Easter Egg Cozies

A long time ago I knitted chicken egg cozies, like the ones featured here, to cover hard boiled or plastic eggs for my kids at Easter for their baskets. After a lengthy online search, I didn't find anything that resembled the pattern I remembered so I was forced to "reinvent the wheel." Somehow, more than thirty years later, I was able to generally recall the pattern and even improved upon it, by shaping the tail portion and concocting a duck, too.

After posting completed chicken and duck photos on my ravelry.com project page, I found that others were interested in this pattern, too, so I decided to write it up to share. The patterns for both the chicken and duck are included here for knitters who want to create something fun for the little people in their lives this Easter.

Chicken Egg Cozy

Yarn: To make one chicken you will need about half an ounce of worsted weight yarn. This is a good opportunity to use up leftover yarn such as Red Heart Super Saver or cotton yarns such as "I Love This Cotton." Other suggested yarns include Peaches 'n Creme or Sugar 'n Cream cottons. Personally, I preferred "I Love This Cotton" for the chickens and Loops & Threads' Impeccable worsted (butterscotch) for the ducks.

Other items needed: size 6 knitting needles, tapestry needle, scissors, tiny wiggle eyes, and little bits of felt or fleece for finishing touches

Here goes the pattern:

1. co 32 sts

2. ribbing of k 1, p 1 on enough rows to measure 1" (6-7 rows)

3. From this point on, all rows will be k rows. K 1.5 inches above the ribbing so that the main body of the chicken measures 2.5 inches.

4. To shape the first half of the tail:

k 5, turn

k 5, turn

k 4 turn

k 4 turn

bind off 10 st and continue k to the end of the row (22 st remain)

5. To shape second half of tail:

k 5, turn

k 5, turn

k 4, turn

K 4, turn

bind off 10 st and continue knitting to the end of the row (12 st remain)

6. To shape the head:

Row 1—6: k across (12 st)

Row 7: k 10, k 2 tog (11 st)

Row 8: k 9, k 2 tog (10 st)

Row 9—11: k 10

Row 12: k 8, k 2 tog (9 st)

Row 13: k 7, k 2 tog (8 st.)

Row 14: bind off leaving an 18" tail of yarn

Fold chicken in half, matching tails. Using a tapestry needle and the long tail of yarn, join the two halves together starting at the head and ending at the lower edge of the ribbing. leave the bottom (ribbing) open to insert egg. Finish chicken with a top notch/comb, beak and eyes.

Finishing touches:

For the top notch, crochet right to the top of the head in three parts using thinner yarn such as sports weight yarn or size 3 crochet thread. Chain five st, sc into second ch from hook and in remaining st going down toward the head. Repeat the five ch and sc's for two more parts of the top notch. For a beak, just cut a small triangle from a piece of felt or felted wool. Fold in half and either tack or glue into place. Glue on small wiggle eyes.

Duck Egg Cozy

Yarn: To make one duck you will need about half an ounce of worsted weight yarn. This is a good opportunity to use up leftover yarn such as Red Heart Super Saver or cotton yarns such as "I Love This Cotton." Other suggested yarns include Peaches 'n Creme or Sugar 'n Cream cottons. Personally, I preferred "I Love This Cotton" for the chickens and Loops & Threads' Impeccable worsted (butterscotch) for the ducks.

Other items needed: size 6 knitting needles, tapestry needle, scissors, tiny wiggle eyes, and little bits of felt or fleece for finishing touches

Here goes the pattern, which is identical to the chicken, until the head shaping rows:

1. co 32 sts

2. ribbing of k 1, p 1 on enough rows to measure 1" (6-7 rows)

3. From this point on, all rows will be k rows. K 1.5 inches above the ribbing so that the main body of the chicken measures 2.5 inches.

4. To shape the first half of the tail:

k 5, turn

k 5, turn

k 4 turn

k 4 turn

bind off 10 st and continue k to the end of the row (22 st remain)

5. To shape second half of tail:

k 5, turn

k 5, turn

k 4, turn

K 4, turn

bind off 10 st and continue knitting to the end of the row (12 st remain)

6. To shape the head:

Row 1: k across (12 st)

Row 2: (k 1, k 2 tog) 4 times (8 st)

Row 3: k across

Row 4: (k 1, inc in next st) 4 times (12 st)

Row 5: k across

Row 6: (k 1, inc in next st) 6 times (18 st)

Rows 7—8: k across

Row 9: (k 1, k 2 tog) 6 times (12 st)

Row 10: k across

Row 11: (k 1, k 2 tog) 4 times (8 st)

Row 12: k 1, k 2 tog, k 2, k 2 tog, k 1 (6 st)

Leaving an 18" tail, break off yarn and thread the tapestry needle. Draw the yarn through remaining stitches and close up the head. Fold duck in half matching tails and whip the two halves together from the head, over the back, around the tail and down to the lower edge of the duck, leaving the bottom (ribbing) open to insert egg. Stuff duck head with polyfill. Finish duck with bill and eyes.

Fold chicken in half, matching tails. Using a tapestry needle and the long tail of yarn, join the two halves together starting at the head and ending at the lower edge of the ribbing. leave the bottom (ribbing) open to insert egg. Finish chicken with a top notch/comb, beak and eyes.

Finishing touches:

For duck's bill, cut two fat triangles from felt or fleece and round one point so that each resembles a fat gum drop. Fold both in half and overlay one over the other. Tack together and then stitch or glue onto duck. Glue on beads or gems for eyes or make French knots.

