Animal• Low sew Pattern• Original Design• Pattern

No sew Chicken

December 13, 2024

There’s something about no sew patterns that makes me want to make them in squishy chenille yarn. Possibly influenced by a dislike of how much chenille sheds when sewing, but either way, here we are. I’ve been collecting enamel pins at the Supanova convention shows I’ve been going to for years now (usually cat themed) and in the last year or so I’ve been seeing so many cute bird pins, stickers, plushies and more that I wanted to join in and make my own simple round birb. This is my take on the simple, round animal design that’s a staple of the no-sew style! I love how recognisable animals can still be with just a few colours or simple details. Once I got started it felt like I couldn’t stop looking up different birds and turning them into cute squishy versions. So to kick off the free no sew bird patterns on the website, we’re starting with the cute and chunky Chicken!

You can purchase an ad-free PDF version of this design and 11 others over on my Etsy or Ravelry and if you do, thank-you for your support! I also have kits available – they come with everything you need, from tools to materials and make the perfect gift for someone looking to pick up crochet!

Look at this cute chunky chicken! Or rooster

Materials

Note some of the links on this site are affiliate links. This means I get paid a small fee if you decide to purchase anything at no extra cost to you! I will only ever link products I happily use myself.

This pattern can also be made in a mini version, which is a perfect keychain size. In that case, choose a DK weight yarn and 3mm crochet hook. Otherwise the materials used in the photographed chicken are listed below.

Chunky bulky weight version

5.00mm crochet hook
10mm safety eyes
Stuffing
Yarn needle
White yarn < 1 skein (Hobbii Honey Bunny 01 White)
Red yarn (Hobbii Honey Bunny 40 Tomato)
Orange yarn (Hobbii Honey Bunny 27 Gold Dust)

Tips for beginners and abbreviations

If you’re comfortable crocheting and reading my patterns, feel free to skip to the pattern, but for those of you new to my patterns here are some links to help where you might get stuck!

reading patterns
chain (ch)
single crochet (sc)
increase (inc)
half double crochet (hdc)
double crochet (dc)
front loop only (FLO sc)
popcorn stitch (e.g. 3sc popcorn)
invisible decrease (dec)
stuffing
closing amigurumi pieces
repeats: e.g. [ sc, inc, sc ]x 2 -> becomes -> sc, inc, sc, sc, inc, sc

Starting with a magic ring / tips for working with chunky yarn

I start most of my amigurumi with a magic ring, but if I’m using chunky yarn I start pieces using the “ch 2” method instead because it’s a lot easier. Check out the working with chenille tips page to learn more! You can always use the chain 2 method as an alternative to the magic circle if you want!

Free no-sew Chicken crochet pattern

row 1: (in White) ch 2, work 6sc into the 2nd chain from the hook (6)
row 2: inc 6 (12)
row 3: [ inc, sc ]x 6 (18)
row 4: [ sc, inc, sc ]x 6 (24)
row 5: sc 24 (24)
row 6: sc 12, (change to Orange) popcorn 3sc, (change to White) sc 11 (24)
row 7: sc 24 (24)
On round 8, mark back loops of the FLO stitches to make them easier to find for round 9. If this doesn’t make sense, jump to the section below for more instructions for the wing.
row 8: sc 5, FLO sc 3, sc 9, FLO sc 3, sc 4 (24)
row 9: sc 5, (work the next 3 stitches in the marked back loops from last round) hdc 3, sc 9, (work the next 3 stitches in the marked back loops from last round) hdc 3, sc 4 (24)
Insert safety eyes between rows 6 and 7, using the wings + beak to line them up.
row 10: inc 2, sc 20, inc 2 (28)
row 11: sc 9, dec, sc 7, dec, sc 8 (26)
row 12: sc 7, dec, sc 2, (change to Orange) popcorn 3sc, (change to White) sc 4, (change to Orange), popcorn 3sc, (change to White) sc 2, dec, sc 5 (24)
Start stuffing the bird.
row 13: [ dec, sc ]x 8 (16)
row 14: dec 8 (8)

Finish stuffing the bird, and then close it up.

The wings

There are 3 stitches on either side of the body that are the start of the wings. These are the stitches that are done in the front loop only – we’ll be working into the back loop only of those stitches later, so it may be helpful to mark those back loops with a stitch marker. These example pictures use the Duck pattern so the different colours make it easier to see what’s going on!

We’re just about to work the FLO sc stitches that make up the wing (**row 8**). I’ve marked the back loops of these stitches to make them easier to find later

This is with FLO stitches finished and back loops marked. Finish the rest of the row as per the pattern

On **row 9**, when we reach these marked stitches we’re going to work half double crochets into the back loop (i.e. into the marked stitches)

Yarn over to start the half double crochet

Insert into the back loop from the previous round

And yarn over again, then pull through all loops on the hook – this is the first half double crochet finished

Do a half double crochet in the other 2 marked stitches

Your next stitch is a single crochet back into the round we were working on – continue the round as normal, working into the back loop stitches of the second wing the same way

When the bird is finished, you have this little nub wing – we’re going to pick up a stitch to finish the wing. Insert your crochet hook into the first stitch

Yarn over with your wing colour and pull through. Then ch 1

Go back into that same stitch (the first stitch) you just picked up from, and work a single crochet

In the next stitch (the middle stitch) work 3 stitches – hdc 1, dc 1, hdc 1

In the third stitch, work 2 stitches – sc 1, sl st 1

Cut the yarn and hide the tails in the body of the bird. Done with the wing!

The comb

Here’s a quick written version of the comb, but see the pictures below for step by step instructions if the written pattern is confusing.

(in Red) pick up a stitch in the centre of the head, across row 3
ch 3, turn, sc 2, sl st back into the body moving towards the back of the bird
ch 4, turn, sc 3, sl st back into the body,
ch 3, turn, sc 2, sl st back into the body to finish off

Mark a stitch at row 3 in the centre of the head (red pin).

Insert your crochet hook into this marked stitch, and poke it back out one row back

Pick up a stitch in red yarn by pulling the yarn back through

Starting in the second ch from the hook (i.e. turn), sc down the length of the chain (i.e. sc 2)

Then insert your crochet hook back into the body of the bird, as we did when we started but one row back, moving in a straight line towards the back

sl st (i.e. yarn over and pull through, both the row on the head and through the loop on the hook)

As before, sc down the length of the chain (starting in the second chain from the hook – also known as turning)

ch 3, turn, sc down the length of the chain, and then sl st into the body one last time

Done! Hide the tails in the body securely

Other patterns in the series

Congratulations you’re finished! I hope you had a lot of fun, these little birds are so addictive to make and so quick as well! They have quickly become my go to TV project. There are 12 designs in this series so far, with more planned! This is the first one that’s on the blog, but you’ll be able to find the rest as they slowly join in the birds pattern tag.

In the meantime, check out our other low-sew patterns for your next easy and squishy project. If you make any of these birds (or other patterns), I’d love to see what you create! Tag @53stitches on Instagram or Tumblr.