Mini chick keychain pattern
A small round chick for bags and keys. Amigurumi, about 7 cm tall.
Difficulty: 3 out of 5. Medium: several techniques.
Sizes may vary with the materials you use. We suggest making a small sample first.
- Height
- 7 cm
- Gauge
- 26 stitches and 28 rows in 10 cm
- Stitches
- 978
You will need
- DK (3) yarn in the colours listed
- 3 mm crochet hook, or the size that matches your swatch
- Polyester fibre stuffing, yarn needle, stitch marker
- Keyring or lobster clasp
- Colour C yarn for the eyes
- Pins, to try out where things go
- A: Yellow
- C: Orange
Before you start
- Size depends on how tight you crochet. Fewer stitches per 10 cm makes a larger toy.
- Make a small test piece first. If it comes out larger than the gauge, try a smaller hook. If it comes out smaller, try a larger hook.
- A number in brackets at the end of a line, such as (24), is how many stitches you should have. Count them before moving on.
- Made a mistake? Pull the yarn gently to undo the stitches back to the mistake, then carry on from there.
- Toys are worked in a spiral, so rounds are not joined. Put a stitch marker in the first stitch of the round. When you come back to the marked stitch, the round is done: take the marker out, work that stitch, and put the marker in the stitch you just made. That is the first stitch of the new round.
- Keep your stitches tight so the stuffing does not show. A smaller hook than the yarn label suggests helps with this.
- Add stuffing a little at a time, and shape it with your fingers before closing a part.
Abbreviations
| MR | magic ring. Make a loop with the yarn tail, work the first stitches into it, then pull the tail to close the hole. |
|---|---|
| sc | single crochet. Put the hook in a stitch, wrap the yarn, pull up a loop (2 loops on hook), wrap again and pull through both. |
| inc | 2 sc in the same stitch. One stitch becomes two. |
| dec | invisible decrease: sc 2 together through front loops. Two stitches become one. |
Body
Colour A (Yellow). Work in a spiral. After the last round, cut the yarn leaving about 20 cm and thread it on a yarn needle. Take the needle through the front loop of each of the 6 remaining stitches, always from the hole outwards. Then pull the yarn to close the hole.
| Rnd 1 | 6 sc in MR | (6) |
|---|---|---|
| Rnd 2 | inc × 6 | (12) |
| Rnd 3 | (1 sc, inc) × 6 | (18) |
| Rnd 4 | (2 sc, inc) × 6 | (24) |
| Rnd 5 | 1 sc, inc, (3 sc, inc) × 5, 2 sc | (30) |
| Rnd 6 | sc around | (30) |
| Rnd 7 | 2 sc, inc, (4 sc, inc) × 5, 2 sc | (36) |
| Rnd 8 | (5 sc, inc) × 6 | (42) |
| Rnd 9 | sc around | (42) |
| Rnd 10 | (6 sc, inc) × 6 | (48) |
| Rnds 11–17 | sc around | (48) |
| Rnd 18 | (6 sc, dec) × 6 | (42) |
| Rnd 19 | sc around | (42) |
| Rnd 20 | (5 sc, dec) × 6 | (36) |
| Rnd 21 | 2 sc, dec, (4 sc, dec) × 5, 2 sc | (30) |
| Rnd 22 | sc around | (30) |
| Rnd 23 | 1 sc, dec, (3 sc, dec) × 5, 2 sc | (24) |
| Rnd 24 | (2 sc, dec) × 6 | (18) |
| Rnd 25 | (1 sc, dec) × 6 | (12) |
| Rnd 26 | dec × 6 | (6) |
After round 24, add most of the stuffing. After round 25, check the shape and add a little more if needed. Then work the last round and close.
Wing × 2
Colour A (Yellow). Work in a spiral. When finished, cut the yarn and leave a long tail. You will use it to sew this part on.
| Rnd 1 | 6 sc in MR | (6) |
|---|---|---|
| Rnd 2 | inc × 6 | (12) |
| Rnd 3 | sc around | (12) |
| Rnd 4 | (1 sc, inc) × 6 | (18) |
Leave this part flat, with no stuffing.
Beak
Colour C (Orange). Work in a spiral. When finished, cut the yarn and leave a long tail. You will use it to sew this part on.
| Rnd 1 | 3 sc in MR | (3) |
|---|---|---|
| Rnd 2 | inc × 3 | (6) |
| Rnd 3 | (1 sc, inc) × 3 | (9) |
Keep the open edge round and do not stuff it.
Assembly
| 1. | Stuff the body firmly and close it. Round 1 is the top of the chick and the closed end is the bottom. | |
|---|---|---|
| 2. | Eyes: on round 10, mark two places with 7 stitches between them. In Colour C, make an upright oval about 1 stitch wide and 2 rounds tall, going through the same two points 6 to 8 times. | |
| 3. | Beak: set the open edge on round 11, halfway between the eyes, with the tip pointing out. Pin it and sew around the edge with the long tail. | |
| 4. | Wings: flatten each wing a little and pin its open edge to the side of the body at round 13, about 12 stitches from the middle of the face, with the tip pointing down and slightly out. Sew along the edge, taking one stitch through the wing and one through the body. | |
| 5. | Attach the keyring: fold about 80 cm of strong yarn in Colour A in half and thread it on a yarn needle. Set the keyring on top of the piece, on round 1. Pass the needle under a stitch on round 3, across the top, and out through the stitch opposite, then through the keyring. Repeat 4 times, choosing different stitches on rounds 2 to 4 each time, so the pull is shared by several stitches and not by one knot. | |
| 6. | Leave about 1 cm between the keyring and the piece. Take both yarn ends into the piece, tie them firmly and tug gently so the knot slips between the stitches and stays inside. Take the ends through the piece and cut them close to the surface. | |
| 7. | Pull the keyring firmly a few times to check that it holds. |
These places are only a suggestion. The eyes here match the beak, but you can use dark brown or black yarn for a different look, or move the wings higher or lower. Pin everything in place first, look at it, then sew.
