I was surprised to discover I have a thing about birds. I'd always thought they were rather dull creatures, but since we have been feeding our garden visitors they've been worming their way into my affection. Our selection of birds are rather plain. We host mainly sparrows and their even duller Dunnock cousins. We watch them through the year from nest building, to fledgling training, to fully functioning squabbling and bathing adults. Even so, it would never have occurred to me to actually crochet a bird. It all started with Owl's.
There are a number of Owl lovers in my family so Jessica Boyer's Great Horned Owl was my first make. He's basically a ball with added features. It's one of the curious and magical things about Amigurumi makes that, until you put all the separate elements together it looks like nothing in particular.
I wouldn't really claim to be an amigurumi maker but I am always drawn to texture and three dimensions. What does fascinate me is when Amigurumi moves beyond circles and sausages to complex shapes. The geometry created by increases, decreases, stitch sizes and the ability to crochet in seemingly any direction, now that amazes me. It is beyond my own skill level to create anything so complex from scratch. When I follow a pattern and discover how the designer has been able to solve these conundrums, then I am in awe.
My next bird, a Cockatoo form PawPaw's Studio, was also made as a gift and I still hadn't realised that I had a bird fetish. This make was then quickly followed by a brace of chickens. The somewhat comic and googly eyed Danish chickens came from a Danish book by Josefine Bjorn Knudsen. I had to translate the patterns into English in order to make them. Having no facility with language I award myself a merit!
At this point I admitted that I had an ornithological leaning and invested in Vanessa Mooncie's Crocheted Birds book. If you've read my Crochet Sea Creatures blog post or made any of Vanessa's patterns then you'll know that she has a true understanding of three dimensional shapes.
The structure is created mainly using arcs which intersect to produce very organic shapes. Sometimes I was working in the round and sometimes in rows. Not only does this help to create the form but also to suggest feathers.
I should probably also mention that I have an inability to work any pattern exactly as it is written and in the same yarn, or even the same weight of yarn! I'm making the Barn Owl as a Christmas gift. He's meant to be made in a DK weight yarn, but I'm using a mixture of 4ply, fingering weight yarns plus another yarn of unknown origin! I thought that would work quite well to express the flecked feathering. You of course get to judge the results.
Having made all the body parts, this is the point at which the legs are added and the bird begins to take shape. There are very exact instructions for shaping the feet and legs to the right proportions. Ah! I am of course making my bird in a non standard size so I have to 'wing it' here! To be honest I think my wire bending and wrapping skills need more practise.
The final element is the embroidery. Once again my crochet skills are far in advance of my sewing ability. I don't think it is unusual for a knitter or crochet to baulk at this moment. As I wasn't exactly following the instructions to the letter, I did quite a lot of experimenting and procrastinating at this point!
I found that after all that procrastinating the wings were looking a little battered. As a finishing touch I used some spray starch on the wings which was allowed to dry before I attached them.
I hope you will approve of the final result. And I hope the recipient will too.
There are plenty more birds to make from this book, but I am also adding to my bird wish list a Dodo and a Toucan. I have always had a weakness for Toucans but have no idea why!
I hope your seasonal makes are going well.
Fastening off...
P.S. I was hoping to finish this Blue Tit in time to post but instead you get it as an update! Certainly practise makes perfect, my wire bending skills have improved. The wings did not need starching as they are finished around a strip of wire, as is the tail. Xx
