Mama Hen

Free Chicken Toy Knitting Pattern by Raynor Gellatly.

Hey all I hope you are well.
Today I bring you a pattern for a Mama Chicken and her little chick bambino. The inspiration for this pattern came from the love bird free sewing pattern  over at Molly Chicken. Isn't she adorable wearing a little apron to carry her baby. Make sure to keep an eye on that little removable cheeky chick because it likes to wander!

When I started knitting this up I was a bit sceptical at how it would turn out and was actually thinking about scrapping it. Come to think of it I should really write a post about the amount of patterns I start but then scrap due to them not turning out how they look in my head! I set the piece aside and came back to it and i'm so glad I did because I love love love the finished toy. For any baby wearers out there I think this toy would be fantastic if your babies have any siblings. I promised this Mrs Hen to my eldest daughter and I think i'm probably going to knit up a brown one as a friend or perhaps even a Daddy Chicken, since it's cool for daddies to wear their babies too!

There are a few little bits to this pattern (which are always fiddly) but it's a really quick knit and I hope you love the end toy.

Enjoy and as always I want to see your finished toys so please add to our Ravelry or Flickr pages.

Materials
· Set of 3.25mm needles (UK size 10, US size 3)
· Yarn needle
· Toy Stuffing
· Scissors
· 6mm Toy safety eyes

Yarn colours
·White
·Blue
·Yellow
·Red
· Scraps of yellow embroidery thread or yarn for beak
· Scraps of black yarn/thread if embroidering the eyes

Yarn weight: Double knitting (DK)

Gauge: not important but make it tight so stuffing doesn’t show through

Finished measurements: approx 3” tall and 2.5” wide

 Click here for my abbreviation list

TOY SAFETY
Remember never use toy safety eyes on a toy intended for a child under 3 years old, they are a potential choking hazard, please embroider on any features so they cannot be easily removed by little fingers or gnashers!

Please click here for my copyright info

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Hen Main Body
CO 30 in white
1-19. st-st 19 rows (begin with a purl row)
20.  *k2tog, k1* along (20sts)
21. purl
22. *k2tog* along (10sts)
23. purl
24. *k2tog, k3* along (8sts)

Cut yarn, leaving a long tail. Draw tail through remaining stitches and pull tightly and secure. At this stage you may want to add the safety eyes and embroider a nose. Use tail to mattress stitch row ends closed until you  reach the cast on stitches, leaving a circular gap to attach the bottom piece.

Hen Body Bottom
CO 30 in white
1. purl
2.  *k2tog, k3* along (24sts)
3. *p2tog, p2* along (18sts)
4. *k2tog, k1* along (12sts)
5. *p2tog* along (6sts)
6. knit

Cut yarn, leaving a long tail. Draw tail through remaining stitches and pull tightly and secure. Use tail to mattress stitch row ends closed until you  reach the cast on stitches and you have a flat circular piece.

Comb
CO4 in red
BO all stitches

Leave a long yarn tail to draw through the last stitch. Tie together the cast on tail with the bind off tail and use to attach comb to the head.

Apron
CO 12 in blue
1-8. garter sitch 8 rows
9. BO

Leave a long yarn tail to attach the apron to the body.

Wings (make 2)
CO 2 in white (leave a long cast on tail)
1. purl
2. *kfb* along (4sts)
3. purl
4. kfb, k2, kfb (6sts)
5-9. st-st 5 rows (start with purl)
10. BO

Leave a long yarn tail for attaching to body.

Chick

CO 6

1. purl

2. *kfb* along (12sts)

3-7. st-st 5 rows (start with purl)

8. BO

Leave a long  yarn tail to whipstitch together the bind off edges and the mattress stich together the row end until you read the cast on stitches. Gather the thread as a running stitch, pull titch and secure to form a rounded end. Weave in any loose yarn ends.

Finishing

• Attach comb to the  head by whip stitching the row ends of cast on stitches along the head length-wise.
• Sew the apron to the front of the body attaching the bottom and side, leaving the top open to form a pocket.
•  Use the BO yarn tail from the wing to attach the wing to the body and then to yarn tail from the cast on stitchs to secure to tip onto the side of the apron.
• Weave in any loose yarn ends 

Now place your little chicky in its pouch and play.

♥ Raynor