Friday, December 09, 2011

Chicken Sweaters! FREE Pattern for Personal Use :)

Yes really. I really truly crocheted a sweater for my chicken. I saw a blog post this evening that had each of their chickens in sweaters. I thought it seemed incredibly unnecessary and that my chickens would not be happy in the winter without them. Absolutely no way, no how. Since I seem to have tons of Yarn remnants left from my recent scarf escapades.... I decided that while the kids were watching the Grinch after supper, I would make one. I actually took some orange yarn and a hook to Ardyn's dance class and while Marek napped in his seat and Ardyn was dancing, I was going to make one. I had found patterns online but only one crochet pattern, and I wasn't really happy with the coverage that the particular pattern provided, so I thought I might have to modify it as I went. Especially because my chickens are all heavy breeds and I didn't know what hens this sweater was made to fit, but it looked more like a smaller regular sized hen. Plus, I don't like to check gauge and never do check gauge, so I was just gonna see how the pattern went. Well, fast forward to dance class and I ran out of the house without the pattern. Grrr. So I sat in the van and thought, you know, I can totally wing it (pun intended, lol) and make my own chicken sweater.

So, I started. I visualized and I conquered. And I like mine better than the other pattern so I was happy. I will go ahead and share with you here. But first, a few photos and a feature overview....

1. No ties. I was nervous of the ones that tied and if a chicken would strangle or hang themselves.
2. Covers more of the chicken's back.... and dips a bit lower to cover a few tail feathers
3. Keeps wings free and allows flight if desired :)
4. Covers the chest/breast area while still leaving the feet free and the rear end clear for poo and eggs :)

So, I don't write patterns so please let me know if my rules screw you up. The first rule of crochet is, there are no rules :) If you have followed enough patterns, hopefully you will know what I am doing.
I used what I would consider to be regular medium weight yarn, very washable, and a J hook because that's what I could get my hands on. Like I said, I don't do gauge. Just start and try to visualize your chicken :) That's how I did it.

Row ONE- Start Your Work: Chain 31. This is not really a set number. You can chain whatever you want. This is the length of your chicken's body. Eyeball it. Chain whatever you want. the pattern will work no matter how many you chain.
Chain Two and Turn

ROWS 2 thru 6- *Double Crochet in each Chain till end.... Chain Two and Turn again (repeat from star until you have six rows completed)

ROW 7- After you have chained two and turned to begin your SEVENTH row, DC in next SIX stitches. Then, Chain Six (not in previous stitches) to create a chain that will make your wing opening. On the 7th Stitch, instead of chaining, DC back into your work again. This will make a "hole" that is six stitches long.
Continue to DC in each stitch until you reach the THIRD Stitch from the end. You should have THREE STITCHES to fill,
in the first stitch DC TWICE (increase)
In the Second stitch DC TWICE (increase)
In the LAST stitch in your row, DC once, then chain two and turn.

ROW 8- DC in first stitch
DC twice in each of the next TWO stitches (increasing twice, Rows 7 and 8 will create a longer tail area, which you can eliminate if you don't like that idea, but I like the way it looks and fits.)
DC in each stitch till end, Chain two and turn

ROWS 9 and 10- *DC in each stitch till end, Chain two and turn (repeat from star to create row 10)

ROW 11 - DC in each stitch until you are five stitches from end. Then DC once in next two stitches (Decreasing) and DC again ONCE in next two stitches (Decreasing a second time) and then DC once in last stitch.... Chain two and turn, completing row 11.

ROW 12- DC once in first stitch (not in turning chain) and then DC once in next two stitches (DECREASING) and then DC again once in next two stitches (DECREASING AGAIN.) then DC once in each space until end of chain. Complete Row 12, Chain two and turn.

ROW 13- DC once in each of next six stitches, then Chain 6 (creating other wing opening.) In the next stitch (stitch 13 from end) DC again and continue DCing in each stitch until end, creating wing hoed and ending Row 13. Chain Two and Turn.

ROWS 14 thru 18-
*DC once in each space. Chain Two and Turn (repeat from star until you have finished row 18 and are have chained and turned to begin row 19)

ROW 19- DC once in each space, FIFTEEN TIMES, Chain two and turn. (end Row 19)

ROW 20- DC once in each space, FIFTEEN TIMES (do not chain and turn. End Row 20)

To finish Sweater, Fold in half and match last fifteen DC's (the short rows that you finished with) up with first row. Join them  together with 15 slip stitches. Finish off and weave in ends.

For durability, I actually Slip stitched it across twice, once each direction, before finishing off. Then I turned it right side out so that the slip stitched were inside the sweater. See photos and I hope to heck it turned out like mine. Sorry I am not a pattern writer. I can crochet any ol way but I am no pattern genius!

The End.
Feel free to share this and crochet away. This pattern is for personal use only. Please do not use this pattern to create sweaters for profit (this means don't crochet them and sell them!)

