Tig-Cadio!

Sooo... I had a brain pop to make a tiger version of my Lafcadio back in August!

I’m thinking a sort of Bengal tiger coloring:

A muzzle in white which then switches to orange & black stripes… Ears in B&W… Body that begins in a belly in white, then switches to the tiger stripes… Feet that are white pawed with striped legs & a stripy i-cord tail.

I am jazzed!
I had the acrylic stuff here as stash (Caron Simply Soft), so how could I resist? I’m WEAK, I tell ‘ya!

Well, I finally got it done back in November & am only now getting it together to have some instructions (mostly because there is a nice lady in Australia who asked me for them...).

However… If I ever do it again, I will use a better quality of yarn. Acrylic is fine for things meant to be destroyed (Um, I mean well used). I kinda fell in love with this guy. He deserved better from me.

So, here in my sadly neglected blog is a pattern for the “booties” which are his paws! Squee!
Who knew a little intarsia could add such cuteness?

FEET: (Make 4)

Pads of Feet (can be done in a contrasting color!)
Row 1: Long Tail CO 8 sts
Row 2: Sl 1, Purl
Row 3: Sl1, M1, K6, M1, K1 = 10 sts
Row 4: Sl1, Purl
Row 5: Sl1, M1, K8, M1, K1 = 12 sts
Rows 6-12: Sl 1st st Stockinette
Row 13: Sl1, K2tog, K6, PSSO, K1 = 10 sts
Row 14: Sl1, Purl
Row 15: Sl1, K2tog, K4, PSSO, K1 = 8 sts
Row 16: Sl1, Purl
Row 17: Sl1, K7, While keeping live sts on one dpn, Pick Up 20 sts along slipped edge of Foot Pad for Foot (use main color) = 28 sts
Rows 18-23: Place marker at beginning of round & Knit in Round
Toe Decreases:
Row 23: K6, (PSSO, K2tog) four times, K6 = 20 sts
Rows 25-33: Knit in round
Row 34: BO in Knit (Leave long tail for finishing (tail will sew on feet!))

Chart for intarsia paw pads goes a little something like this:

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I made the soles of the paws in black & white (obviously?)

The "Feet" of the paws are done in white & change to orange 1 row after the toe decreases.

Knit 4 rows orange, 2 rows black, 3 rows orange & BO in knit.

I stuffed the legs (little bean bags for the feet are a nice touch...) & sewed them shut before sewing them to the sides of the body.

Really, all you need to do is follow the basice of the Lafcadio Lion pattern I posted earlier with these changes:

Head:

Cast on & work muzzle in white.

Switch to orange & work a 4 rows orange/2 rows black pattern until the end of the pattern for head.

Body:

Cast on in white for belly & continue until 1 row after increases end before switching to orange & black stripes.

I sewed the head onto the body with seam sides together to hide the stripe "jog". However, there are ways to fussy for me to want to use to have a "jog-less" in-the-round seam.

Tail:

CO a 5 stitch i-cord in orange. (Leave a long tai to sew tail onto body.)

work a 4 row orange 2 row black stripe pattern for 4 repeats & end with 4 more rows of orange before switching to 6 rows of white for the tip of the tail.

BO the i-cord & sew end together.

Ears:

CO in black.

Work just as for the lion ears, except for changing to white yarn for row 13.

Crochet the two halves together with black yarn. (Leave a long tail for sewing on the ears.)

I sewed the ears together at the bottom with black yarn before sewing them onto the top of the head.

Eyes:

I made crochet eyes for the Tig, but safety eyes or embroidered eyes would be just fine, too.
(Just be sure if using safety-snap-on eyes to apply them before stuffing or closing the head!)

With White yarn, Ch 4 & close into a loop with a slip stitch.
Make 12 HDC (Half-Double Crochet Stitch) into hole.
Close circle with a slip stitch. (Leave a long tail for sewing on eyes.)

I used black yarn to embroider on pupils once eyes had been sewed onto head.

I make no claims about the accuracy of this pattern.
It is free, so you get what you pay for...

However, I bet even if you or I made a mistake...
The toy would still be loved.

Here he is with his "family":

Yep. Soon I'll write up the pattern for the Pig of Fortune"...
Ah, when will I have the time?
Sam just woke up.