This is a free and easy pattern for everyone to enjoy. Please check out the Mochimochi Shop for more patterns that you’ll love!
When they’re not vying to determine which species will slowly take over the world, snails and slugs make cute house pets. Knit some up for your friends and hide them in unusual places.
The pattern, which calls for fingering weight yarn, is a tiny bit fiddly, but very fast and super cute!
You’ll need:
– Koigu yarn or other fingering-weight sock yarn in as many colors as you like
– Size 1 or 2 double pointed needles
– Tapestry needle
– Tiny bit of black embroidery thread and needle
– Tiny bit of polyfil or yarn scraps for stuffing
Gauge: N/A!
Abbreviations:
k = knit
kfb = knit into front and back of stitch
st(s) = stitch(es)
rnd(s) = round(s)
dpn(s) = double-pointed needle(s)
—–Pattern starts here!—–
Snail / Slug Body
Cast on 4 sts onto one dpn.
Work one round in i-cord fashion: kfb, k1, kfb, k1 (6 sts)
Now, distriubte the 6 sts onto 3 dpns and join to work in a rnd.
Next rnd: kfb, k2, kfb, k2 (8 sts)
Knit 18 rnds.
Stuff a tiny amount of polyfil or scrap yarn into the open end, to form a head-like bump in the piece.
Break yarn and draw tightly through sts.
Antennae
Cast on 2 sts onto one dpn, and work 9 rows in i-cord. Break yarn and draw through sts.
With your tapestry needle, thread the antennae through two sts on the top of the head of the body, placed 3 sts from the end you closed off.
Weave the loose ends of the antennae back through the i-cord and out through the body below. (It might be a bit tight, but do the best you can.)
For each eye, make two of the tiniest stitches in black embroidery thread just below each antenna. (I don’t recommend using french knots, because they will slip right through your knitting.)
If you’re making a slug, you’re done! For a snail, continue on with a contrasting color for the shell.
Snail shell
Cast on 12 sts onto 3 dpns and join to work in a rnd.
Rnd 1: knit
Rnd 2: [kfb, k2] to end (16 sts)
Rnds 3-9: knit (7 rnds)
Rnd 10: [k2tog] twice, k to last 4 sts, [k2tog] twice (12 sts)
Rnds 11-25: knit (15 rnds)
Break yarn and draw tightly through sts.
Making up shell
Weave loose end of at the tip of the shell back through the piece. Stuff and roll tightly into a coil. Work yarn through the coil with a tapestry needle to secure. Work yarn back through toward the open end of the shell and secure with a few stitches of mattress stitch.
Sew open end of shell to snail body with backstitch. And there’s your snail!
Whose side are you on??
© 2008 Anna Hrachovec / Mochimochi Land
Please do not copy or distribute any part of this pattern without permission.
Please do not sell items made from this pattern without permission.
OK, the first thing I did was squee like a little girl. So, cute and a convenient way of making something with the scraps of yarn from a pair of socks.
So adorable! I love their sweet little faces! You are so creative Anna. :D
Anna, I love them!! And if I wasn’t at work right now I’d be knitting a dozen! A perfect way to use up those bits and pieces that we all have left over!
yay! double yay because i just ordered a pair of size 2 dpns!
and, for the record, i’m on the snail’s side.
Thanks so much! They made a great happy start to my day!
well i’m more on the snail’s side ’cause, well you know, i’m French… (and funny :)
thanx a lot for that free pattern, i really got to try one
A lovely pattern (as always!) and a great use of knitting construction to make something so simple. I love your photos of the finishing. It really helps in all your patterns and I love how you succinctly explain it all.
Thanks for yet another adorable pattern – you’re so kind to share the free patterns with us!
It was a tough call: side with the slug, who’s sort of at a disadvantage since he’s shell-less, or side with the snail?
I’m siding with the snail – the shell is way too cute.
Thanks, Anna! These are awesome. I laughed when I read “hide them in unusual places” – this is something I’ve always done with my mom, and I still do. I would TOTALLY hide these all over her house; it would be hilarious to both of us.
(At Christmas, I hid a water weenie under her pillow. When she shipped us our presents after we got home, she stuck the water weenie in the package!)
Too cute!!!!! Love them both but the snail is just too adorable.
They are all wicked cute, but the slug crawling up your arm creeps me out a bit. Guess it’s just me (again).
Faaaaaabulous!! Thanks for the excellent new pattern! =D
I was sooooo hoping to get my hands on these little guys! Love the pattrn! :)
Thank you Anna for this adorable pattern!!! It’s too cute! :)
Thank you for this adorable pattern. I’m on my 2nd one and I’m confused. I did the first one on size 1 needles and the shell wasn’t long enough to roll properly. I thought it was because the needles were too small but now I’m using #2s and still not long enough. I count something around 22 rows in the photo of the snail shell-is something missing? Thank you.
Donna, you’re right—I had a row number typo in the shell, and it’s now corrected.
Thank you very much for pointing that out, and I’m sorry for the confusion it caused you!
Thanks so much…these are so much fun to make. I can’t wait to make more. Thanks again.
These are darling! If I had some fingering yarn I’d totally be making these right now… must.get.more.yarn. :)
Thanks for sharing the pattern! My list of must makes grows by the day.
These are adorable! :D:D
They are so cute, and your photos are gorgeous! Thanks for sharing!
You rock!
These are so GREAT…thank you.
Just adorable! Thank you for sharing the pattern.
i was thinking that those would be so cool being able to “crawl back” inside their shell.
I totally adore these! I made one up this afternoon and it’s just such a great little creature. I hardly touched my sock stash, so I can see a few more of these in my future.
One question, I’m having trouble getting the shell to curl up just right. Any suggestions? It’s a little loose, and I have a hole in the middle (more of an “O” than a shell).
Hi Nicole, sorry to hear you’re having some problems with the shell… I’m not so sure what could be going wrong, unless you missed the correction that I added – there was originally a mistake in the row counts for the shell (for the first day or so that the pattern was up). Could you be using the patterns as originally posted? If that’s not the problem, then I think I would suggest using a smaller needle size, if you’re currently using something bigger than size 1, and then just trying to curl the shell as tightly as possible. Please let me know if you continue to have problems!
So CUTE!!!
Hi Anna, I love your work, it’s so funny and sweet, original and creative! But I have to say that I have a big problem with snails ant slugs: I’m phobic, it’s awfull especially when I go for a romantic walk in the forest after the rain…
But yours don’t scare me, they’re so cute! But my favorite is the bath with bubbles, and the raining cloud (I’m from Brittany, a rainy place in France)
Sorry for my strange english, what do you think about my blog? You’re in my favorite!
bye!
Hi! I looove this site and I looove these snails. However, is there any way you could repost the pattern for the hearts? I made one in February, and now all my friends want one. I miss this pattern!
Thanks!!!
Hi Marlene,
The pattern for the hearts is still up on my blog (you just have to click on “older entries” at the bottom of the Free Pattern page):
http://mochimochiland.com/weblog/?p=14
I’m glad you like this pattern! It’s definitely not going anywhere.
I think these are so cute but I am confused about this part:
Now, distriubte the 6 sts onto 3 dpns and join to work in a rnd.
could you help me with this