Victorian Era Toy Elephant Crochet Pattern

Crochet pattern to make a colorful and adorable toy elephant. This pattern dates back to the late 1800s from England. This means that the stitch convention differs from United States. In this pattern single crochet is equivalent to US slip stitch, double crochet is equivalent to US single crochet and treble crochet is equal to US double crochet.

The pattern is a little different, requiring a sewn elephant first, onto which the crochet parts are applied. Here is an excerpt containing both the introduction to the pattern and information about the method of construction:

"A TOY ELEPHANT is an attractive novelty that will sell well at bazaars and also will afford great pleasure in a nursery, as children can play many merry games with it. The body of the elephant can be manufactured at home by cutting out the shape of the limbs in brown paper, stuffing each with wool wadding, sewing into shape, and covering the whole with coarse grey serge, preparatory to putting on the outer covering, or hide, which is worked in crochet. Our engraving shows a model elephant, standing 11 inches high, whose whole length from head to tail measures 12 ½ inches; the legs are 5 ½ inches high by 6 inches in circumference, the trunk extends 5 inches from the head, and the tail is 4 inches long; he wears a saddle made of black and blue serge, both pinked round the edges, and decorated with all manner of fancy stitches embroidered with filoselles and wool in immense variety of colors, and ornamented with spangles; the valance on each side of the saddle is formed of red and white striped material embroidered with yellow wool, the stitches are taken through, and thereby the saddle is secured in position on the elephant. If a few beads are put in a small box, and the box placed inside the body, the elephant will rattle."

"The crochet with which the elephant is covered is worked with coarse grey fingering, an iron grey is most suitable in quantity about 3 ozs., and a No. 9 bone crochet needle. "

If you are a reenactor or want to make a very authentic Victorian toy, you will love this pattern! As well, if you are an experienced crochet artist and can adapt a pattern as you go, you can do so with this one and eliminate the inner form and just crochet and stuff the elephant.

A very fun pattern for your library, interesting just to read to see how crocheters of those long ago days worked!

This republished pattern is in the English language and has been retyped from my old original and proof read by at least two experienced crocheters.

The pattern is in an Adobe pdf file that you can view on your computer and print with Adobe Reader, which is a free download at www.adobe.com

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