The Year of The Chicken Granny Square

 

Happy new year! According to the Chinese Zodiac, 2017 is the year of the chicken. So to celebrate the start of the year, I made a chicken granny square. It can work as a dish cloth, or you can make many squares and join them to make a blanket. I had so much fun crocheting it that I decide to try to make other animals. I'm currently working on a dog granny square. I'll be sharing it with you soon.

Skill level: Intermediate

Check out the entire Animal Granny Square collection: 

Puppy | Frog | Koala | Chick | Kitty | Mouse | Bunny | Ox | Tiger | Duckling

GET printable PDF for this pattern here or on Ravelry: 

Materials: 

• Yarn: Kartopu Bebe yarn, 100 % acrylic, 1.8 oz (50 g), 164 yards (150 m), in the colors white (K019), bright yellow (K322), pale yellow (K331) and red (K150).
• Crochet hook, size US 7 (4.5 mm). 
• Tapestry needle.

Measurements of the square: 6.1 inch x 6.1 inch (15.5 cm x 15.5 cm), approx. 

Gauge: 20 sts and 11 round = 4" x 4" (10 cm x 10 cm) in double crochet.

Yardage: 62- 65 yards (57- 60 m).

Crochet terms (US):

• ch: chain.
• st: stitch.
• sts: stitchs.
• sl st: slip stitch. 
• sc: single crochet.
• hdc: half double crochet.
• dc: double crochet.
• tr: treble crochet. 

Instructions:

The Square:

With the bright yellow yarn make a magic ring, then work as follows:

Round 1: ch 1, sc 6 into the magic ring, sl st into the first ch. (6 sts)

Round 2: ch 1, sc into each st, sl st into the first ch.

Round 3: ch 1, sc 2 into each st, sl st into the first ch. (12 sts)

Round 4: ch 1, sc into each st, sl st into the first ch. Cut yarn and weave in the loose end1.

Round 5: with the white yarn make a knot and ch 3 (or make standing double crochet) and dc into any st, dc 2 into each st to end, sl st into the third ch of first ch 3 (or into first standing dc). (24 sts)

Round 6: ch 3, *dc 2 into the next st, dc in st, repeat from * ten more times, dc 2 into the last st, sl st into the third ch of first ch 3. (36 sts)

Round 7: ch 3, dc into the next st, (*c 2 into the next st, dc in st twice, repeat from *  ten more times, dc 2 into the last st, sl st into the third ch of first ch 3. (48 dcs)

Round 8: ch 3, dc in st twice, *dc 2 in st, dc in st 3 three times, repeat from * ten more times, dc 2 in the last st, sl st into the third ch of first ch 3. (60 dcs)

Cut yarn and weave in loose ends.

Round 9: With pale yellow yarn and in the last st you've made, make a knot and ch 3 (or make a standing double crochet), dc into the next 2 sts, *hdc in st twice, sc in st four times, hdc in st twice, dc in st three times, (tr 2, ch 3, tr 2) in the next st, dc in st three times, repeat from * two more times, hdc in st twice, sc in st four times, hdc in st twice, (tr 2, ch 3, tr 2) in the next st, sl st into the third ch of first ch 3 (or into first standing dc).

Rounds 10, 11 and 12: ch 3, *dc into each st to first ch 3 space, (tr 2, ch 3, tr 2) in the ch 3 space, repeat from * two more times, dc into each st to end, sl st into the third ch of first ch 3.

Cut the yarn and weave in the loose ends.

The eyes:

The st marked with a star is the middle st. Sew the eyes in the sixth st to the left and to the right of the middle st as shown in the picture below.

Chicken's combs:

Upper comb:

With red yarn, make a knot and ch 4:

Row 1: dc 3 into the fourth ch from the hook, this is the right side of the comb, turn.

Row 2: ch 3 and dc into the first st, dc 2 into each st, turn. (8 sts)

Row 3: ch 3 and dc into the first st, *dc in st , dc 2 into the next st, repeat from * 2 more times, dc into the last st, turn. (12 sts)

Row 4: ch 2, *dc into the first st, tr in st, dc in st, ch 2, sl st in the next st, repeat from * 2 more times. Cut yarn, leaving a 6" (15 cm) yarn tail to sew in place. 

Lower comb:

With the red yarn make a knot and ch 4:

Row 1: in the fourth ch from the hook make dc 3, turn. This is the right side of the comb.

Row 2: ch 2 and dc in the first st, tr in st, ch 2, sl st in st, ch 2, tr in st, dc in st, ch 2, sl st into the same st.

Cut yarn, leaving a 4" (10 cm) yarn tail to sew in place. 

Sew upper and lower comb in place as shown in the picture below. Weave in loose ends.

Lastly, feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions or find something confusing in the pattern.

Happy crocheting/knitting! follow me on Instagram @wiams_crafts and Twitter @wiamscrafts to see my upcoming projects.