It seems to me that no sooner than I have finished all the Christmas chocolates and got my sweet tooth back under control that the 'Sugar-Fest' that is Easter arrives!
I think I saw the first eggs in shops around the end of January (or thereabouts) and have so far managed to avoid getting into it too much but now, with only another week before the schools break for the holidays, I thought I'd get into the spirit of it with a little themed make.
On a whim, I've decided I want to crochet a little pink chick that I can maybe pop on our Easter Tree later on so I've had a rummage through my wool stash for some suitable yarn which I think was a 'Rico' baby wool (I'm afraid the label has long gone!)
Anyway, after several goes I have worked out a nice little pattern that, with the addition of a few 'features' makes this little Miss Chick...what do you think? (she thinks she's a bit of a cutey-pie posing about in her little nest :-)
At times it's a wee bit hard to concentrate since the arrival of Teddie... I have quickly learnt that puppies are rather like toddlers i.e. they need constant attention, feeding, training..etc. And it doesn't help that he likes to run off with my wool the cheeky so-and-so!
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| Give it back Teddie! |
He is so cute though that you just can't stay cross with him for long and he is improving his behaviour every week - it just takes a lot of patience and a watchful eye (I caught him chewing an electrical cable today...eeek... a fried Teddie would not be a happy Teddie!)
So, do you want to have a go at a mini-chick? If so, you first need to choose your wool (fine DK or 4 ply) and grab a small 2.5mm crochet hook. Ok - here's the step-by-steps....
(1) Begin by making a 'magic circle' and make 2 chain (ch) into it.
(2) Make 5 double crochet (dc) into the magic circle then pull the thread end to close the ring slightly
(3) Join to the first 2ch with a slip stitch (ss) to make the first round then make 1 ch
(4) Now make 1ch, 1dc in the first stitch and then 2 dc in each dc all the way around. Join with a ss and make 1 ch
(5) On the next round make 1 dc in each dc, join with a ss and make 1 ch ready for next round
(6) Now make 2 more rows as per Step (5) and it should be starting to look like the picture above...
(7) On the next row, 1 dc then 2 dctog all the way around (this will start to decrease the stitches so the top of the 'egg' shape forms)
(8) On the next row, 1 dc in each dc then repeat step (7) for the final row
(9) Now cut the thread (leave a tail of several inches) and finish off by pulling the end through the last crochet loop.
(10) Now you can stuff the 'egg' shape. I find it easiest to use the crochet hook to help pull the fluff down inside as the hole at the top is quite small.
(11) When that's done, thread the loose end of wool onto a bodkin and make a running stitch around the top of the crochet stitches and draw it to close & knot (you could have done another round of crochet but to be honest it was so fiddly that I found this was a whole lot easier and pretty neat!)
(12) To make the chick's legs I cut 3 short lengths of pink craft wire and threaded them through the egg at the bottom as shown above
(13) I then twisted the wires together, made a couple of right angle bends for the 'feet' and spread out the 'toes' (in actual fact you could use pipe cleaners - I just didn't have any to hand - and they might be better because the ends of the wires can be a bit scratchy unless you file them so do be aware of that!)
Now all that's left is to start adding a few features. I used a couple of stacked flower shape buttons for a hat..
.... a couple of seed beads were sewn on for the eyes
...I cut a tiny piece of yellow felt for the beak
...and glued it into place!
....and here's the finished chick!
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| Here she is posing amongst the early spring blossom....hey - maybe that's what I should call her! |
If pink is not your thing simply make in yellow or white - they will still look cute. I think I shall categorise this as a 'fiddly-but-fun' project!
Happy Making :-)
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