Crochet Chubby Chicken (or Duck) Keychain with Bobble Wings

Sewing on little arms and wings is the part of amigurumi most beginners dread. This chick avoids it: the wings are two bobble stitches worked straight into one round of the body, so they pop out at the sides as you go. The body is a simple ball of single crochet, and the beak and comb are a few stitches each.

Make it in yellow with a red comb for a chick, or in white with a wider orange bill for a duck. The pattern is from Elise's hour-long beginner video on her lilthings channel.

Video tutorial by Elise on her YouTube channel, lilthings: watch "crochet chicken keychain tutorial🐣 crochet duck, easy crochet amigurumi" on YouTube.

The rounds are written from the video.

Materials

• 5-ply milk cotton in yellow or white, orange and red
• 3.0 mm hook
• Two safety eyes and some stuffing
• A keychain clasp
• A stitch marker and a darning needle

Body

Work in spirals with the yarn-under single crochet (the hook goes over the yarn on the first pull-through), which gives tight stitches that hide the stuffing. Move the marker up each round.

Round 4 puts the increase first so the increases don't stack over round 3's; the ball stays round instead of turning into a hexagon.

Bobble wing (round 10): in one stitch, work 5 double crochets but stop each one before its last pull-through, so you have 6 loops on the hook. Yarn over and pull through all 6. Push the bobble out to the right side of the body.

Before round 11: fit the safety eyes between rounds 7 and 8, centred between the wings. Before round 13: stuff firmly. After round 13, thread the tail through the last 6 stitches and pull closed.

Beak, comb and clasp

• Beak: join orange between the eyes and work a tiny beak of a chain 2 with a sc and a hdc. For a duck, work a few hdc side by side to make a wide bill.
• Comb: join red along the top centre of the head and work three small scallops: [chain 2, a hdc or dc in the same stitch, slip stitch in the next stitch] × 3.
• Clasp: sew the keychain clasp through the top of the head.

Tips

• Wings level? Both bobbles are on round 10, separated by 11 stitches on the front, so they should sit opposite each other. If they're off, the round count before round 10 is out.
• Bobbles on the right side. In spirals the right side is on the outside, but bobbles sometimes pop inward. Push them out with your finger after you close them.
• Stuff the last bit carefully. With 12 stitches left, stuff through the opening with the back of your hook so the bottom is firm too.

Frequently asked questions