 stitches)

Round 3: sc in each stitch (9 stitches)

Round 4: (decrease two stitches together) x 3, sc in the next 3 stitches (6 stitches)

Stuff

Rounds 5 – 6: sc in each stitch (6 stitches) (2 white, 2 brown, 2 white)

Round 7: sc in each stitch (6 stitches) (2 white, 3 brown, 1 white)

Stuff

Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing.

 

Left front leg

With white wool

Round 1: 6 sc in a magic ring (6 stitches)

Round 2: sc in the first stitch, increase in the next stitch – increase (9 stitches)

Round 3: sc in each stitch (9 stitches)

Round 4: (decrease two stitches together) x 3, sc in the next 3 stitches (6 stitches)

Stuff

Rounds 5 – 6: sc in each stitch (6 stitches) (4 white, 2 brown)

Round 7: sc in each stitch (6 stitches) (3 white, 3 brown)

Stuff

Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing.

 

Right back leg

With white wool

Round 1: 6 sc in a magic ring (6 stitches)

Round 2: sc in the first stitch, increase in the next stitch – increase (9 stitches)

Round 3: sc in each stitch (9 stitches)

Round 4: (decrease two stitches together) x 3, sc in the next 3 stitches (6 stitches)

Stuff

Round 5: sc in each stitch (6 stitches) (2 white, 2 brown, 2 white)

Round 6: sc in the first stitch, increase in the next stitch – increase (9 stitches) (3 white, 4 brown, 2 white)

Round 7: sc in the first stitch, increase in the next stitch – increase (13 stitches) (4 white, 6 brown, 3 white)

Stuff

Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing.

 

Left back leg

With white wool

Round 1: 6 sc in a magic ring (6 stitches)

Round 2: sc in the first stitch, increase in the next stitch – increase (9 stitches)

Round 3: sc in each stitch (9 stitches)

Round 4: (decrease two stitches together) x 3, sc in the next 3 stitches (6 stitches)

Stuff

Round 5: sc in each stitch (6 stitches) (4 white, 2 brown)

Round 6: sc in the first stitch, increase in the next stitch – increase (9 stitches) (6 white, 3 brown)

Round 7: sc in the first stitch, increase in the next stitch – increase (13 stitches) (9 white, 4 brown)

Stuff

Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing.

 

Ears

Find an appropriate spot on the head for an ear (I recommend about round 6, a couple of stitches into the brown area), chain 2, dc in the same stitch, dc in the neighbouring stitch, slip stitch, fasten off, weave in ends.

 

Assembly

Sew the front and back legs onto the body and googly eyes onto the head.