For many years now, maybe even a couple of decades if I’m being honest, I have had a love for designing a knit chicken or two. In fact, I think I snuck some sort of knit chicken in five out of my six books, and I’ve even more individual patterns with chickens. I’m carrying on the chicken-knitting tradition today and I must say this Mother Hen is my absolute favorite to date. My main critic and beloved daughter told me that this may be the cutest toy I’ve ever designed. I’ll take it! The stripey, ear-flapped hat and the cardigan with egg and chick-filled pockets make this entire ensemble beyond fun. And, it’s just as cute without the accessories.
Our new Mother Hen Kits include:
* Enough of our Home Worsted mini skeins to make one Mother Hen, the cardigan, the stripey earflap hat, and one chick and egg for the pockets. We have the kits available in Birch Wisconsin Woolen Spun (creamy off-white) for the hen, Folkstone (dark gray) yarn for the cardigan, Humble Gold for the beak and feet and Poppy (bright red) for the wattle and cardigan trim.
* 6mm safety eyes
* Black crochet cotton for the chick’s eye embroidery
* The pattern is included with the kit at no additional cost for FREE.
* It all comes packed in a hand-stamped bag with an illustrated tag by Susan.
Optional Kit Add-On: We also have our beautiful Wooly Moss Roots custom Rustic Buttons available to add to your kit. These are the Rustic Heart or the Rustic Round Buttons. These buttons are every bit as gorgeous and less expensive to boot. I’ve said it a million times but these handcrafted buttons are so magical, they really elevate your work. If it’s possible I highly recommend giving them a try.
Finished measurements
Mother Hen: 11” [20.5 cm] tall when seated, including Crown and Feet
Cardigan: 4" [10 cm] long, 12" [30.5 cm] body circumference
Construction
The adorable Mother Hen is worked seamlessly from the bottom up. The crown is knit in continuation of the head. The beak uses an afterthought technique. The wattle, wings, legs, and tail are picked up and knit onto the body and head using purl bump markers and stitch markers left for placement guidance. The hat is worked in the round and the cardigan is worked both back and forth and in the round.
I know you’ll love this new Mother Hen Kit and Pattern. It is a true joy to make and to hold and it goes along with my other sweater-ed friends, Panda, Moose, Little Giraffe, Elephant + Mouse, and Oliver Pig. Check out all of these patterns on our BWC Pattern Page!