Playful ducklings like to be in a group so crochet a whole flock of them!
They make a great decoration for an Easter table.

Ducklings tutorial taken from Crocheting Soft Toys, by Angelika Wolk-Gerche. Available from florisbooks.co.uk, all good craft book stockists, Amazon UK and US.

To make your ducklings, you'll need:

Approximately 10 g yellow wool (yarn A)
A small amount of thin orange sock wool, baby wool or cotton yarn (yarn B)
A small amount of brown yarn (eyes)
Unspun sheep’s wool or polyester filling for stuffing
Needle, thread and pins
Fabric glue if needed

We used 5.00mm (US size H) and 4.25mm (US size G) for this project.

Stitches:

Chain (ch)

Slip stitch (ss)

Double crochet (dc) (US single crochet)

Half treble crochet (htr) (US half double crochet)

Treble crochet (tr) (US double crochet)

Picots

Tension/gauge: 22 dc x 22 rows = 10 x 10 cm (4 x 4 in)

Measurements: approximately 8.5 cm (3.3 in) high

Step 1: Head

Yarn A and larger crochet hook.

Crochet in rounds

Round 1: ch 3, join with ss to form a ring and crochet 6 dc into the ring.

Round 2: 2 dc into every dc (12 dc).

Round 3: 2 dc into every 2nd dc (18 dc).

Round 4: 2 dc into every 3rd dc (24 dc).

Rounds 4–8: crochet without inc – finished!

Pull the start yarn tight to close the hole and sew in all yarn ends. Stuff the head loosely.

Step 2: Body

Follow the instructions for the the duckling’s head in Step One to Round 4 (24 dc).

Rounds 5–10: crochet without inc.

Round 11: dec 3 dc evenly spaced around (21 dc).

Round 12: crochet without dec.

Round 13: dec 3 dc evenly spaced around (18 dc).

Pull the start yarn tight to close the hole and sew in all yarn ends. Stuff the body loosely, then sew the head and body together neatly.

Step 3: Wings and Tail

Wings: Make 2

Ch 10, then crochet back along the chain as follows: 1 ss, 1 dc, 2 htr, 1 dc (centre).

Continue in mirror image: 2 htr, 1 dc, 1 ss – this makes half the wing.

Ch 1 and work the other half in the same fashion: 1 ss, 1 dc, 2 htr, 1 dc etc.

Bind off, leaving a tail for sewing.

Tail

Ch 6, then dc in rows without crocheting the
edge stitches to make a triangle. Crochet around to neaten the edge if necessary. Bind off, leaving a tail for sewing.

Step 4: Beak

Use yarn B and the smaller crochet hook.

Ch 8, now crochet back along the chain as follows: 1 ss, 1 dc, 1 htr, 1 dc, 1 ss – this makes half the beak.

Ch 1 and continue crocheting in mirror image on the other side of the chain: 1 ss, 1 dc, 1 htr, 1 dc, 1 ss.

Fold the beak in half, point to point – finished!

Step 5: Feet

(Make 2)

Yarn B, smaller crochet hook.

Round 1: ch 3, join with ss to make a ring and crochet 6 dc into ring.

Rounds 2–4: crochet without inc (heel).

Round 5: 2 dc into every dc (12 dc).

Rounds 6–8: crochet without inc.

Fold and flatten the tube, which will be crocheted closed using dc, making picots to form the toes while doing so: ch 3, crochet 1 dc into the 3rd ch from the hook and 1 dc in the next dc to anchor (double layered) – one toe is finished. Work 3 toes evenly spaced and crochet through both layers when anchoring.

Step 6: Finishing

Embroider French knots for the eyes. This is easiest if you remove the stuffing first and replacing it when the eyes are finished.

Neatly sew the head to the body.

Position the wings at the side of the body at the neckline. Apply glue to the top of the wings only so they remain free to move, and sew on firmly using thread and small stitches.

Now attach the beak. Fold it in half, apply fabric glue to the fold and press to the face, leaving a nicely rounded forehead. Pin until the glue is dry, then sew on with small stitches.

Sew on the small triangular tail with fabric glue using small stitches.

Apply fabric glue to the feet and press to the body, close together. Due to its large feet the animal should be able to stand easily. Sew in place once the glue is dry.

Your first duckling is finished! Now continue with numbers 2, 3, 4...

Ducklings tutorial taken from Crocheting Soft Toys, by Angelika Wolk-Gerche. For more crochet animal patterns, find this book at florisbooks.co.uk, Amazon UK and US and all good craft book stockists.