Calling all elephant-lovers: this little ellie makes the most adorable addition to any blanket, beanie, cushion cover, basket, or scarf!

Elephants are my favourite animal, and now with our third baby due in the middle of South African winter, I decided to design something extra-special for our little one. This elephant was originally created as an embellishment to a shell stitch baby blanket in pale turquoise (aqua), dark turquoise, and grey (gender neutral colours, as at this stage, we’re choosing to keep this a surprise until the birth).

Following the instructions in the written crochet pattern (in US terms, using double strands of 4 ply yarn, and a 6.00 mm crochet hook), this elephant is about 9.5 cm in length, and 6.5 cm in height; however, adjusting the yarn weight (or using only a single strand of 4 ply yarn) and hook size will produce others of various sizes. The pattern calls for only a small amount of grey yarn (between 15-18 m) - but of course, other colours would look beautiful, too! A very small amount of black yarn is needed to embroider the eyes.

The only additional material required is a darning needle, with which to weave in ends.