Crochet a Chicken Free Pattern & Tips

The first element of my chicken & egg themed play activities is completed - a crochet chicken. Elba has a play kitchen where she has been "cooking eggs". Now she has a chicken to collect eggs from.

In this post I am going to share with you how you can easily crochet a chicken too. It's a simple pattern and quick to finish.

Jump to the pattern

Table of content

1. What you'll need

2. The size of the final item

3. Credit

4. The pattern

What you'll need

1. Super bulky yarn or use two strands of bulky yarn - I used Bernat Baby Boucle classified as number 5 bulky. I used two strands. The yarn I used appears to be discontinued (I thrifted it). The website Yarnsub offers suggestions for alternatives, but my suggestion would be to find a boucle or fluffy looking yarn in super bulky or two strands of bulky used together.

2. A bit of yarn in a red-ish color & a bit of orange-ish color yarn. I used yarn from a Caron Cake that had both red and yellow/orange. I used two strands together.

3. Crochet hook - 7mm. I have linked the one I use.

4. Yarn needle - I have linked the ones I use.

5. Safety eyes or embroidery thread - this is for the eyes. I used 12mm safety eyes (I linked the ones I use), but if this is going to be a gift for a baby or toddler that may put the eyes in their mouth, I recommend using embroidery thread instead of safety eyes.

6. Fill - I have linked the one I like using for all my projects.

7. Optional extra: The eggs you see in the picture of play eggs. They've been a huge hit for many months and continue to be. I will crochet and felt some eggs too, but for now, these are great for playing.

   
   
   
   

Disclaimer: Some of the links on this blog are affiliate links. This means that if you click on one of these links and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products and services I genuinely use, love, or believe will add value to you. Your support helps keep "Carmen's Corner" up and running—thank you!

The size of the final item

I find it useful to picture the size of the final item. For you to do that - here is a photo of Elba holding the chicken before the final details were completed.

It's a great size I think for a toddler / child.

Credit:

This pattern seems to have been originally created by Svetlana Kozlova, but I used the version posted by ConnieT on funcrochetpatterns.com. While I very much appreciate the free pattern and I give credit to that pattern for helping me complete this project; I did find that the pattern was missing some steps and instructions, and I also made some minor alterations to it to achieve the chicken I made. Therefore, in this blog I am sharing the pattern from ConnieT, but with my alterations and additional instructions that I believe are helpful.

The Pattern

Overview

You'll start with the body (at the bottom) and complete that (including the head). The wings are made separately and sewn on using a yarn needle. The comb, beak and wattles are completed at the end by attaching yarn to the chicken.

Use a crochet hook size 7mm for the entire project.

Stitches in this pattern:

1. Mostly single crochet

2. Increase

3. Decrease

4. Slip stitch

5. Puff stitch

6. Magic circle

7. Half double crochet

8. Double crochet

   
   

Special stitch: The puff stitch is a special stitch. I have a tutorial on how to do it - Puff Stitch Tutorial (including a video).

If you want some tips as a beginner, check out my Learn to Crochet page for more resources.

Skill level: Beginner, except if you are using a boucle yarn or a fluffy yarn it does make it more difficult to see the stitches clearly and to count stitches.

Abbreviations:

St = Stitch

SC = single crochet

Inc = increase

Dec = decrease

Sl st = slip stitch

DC = double crochet

HDC = Half double crochet

Puff = Puff stitch

MC = magic circle

CH = chain

When something is in between brackets () it means that everything in the bracket needs to be repeated by the number given after the bracket.

The pattern

Body

The body is worked in continuous rows. I recommend using a stitch marker to keep track, but you can also do it without.

Start:

Chain 15

Row 1: Start from the 2nd chain from the hook

Inc, 12 sc, 4sc in 1 st, 12 sc, inc = 32

Row 2

2 Inc, 12 sc, 4 inc, 12 sc, 2 inc = 40

Row 3:

(1 sc, inc) x 2, 12 sc, (1 sc, inc) x 4, 12 sc, (1 sc, inc) x2 = 48

Row 4:

(2 sc, inc) × 2, 12 sc, (2 sc, inc) × 4, 12 sc, (2 sc, inc) × 2 = 56

Row 5:

(3 sc, inc) × 2, 12 sc, (3 sc, inc) × 4, 12 sc, (3 sc, inc) × 2 = 64

You have now completed the bottom of the body. The next few rows are how long the body will be. If you want to make your chicken wider, then adjust from row 5 to increase as you have been doing from Row 2 to 5. Remember to adjust the decrease accordingly. If you want to make your chicken higher then add rows after row 13.

Row 6 to 13 (8 rounds):

64sc = 64

You will now decrease to complete the body.

