Mini Hen Easter Bauble
A mini hen crochet ornament? Where would I get such an idea, it is not something that you usually see in the North of England. But in Germany and Scandinavia where I spent some time over Easter in the past, they are common and I was always so impressed by the Easter decorations; the cute eggs and chicks that they hung on the Easter trees, which are a few spring branches brought in from the garden. One year in Germany I bought a collection of hen ornaments, and this year when I thought my Easter tree was looking a little sparse I thought I would try to replicate the Easter hens in crochet. If you want to add a few decorations to your Easter branches here is the pattern for crochet mini hen Easter ornaments:
Materials
These little mini-Easter hens only use small amounts of yarn, so they are perfect stash busters for any light-weight yarn. I would recommend going down a hook size or two in order to get a nice tight stitch.
You can purchase yarn at lovecrochet. (Using this link does not cost you any extra but I will earn a small commission, will help me keep posting free patterns).
Pattern notes
The body is worked in the round.
The pattern is written using UK terminology, for a conversion chart to US terminology click here.
Special stitches
- inc – 2 dc in 1 stitch
- dec – over 2 dc
Instructions
Foundation: Make 4 dc in magic circle. Leave a long tail here, as it can be used as the hanger later on.
Round 1: 2 dc in each stitch around (8).
Round 2: (1 dc, 1 inc) x 4 (12).
Round 3: 11 dc, chain 2, in next stitch 3tr, chain 2 (11 dc, 3tr). At this point, thread the tail from the magic circle through the centre of the magic circle to form the hanger, adjust the length so it fits over your branches and tie a knot.
Round 4: (1 dc, 1 dec) x 3, 2 dc, then skip the 3tr on previous round and insert hook in next dc ready to start the next round. (8). (See photo) The 3 tr from the tail feathers. When completed, if the tail feather do not stick out enough, you can leave a longer thread and place a few stitches over the opening, to make them stick up.
Round 5: 4 dec (4). Fasten off.
Do not stuff the hen, and squash the body sideways.
Beak
Using yellow or orange, make 2 dc into the same stitch at the front of the bird, i.e. opposite the tail feathers. Cut yarn. Then using a bodkin, thread the loose ends through the same opening as the stitches were made into so that beak has a more rounded shape. You can either leave the excess yarn in the body to add a little shape or pull it out and trim it off.
Comb
Using red. Join the yarn on the top of the head in front of the hanger. Chain 3, then make 2 tr into the same stitch as you joined the yarn to. Cut yarn. Then using a bodkin, thread the loose ends through the same opening as the stitches were made into so that beak has a more rounded shape. You can either leave the excess yarn in the body to add a little shape or pull it out and trim it off.
As with all my free patterns please feel free to make and sell the crochet items, however, please credit me as the designer where possible and do not sell the pattern itself. Click the link to check out more Easter and Spring free crochet patterns.
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