Suggestions: After knitting a chicken or a duck, how about inserting a silly putty egg inside for a little Easter surprise? Even bigger kids would like to have a chicken or duck egg cozy if the plastic egg inside had a little money in it!

If you would like to purchase a printed pattern along with an already completed duck and chicken, visit my etsy site.

Click Here

__________________________

SPECIAL THANKS to Ellblo (Ellen's ravelry name) who so graciously tested the pattern by making up a few chickens of her own.

Copyright 2011, C. Lowman/Delights. All Rights Reserved.

Chocolate Dipped and Drizzled Strawberries

Just before Valentine's Day I saw a grocery store ad in color that caught my eye. I cut it out to keep as my inspiration for a creative project. Here is the ad.

And here is what I made: An amigurumi Box of Chocolate Dipped and Drizzled Strawberries.

Before joining ravelry.com, I had never heard of the word amigurumi. Amigurumi is a Japanese word that combines ami, which means crocheted or knitted, and nuigurumi, which means stuffed doll. Amigurumi often refers to small, stuffed crocheted or knitted animals but can also be used to apply to items of other representational shapes that are aesthetically pleasing but particularly that are cute or fun.

The Strawberries:

The strawberries are all crocheted with leaves and stems cut from felted green wool. To simulate the white drizzle, I used puff paint. While the puff paint was drying, I made a folded paper box to hold the strawberries.

The Box:

The folded box, just over four inches across, is comprised of two pieces of 12 inch square paper: one for the top and one for the bottom. I chose an understated print for the top and a sheet of plain black for the bottom. Before folding, I trimmed the black sheet by about 3/8 of an inch on two sides (side and top) so that the paper was a slightly smaller square. When folded, this smaller size made it possible for the top of the box to fit snugly down over the top of it. For a finishing touch, I wanted ribbon to crisscross on the top. In my spools of ribbon I found two colors to match the strawberries: a dark green grosgrain and thinner, bright red satin. I wanted to layer the ribbons with the wider, dark green color, on the bottom and the red satin ribbon on top for a two-color look. The ribbons are glued into place on the interior sides to become a part of the top of the box. That is, they are not intended to be removed. Finally, I placed a shiny, gold seal on the very top.

Assembly:

You cannot really see them here, but little silver candy wrappers hold the strawberries in the box. Five chocolate dipped and drizzled strawberries were placed into the box with one in the center and the others at the corners.

What a fun, guilt-free, calorie-free little gift!

Amigurumi Box of Chocolates

I have been participating in a Valentine Swap in which partners exchange handcrafted Valentine-themed items and thought I would share one of the items, an amigurumi box of chocolates, made for two swap friends, Kristy and Sparkle.

Before telling a little about the chocolates, I should share about the swap. The swap is a special event this year within a group called From Trash to Treasures, a subgroup of ravelry. Ravelry.com is a free, online organization that boasts a membership of more than one million international knitters and crocheters (with some weavers and spinners, too). Through ravelry, members document their projects, share patterns and ideas, participate in subgroups from among thousands of choices, communicate with like-minded crafters, and, in general, extend their handcraft skills. I belong to five ravelry sub groups; most ravelry members belong to many more.

Before joining ravelry, I had never heard of the word amigurumi. Amigurumi is a Japanese word that combines ami, which means crocheted or knitted, and nuigurumi, which means stuffed doll. Amigurumi often refers to small, stuffed crocheted or knitted animals but can also be used to apply to items of other representational shapes that are aesthetically pleasing but particularly that are cute or fun.

Above is a box of amigurumi chocolates that I made as part of my swap items. I crocheted the chocolates (and the chocolate dipped strawberry) from regular worsted weight yarn and embroidered some of the tops with embroidery floss.

The folded box, just over four inches across, is comprised of two pieces of 12 inch square paper: one for the top and one for the bottom. However, I trimmed the bottom box (the white part) by about 3/8 of an inch on two sides (side and top) so that the paper was a slightly smaller square. When folded, this smaller size made it possible for the top of the box to fit snugly down over it.

I purchased little candy wrappers from the grocery store to hold the amigurumi chocolates and adding to the fun and to suggest that the sweets are real. Eventually I glued ribbon on the box top so that it appeared on the outside but did not have to be removed to lift off the top but I did not take a photo of the finished box.

February 10, 2011:

Here's a second box of chocolates I finished yesterday. By adding this set my purpose is to share two things: an acknowledgment to a friend and a great hint for anyone wanting to make a box of chocolates, too.

First, I want to acknowledge Christina, a friend of mine, who made amigurumi chocolates for her mother-in-law for Valentines. Over the phone I walked her through the process of making a box for them to fit into and then when she was done and I saw the pictures of her chocolates, I was impressed with a few that she embellished with tiny crocheted flowers. I told her that if I made another set I was going to add delicate little flowers, too, because hers were so perfect. Well, I had a few chocolates already crocheted and thought it might be good to finish the set to put into another box and put little flowers on a few of them. Now for the great hint: This set of chocolates was embellished with puffy paints. I happened to have a few colors on hand, one of which was brown, perfect for the swirls and drizzles on some of the milk and dark chocolates! Then, with a few of my pastel colors, I created tiny little decorated flowers on the tops of two of the chocolates. This is a super duper hint because:

1.) it is a fast and easy way to embellish amigurumi chocolates and

2.) the puffy paint glistens like real icing

Of course you have to wait several hours for the puffy paint to dry (I let the chocolates dry overnight) but then they can be positioned in a box without fear of disturbing the finishing touches on the tops.

Thanks, Christina, for your idea of tiny little flowers on your chocolates. It's great to have creative, sharing friends.