Row 14:

1 dec, 28 sc, 2 dec, 28 sc, 1 dec = 60

Row 15:

60 sc

Row 16:

(8 sc, dec) × 6 = 54

Row 17:

(7 sc, dec) × 6 = 48

Row 18:

48sc = 48

Row 19:

(6 sc, dec) × 6 = 42

Row 20:

42 sc = 42

Row 21:

(5 sc, dec) × 5, 6 sc, puff (see tail instructions for this).

The tail & closing the body

I recommend stuffing the body now, because we will add the tail and then close up the body before proceeding to the head.

Don't do this yet - To close up the body you pull together both sides of the chicken (essentially bringing the halves together) and crocheting through both layers/sides.

Now to add the tail - you want the tail to be in the middle between the two sides. So at the start of the row/end of the row. The tail is a single puff stitch done into which ever stitch looks to you like it will ensure it is in the middle. In the pattern I included it as part of row 21, but you could also complete row 21 as: (5 sc x dec) x 6 and then add the puff stitch into the next stitch.

Take note of what you do to be able to close the back and make the head. You want to have 18 stitches at the front of the row (by the head) for the head. So however you add the puff, simply adjust how you close to body to make sure when the body is closed you have 18 stitches left.

Once you've added the puff stitch you can add another stitch if you need to to be able to close the body or just close the body by doing SC into both layers such that you have 18 sc left at the end of the row.

The head

Row 22 to 25 (4 rows):

18 sc = 18 sc

Row 26:

(1 sc, dec) x 6 = 12

Row 27:

6 dec = 6

Optional row 28: If you want a taller and more pointy head you can do another row of decreases leaving you with 3 stitches to close.

Stuff the head.

If using safety eyes - place the eyes now before closing the head. I placed the eyes around row 25 with at least 3 to 4 stitches in between them. If you're going to embroider on eyes, you can close the head and add the eyes afterwards.

Close the head by using a yarn needle and in thread it through each stitch and pull tight to close the circle. Make a knot or tie off and weave in the yarn.

Embroidering eyes (if you are not using safety eyes): Using a doll needle and black embroidery thread pick where you want the eyes to go. Insert the needle somewhere on the head and come out at the row and stitch where you want the eye to go. Depending on the size eye you want you can go over 1 or 2 stitches. Go in the top of the stitch and out the bottom of it. Repeat this until you have a round shape. Don't pull too tightly. Once you have the shape and size eye you want you can insert the needle and go to where you want the other eye and repeat. Once you have the shape and size eye you want on that side you insert the needle and go out where you originally went in to make a knot and hide the thread inside in the chicken.

Click here for a useful video to show how to embroider on crochet projects.

The wings

Make 2

Start:

Magic circle

Row 1:

6 sc into MC

Row 2:

6 inc = 12

Row 3:

(1 sc, inc) x 6 = 18

Row 4:

(2 sc, inc) x 6 = 24

Fold the piece in half. 12 sc through both sides.

Continue working. Don't tie off or cut the yarn.

The wing border:

Chain 2

(3 hdc in 1 st, sl st) x 6

Leave a long tail to attach the wing to the body.

Make the other wing.

Attach the wings to the body.

To give the wing a bit more of a flare I did not attach the end of the wing border (at the back of the chicken).

Comb

Attach a red color yarn to the chicken one round above the eyes in the middle. I used two strands to achieve my desired thickness for the comb.

Chain 3

1 dc in the 1st ch

Skip 1 round on the head (so skip a stitch)

Sl st into the next stitch

Repeat this 2 to 3 times to achieve the comb you would like. I did 3 in total.

Tie off and weave in yarn.

Beak

I did the beak very differently to how it is done in the funcrochetpatterns.com pattern because I wanted a more elaborate beak.

Use a yellow/orange yarn. I used two strands to achieve the thickness I wanted.

Start: Magic circle

Row 1

3 sc into MC

Row 2

1 sc 1dec

Row 3

either do 1 dec or 1 sc depending on how your yarn is making the beak look. You want it to be pointy. I did 1 sc only because my yarn was thick and anything more would have made it the tip too bulky.

Tie off and use a yarn needle to pull the yarn through the front of the beak (the pointy part) to come out the end of the MC. Fasten the beak to the chicken using a yarn needle.

Wattles:

Attach the yarn under the beak in the center of the chicken.

Chain 2

Into the 1st chain - 1 sl st

Chain 2

Sl st into the stitch where the yarn is attached

Now repeat the above to have two of them. I did it such that they are next to each other appearing to be on either side.

Tie off and weave in the yarn.

And there you have your chicken!

Thank you again to funcrochetpatterns for this pattern that I made some alterations to.

If you make this, please share your finished product with me! I'd love to see your creation.

You can also tag me and follow me @sustainabilityc for real time updates on my projects.

Carmen