Crocheted Amigurumi Chicken

Meet Buffy, the stuffed amigurumi chicken! No, amigurumi isn't a new breed of chicken, it's a form of crochet to make dolls and animals, etc. Most crocheted chickens I've seen are done in boring white (think Foghorn Leghorn), so I chose Red Heart yarn in the color Buff to look more like the Buff Orpington breed of chicken. You might choose black, brown, or even a variegated or flecked yarn to make your crocheted ami chicken resemble your own flock.

I'm a complete novice at anything ami, but worked up this pattern fairly easily. The directions may seem difficult to follow in text form, so I created a slideshow tutorial to show you how to hold the piece at each step to make following along a little easier. The slideshow may be found here.

Materials Needed
Size G Crochet Hook
1 oz of yarn in desired body color
Small amount of orange or yellow yarn for beak
Small amount of red yarn for comb

Chicken measures approx 7 1/2" wide and 6" tall and highest point

Abbreviations
Ch = chain
St = stitch
SC = single crochet
Sk = skip
SS = slip stitch

Pattern for Buff, the Ami Chicken

Main Body
With main color, ch 23.
Row 1: SC second ch fr hook and in each ch across, ch 1, turn (22 SC)
Rows 2-28: SC across (22 SC). Ch 4, turn. Do not bind off. (You should have a rectangle slight taller than it is wide - see slideshow #1)

Tail
Row 1: Working into the ch 4, starting w/2d ch from hook, SC in back bump of next 3 ch. Bring up bottom of piece to match top, SC through next 7 sts of both pieces to join. Ch 1, turn (see slideshow #2)
Row 2: Sk 1st st, SS next 4 st, SC remaining 5 st, turn
Row 3: SC 1st 7 st, SS 2 st, turn
Row 4: Sk 1st st, SS next 3 st, SC last 5 st
Finishing Tail: Turn piece one half turn to the right so that tail is sticking up at top right (See slideshow #3)
SC across back end and under tail, and continue SC to join two pieces to form back of chicken. (See slideshow #4). Cut yarn, weave in end.

Slideshow #5 shows chicken in upright position with back side stitched.

Turn piece so that tail is at bottom, pointing left (see slideshow #6). Starting at top right, attach yarn and SC through both pieces across to join. Do not cut yarn. (You will be working around that corner to make the head)

Head
Row 1: Ch 1. SC through next 6 stitches of both pieces to join .Ch 1, turn.
Row 2: Sk 1st st, SC across (6 SC), ch 1, turn
Row 3: SC next 6 st (do not SC in last st), ch 1, turn
Row 4: Sk 1st st, SC across remaining 5 st, ch 1 turn
Leave a tail long enough to stitch remainder of top of chicken closed after stuffing, cut yarn.

Comb
Attach red yarn to either side of top of chicken's head. *Ch 4, SS to next stitch, repeat from * across.
Note: You may alternate ch 4 and ch 5 to vary the length of the comb.
Leaving a tail of a few inches, cut yarn. With needle, work yarn back through chs of comb to provide a bit more stiffness and weave in ends. Cut yarn

Beak
With small amount of orange or yellow, attach yarn to lower end of head. Ch 3, SS in 2d ch from hook, SC next ch. SS to next st on head of chicken. Leave small tail, cut yarn. Using needle, work yarn back through beak to provide more stiffness and weave in ends. Cut yarn.

Finishing
Stuff chicken with fiberfill. Using long tail of yarn left from the head, SC down back side of chicken's head to where it meets the part still left open in chicken's back. Holding the two pieces together, SC across. Bind off, weave in ends.

You may link to this pattern in an article or blog post, giving me proper credit, but please don't post the pattern itself. You may sell items made from this pattern, but please don't sell the pattern. If you sell items online that are made from this pattern, a link to the pattern would be appreciated, and please do not use my photos.