Egg cosy/caddy/critter

My first attempt of working crochet in the round was a rather failed one; last Easter, I tried making crochet egg cosies.  It was a disaster and I didn't touch my crochet hooks for over 4 months.  I had found an adorable pattern for crochet egg cosies and thought they would be the perfect first crochet project because they were small and I could make loads for friends as gifts instead of giving them a big chocolate egg.  Anyone who knows crochet (and I do now) knows that doubles (US singles), despite looking beautiful when working in the round have very little stretch to them.  I couldn't get my blimming eggs into the cosies.

My solution?  I've designed a cute crochet cosy critter.  Instead of just having a top, it buttons shut with a cute little tail which is just simply a really small crochet ball.  Perfect for adding a bit of novelty to breakfast time or, erm, taking a boiled egg in one's packed lunch (do people do that nowadays?).  My children have little toy eggs and like to put them inside and play with the little critters =)

I used yarn that knits to a 4mm needle and a 3.5mm hook and my cosy holds a large egg, or rather conveniently, a Kinder Surprise egg.  I do work to quite a tight tension so you may find you will need to use slightly finer yarn with a smaller hook. 

You will need to know how to work doubles (US singles), increases, and dc2tog (insert hook into next hook, yarn over and draw through loop, insert hook into next stitch, yarn over and draw through loop, hook through all three loops). It's the perfect project for learning to work doubles in continuous rounds.  If you don't want the fiddly task of making the feet and tail, you can work them up really quickly by just working the top shell but your gift egg won't stay in it quite so nicely.  If you want to give a completely chocolate-free gift, you could always just make an egg shaped critter by stuffing and decreasing 6 stitches each round to close after working the top (start with (5dc, dec) then (4dc, dec) etc).


Top egg shell

Round 1: 2 chain then work 6 dc into the 2nd chain from hook, or work 6 dc into a magic ring
Round 2: 2 dc into each stitch round [12]
Round 3: (1 dc, inc) x 6 [18]
Round 4: (2 dc, inc) x 6 [24]
Round 5: Work 1 round straight without shaping
Round 6: (3 dc, inc) x 6 [30]
Rounds 7-8 : Work 2 rounds straight without shaping
Round 9: (4 dc, inc) x 6 [36]
Rounds 10-12 : Work 3 rounds straight without shaping
Round 13: (5 dc, inc) x 6 [42]
Rounds 14-15 : Work 2 rounds straight without shaping, or until work measures 5.5cm from the top of the shell
Round 16: Work straight until 5 stitches remain, ch 5
Round 17: Work straight until the 5 ch, work these stitches then slip stitch to the next stitch.  Fasten off and weave in loose ends




Base egg shell

Round 1: 2 chain then work 6 dc into the 2nd chain from hook, or work 6 dc into a magic ring
Round 2: 2 dc into each stitch round [12]
Round 3: (1 dc, inc) x 6 [18]
Round 4: (2 dc, inc) x 6 [24]
Round 5: (3 dc, inc) x 6 [30]
Rounds 6-7 : Work 2 rows straight without shaping
Round 8: (4 dc, inc) x 6 [36]
Rounds 9-10: Work 2 rows straight without shaping


Button tail

Round 1: 2 chain then work 6 dc into the 2nd chain from hook, or work 6 dc into a magic ring
Round 2: 2 dc into each stitch round [12]
This is a good point to tighten the magic ring completely and weave in the end
Round 3: Work 1 round straight without shaping
Round 4: (dc2tog) x 6 [6]
Weave through the last 6 stitches, stuff tightly with small pieces of waste yarn and pull to tighten.  Keep a yarn tail for securing to base egg shell.


Now that you've made the basic shells and tail, you can turn your cosy into whatever you wish!


Chickie Bird

Wings 
Make two

Round 1: 2 chain then work 6 dc into the 2nd chain from hook, or work 6 dc into a magic ring
Round 2: 2 dc into each stitch round [12]
This is a good point to tighten the magic ring completely and weave in the end
Rounds 3-7: Work 5 rounds straight without shaping
Round 8: (dc2tog) x 6 [6]
Keep a yarn tail for securing to the top egg shell.


Beak:

Round 1: 2 chain then work 5 dc into the 2nd chain from hook, or work 5 dc into a magic ring
Round 2: 2 dc into each stitch round [10]
Round 3: Work 1 round straight without shaping
Keep a yarn tail for securing to the top egg shell. 


Feet:
Make two

Round 1: 2 chain then work 4 dc into the 2nd chain from hook, or work 4 dc into a magic ring
Round 2: 2 dc into each stitch round [8]
Rounds 3-4: Work 2 rounds straight without shaping
Fold work in half such that there is a double layer of 3 stitches plus 2 at the ends that won't be used.  Claw 1: Slip stitch through both layers of the 'first' stitch, ch 3, 2 dc starting from 2nd ch from hook, slip stitch back into the first stitch
Claw 2: Slip stitch through both layers of the 'second' stitch, ch 4, 3 dc starting from 2nd ch from hook, slip stitch back into the first stitch
Claw 3: Slip stitch through both layers of the 'third' stitch, ch 3, 2 dc starting from 2nd ch from hook, slip stitch back into the first stitch
Fasten off and thread the tail yarn back through the magic ring for sewing onto the body

After you've made all of your pieces, sew it together and weave in loose ends:

• Sew the button on the third row from the top of the base egg shell
• Sew the bottom of the top egg shell to the base, securing it on the third row from the top of the base, opposite the tail
• Fold the wings in half and sew onto the sides of the chick
• Fold the beak in half and sew onto the front of the chick
• Sew the feet onto the base

Bunny Rabbit

Ears:
Make two

Round 1: 2 chain then work 6 dc into the 2nd chain from hook, or work 6 dc into a magic ring
Round 2: 2 dc into each stitch round [12]
This is a good point to tighten the magic ring completely and weave in the end
Rounds 3-9: Work 7 rounds straight without shaping
Round 10: (dc2tog) x 6 [6]
Keep a yarn tail for securing to the top egg shell.


Feet:
Make two

Round 1: 2 chain then work 4 dc into the 2nd chain from hook, or work 4 dc into a magic ring
Round 2: 2 dc into each stitch round [8]
Rounds 3-5: Work 3 rounds straight without shaping
Keep a yarn tail for securing to the bottom egg shell.