Crochet a toy owl

This cute little crocheted owl (tutorial below) features in Nguyen Le’s new book 500 Toys to Make. The perfect companion for crafters, the book features a bumper collection of miniature toys to crochet, knit, felt and sew. It comes complete with patterns, templates, step-by-step instructions, clear diagrams and photographs, and variations for customising your creations.

Toys include a knitted mermaid, a superhero cape, a felt magician’s hat, a crocheted brontosaurus and a sewn ukelele, among other traditional and contemporary crafts.

We’re thrilled to feature one of Nguyen Le’s cute craft project’s, below.

Extracted with permission from 500 Toys to Make by Nguyen Le, published by New Holland, RRP $24.99.

Crochet Owl

Materials

• Worsted weight yarn in taupe, 1 skein
• Size H crochet hook
• Rice or dried beans
• Stuffing
• Fabric scraps in white and dark grey
• Tracing paper
• Embroidery thread in dark grey and yellow

Tension: 41⁄2 sts over 5 rows = 2.5cm (1 in)
Finished dimensions: 6cm (21⁄2 in) diameter, 10cm (4 in) high when stuffed

Instructions

Body

With the worsted weight yarn and crochet hook, make a slip knot and insert hook.

Rnd 1: Make 6 dc in a magic ring, sl st to join.

Rnd 2: 2 dc in each st across, sl st in first dc to join – 12 dc.

Rnd 3: ch 1, [dc in next st, 2 dc in next st] around, sl st in first dc to join – 18 dc.

Rnd 4: ch 1, [dc in next 2 sts, 2 dc in next st] around, sl st in first dc to join – 24 dc.

Rnd 5: ch 1, [dc in next 3 sts, 2 dc in next st] around, sl st in first dc to join – 30 dc.

Rnds 6–16: ch 1, dc in next 30 sts, sl st in first dc to join.

Rnd 17: ch 1, [dc in next 3 sts, skp 1, dc in next st] around, sl st in first dc to join – 24 dc.

Rnd 18: ch 1, [dc in next 2 sts, skp 1, dc in next st] around, sl st in first dc to join – 18 dc.

Begin to fill the owl with beans on the bottom, and either a stuffing or yarn and fabric scraps in a similar colour to your owl. Continue stuffing as you crochet the next couple rounds.

Rnd 19: ch 1, [dc in next st, skp 1, dc in next st] around, sl st in first dc to join – 12 dc.

Rnd 20: ch 1, [dc in next st, skp 1, dc in next st] around, sl st in first dc to join – 6 dc.

Fasten off and weave in ends.

Face & wings

Trace the owl’s face and wings. Cut out the shapes and pin to fabric scraps – there are three different sizes of wings. Cut a mix of five feathers for each wing. Embroider the owl’s beak and eyes onto the face and blanket stitch the face in place. Pin the feathers and stitch in place with vertical stitches near the top of each feather. Finally, embroider small, random stitches on the belly.

Download Face & Wings Template Here

* Download the template above, print it then enlarge all template pieces to 400% to make to actual size.

Variations: 

Felt baby owl (pictured)
Use a tuft of wool roving and lightly needle felt into an oval to make a baby owl. Needle felt little round black eyes and cut a yellow beak out of felt and needle felt to the body. Cut two wings from white felt and needle felt on either side of the body.

Owl hand puppet
Follow the crochet owl instructions up to row 16. Break yarn, weave in the ends, but don’t stuff the owl. This will fit a child’s hand.

Bowling owls
Crochet six owls to make a small bowling ball set. Make a needle felt ball for the jack.

Crochet nesting owls
Make three nesting owls by following the crochet owl pattern and, like the hand puppet variation, stop and weave in at row 16. Follow the face and wing details. Use a fingering-weight yarn and corresponding hook, and a bulky-weight yarn and corresponding hook to make a larger and smaller version of the owl so the three can nest together.

Sleepytime sounds
Purchase a prerecorded lullaby or record soothing sounds onto a sound chip, and insert it in the centre of your owl. Stuff to the end and close off. Your owl will be a squeezable bedtime friend.