Owls Two Ways

(One knitted and one crocheted) by Ana Clerc This is a pair of universal simple one-piece owl patterns. Using the yarn of your choice, owls are stitched with a needle or hook 2 sizes smaller than the yarn normally calls for. For example, I used worsted weight yarn and a size F hook for the brown owl and the same weight yarn and size 6 (4.0 mm) dpns for the gray one. Both owls share the same finishing instructions and are both done in the round from the bottom up. In addition to yarn and needles or hook, you will need the following tools and materials: Buttons OR safety eyes OR felt circles for eye centers Felt circles to make eye circles Small scrap of felt OR a small scrap of yarn to make a beak for your owl Toy stuffing to fill owl AND a small bag of rice, beans, or poly-pellets to weight the bottom. Needle and thread for sewing on beak and eyes Yarn needle to close the top of the owl Stitch marker to mark the first stitch of your rounds (I used a locking one for both.) Knitted Owl Bottom: Using 1 dpn, CO 10 sts. With two dpns, K 20 rows in Garter St. (10 ridges). Round 1: (RS) Knit across all 10 sts, and pick up and knit 10 sts on each of the other sides. Mark the beginning of the round. (40 sts.) Rounds 2-20: K all sts. (40 sts.) Cast off, cut yarn, leaving a 12 tail for sewing the top. Finishing instructions are below.

Crocheted Owl Note: Owl is crocheted in continuous rounds. Mark the first st of each round as you stitch. Round 1: Using a magic ring, 6sc into ring and draw closed. (OR ch 2, 6sc in 2nd ch from hook.) (6 sts) Round 2: 2sc in each sc around (12 sts) Round 3: *sc, 2sc in next sc. Rep from * around. (18 sts) Round 4: *2sc, 2sc in next sc. Rep from * around. (24 sts) Round 5: *3sc, 2sc in next sc. Rep from * around. (30 sts) Rounds 5-16: sc in each sc around (30 sts) Cut yarn, leaving a 12 tail and secure end. Finishing Flatten the owl so that the tail is on the side. For the knitted owl, you will have to stitch through the backs of a few sts to get tail to one side with a straight side of the bottom square facing the front. Sew eye circles and beak onto the owl approximately a two-thirds to three-quarters of the way to the top. Sew buttons or attach safety eyes to the center of the eye circles. Place a small bag of rice, beans, or poly-pellets in the bottom of the bag. Finish stuffing with toy stuffing BUT do not overfill. Stitch top of owl closed. Using tail, stitch under both legs (loops) of both stitches that face each other when the top is pressed flat. Stitch to other corner, secure end. Pull up the corners to form the ear tufts. Optional: Use a few strands of yarn to make short fringe on the tops of the ear tufts. Enjoy!

Ana Clerc is a knitting and crochet teacher and mama living in Austin, Texas. Her designs can be found on Ravelry and at oceanofstitches.blogspot.com

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