Meagan

Today I finished the sixth Chicken Sweater. That's six in about a day and a half. Today the chickens wore them out in the snow for the first snowfall. :) Here are a few pics :)

 

ETA: This post was my inspiration for finding a practical chicken sweater. Check it out for a smile: http://www.fadetofuture.com/2008/01/02/new-year-same-chicken/


18 comments:

Anna, David, Afton and Raelin said...

Oh my! These are so cute!!! I only knit but may have to wing it with knitting and see what happens. Loved your pictures!

Ashley said...

I am trying to make one right now! I am wondering how you got them on your chickens? I am nervous about putting their wings through the little openings.

Ashley said...

I am making one now but I am nervous about putting it on. How did you get their wings through the holes? Did they hold still?

Janet said...

Awwwww...Wish I could crochet or knit...my silkies would love some sweaters...lol...well...I would...bwak!!

ktcrusher said...

Has anybody used these as a defense against feather-plucking? I have one (of four) that is getting its neck feathers plucked out by one of the other ones, and I'm wondering if a little turtleneck sweater action wouldn't help!!?!!

Bella said...

I have only VERY minimal crochet experience (I had to look up the basic stitches used in this pattern) but I was able to adequately finish this project in only a few hours. Unfortunately, I tried it on my chicken (a Rhode Island Red) and it was much too large.

I'm thrilled that I was able to figure this pattern out. Even though it came out a teensy bit lopsided, and too large, I believe that with a bit of practice I should be able to make a perfect one.

Now- is there any way to make an already finished one smaller? Any suggestions? Thanks!!

Keith Iskiw said...

How did you do the cool trim around the front? I didn't see it in the pattern? Is it just single chains dangling down? Please let me know as I am making some for some rescued chickens that have no feathers :) I want them to look prettier (even though they are super cute already)

the_jaunty_loon said...

I made a sweater from your pattern and it fit my friend's hen beautifully,but the other chickens were pecking at it, so she(my friend) opted to forgo chicken sweaters for now. She noticed, however, that the sweater also fit beautifully around her little dog, so I altered your pattern to have leg holes instead of wing holes and my friend and her dog are delighted!Thank you for posting!

Unknown said...

I really truly crocheted a sweater for my chicken. ... grinchsweater.blogspot.com

Little Chuck said...

Made a sweater for my little Barred Rock hen Pepperann. She started molting right when it turned cold. Wouldn't be a big deal, except she dropped ALL her feathers at once. Even made a blog post about little Pepperann's ordeal.

http://charadeelittlechuck.blogspot.com/2014/11/pepperanns-new-sweater.html

Unknown said...

very nice pattern ! I did tweak it a bit , I added another row of 15 dc at the end , then slip stitched sides together , ch 1 , turned and did 40 sc around the neck ( 2 in the end of each DC row ) , joined to first SC with a slip stitch, ch 1 * skip 2 stitches , 5 DC in next st , skip 2 , SC in next * repeat around to make total of 7 shells at neck

Unknown said...

I know how to stitch the 3 basic stitches. I've usually got to watch a video, stop, pause, go back, play again, pause, repeat. I did this for a chicken pot holder. I was skeptical about directions, as I need to visually see it to do it. I tried a written direction before and all the abbreviations and very matter o fact directions made it really hard. These were great. I understood them perfectly. Especially with the little extras on some stitches and rows. If this was how all directions were, 8 would definitely be able to make more things!!!

Unknown said...

Try a smaller hook, if it still ends up too big try using a lighter yarn as well

Unknown said...

This is literally the first thing I've ever crocheted besides a little square potholder and the first time I've ever used a pattern of any kind. I think you did a pretty darn good job with your instructions. I made one in about 2 hours and am going to try it on a poor plucked rooster I have that sleeps on the ground so he can be a little more comfortable this winter. I plan to make lots more though for some of my hens that are trying to molt and it's getting pretty cold now.

Unknown said...

make a chain weave it across back then tie a bow

bonnieboo_13 said...

Thank you for the pattern! I was afraid that it would be hard to put the sweater on so I added a buttonhole band.
Make the sweater according to your directions but do this
Row 21 & 22-Repeat row 20
Row 23- dc in first sc, ch1, skip next st, dc in next 3 sts, ch 1, skip next st, dc in next 4 sts, ch 1, skip next st, dc in next 3, ch1, skip next st, dc in next 2.
ch1 and sc around the entire sweater doing a sc into the ch1 space on the band. When I got to the neck area I hdc in next st, 4 dc in next st,sc in next st, 4 dc in next st across the next then do a hdc in next & continue on sc around.

TDFoster said...

Thanks so much for posting this pattern. It worked out great!

Unknown said...

almost finished with my first one, trying to make sweaters for my in-laws flock.. Thanks for the easy pattern..

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