Eggbert the Easter Chick
Check out my new favorite holiday creation! A nice lady came in the shop the other day looking for wool to duplicate a little knitted chick a friend had given her. I squealed like a girl, especially once I turned the chick over. How cute is that? The lady told me I could copy her handwritten pattern if I wanted. That night I whipped up a prototype and set to altering the pattern (so as not to infringe copyright; I don’t know where the customer’s friend got the pattern in the first place). My version has a slightly rounder head and short rows in the tail to make it flip up. The pattern is currently available for free in the shop, but I’ll reproduce it here for the rest of the world. They’re really quick to make; I’ve done four already. Hooray for stash-busting! Happy knitting…You need:

• scraps of 8-ply (worsted weight) yarn
• 3.75mm needles
• cotton ball or other stuffing for head
• bodkin or wool needle for sewing up
• cardboard for beak
• egg, chocolate or real!

Cast on 32 stitches.

Row 1: K1, increase 1, K to end.
Repeat first row until you have 44 stitches on the needle.
Knit four rows plain.

Short row tail:
Row 1: K4, slip next stitch as if to purl, yfwd, move slipped stitch back to left needle. Turn.
Row 2: K4 to end.
Row 3: K3, slip next stitch as if to purl, yfwd, move slipped stitch back to left needle. Turn.
Row 4: K3 to end.
Row 5: Cast off 15 stitches, K to end.

Repeat previous five rows for the other side. You should end with fourteen stitches left in the center of your knitting.

Head:
Knit three rows plain.
Row 4: K1, K2tog, K to last three stitches, K2tog, K1.
Row 5-6: Same as Row 4.
Knit two rows plain.

You should now have eight stitches remaining on your needle. Cut the working wool leaving a footlong tail. Thread the tail onto your sewing needle and run it through the remaining stitches, cinching them tight. Then use the tail to sew up the head, back, and underside of the duck (leaving a hole to insert your egg!). Stuff the head and use some scrap wool to cinch the neck. I used contrasting wool to make knots for the eyes, and the beak is a sewn on piece of cardboard. You can get pretty creative embellishing these things! Have fun…