Sew a chicken: In this post, you will learn how to quickly sew a chicken and discover the diverse ways to use it, not just for Easter. With the free pattern, you can sew the Danish chicken in 4 different sizes and put together a whole team.
The most important things at a glance
- In this post, I will show you how easily you can sew a fabric chicken
- You will learn about the many possibilities this chicken has
- You can download the free pattern in 4 sizes in this post
- ✂️ Sewing level: easy
- ⏰ Sewing time: 30-60 minutes
And just like that, the time has come again. Easter is just around the corner. A holiday that revolves around bunnies, eggs, and, of course, chickens. Chickens are funny and lay the indispensable Easter eggs that the little bunny gets to hide. And because chickens are so funny, they are sewn in all their glory, given as gifts, and used as decorations in the landscape. But why should our chickens be limited to Easter? Decorative chickens can do more than just sit around and look cute.
You can use them as sewing weights, or as warming chickens filled with grains or kernels—especially popular with children. How about a doorstop? Such a stylish chicken in the entryway or on the way to the terrace. Or as a fragrant lavender chicken in the closet to deter moths? You’re guaranteed to be in a good mood early in the morning when the chicken smiles at you from the closet. Perhaps even in the sock drawer next to your savings. The perch sitter also cuts a fine figure as a phone holder on the nightstand. Your imagination knows no bounds here. And so that you can be truly creative, you get the free pattern for chicken HELGARD—yes, our chicken has been given a name—in 4 sizes.
Chicken HELGARD is sewn from all non-stretchy fabrics. You can go all out here. The best part is, you only need very little fabric. So you can make good use of your fabric scraps. HELGARD is also a great upcycling project. Use old jeans, tea towels, or linen shopping bags. You can really let off steam here too. Once you have sewn chicken HELGARD, you won't be able to stop. Now everyone around you can look forward to a great chicken.
Reading tip: Sew a chicken utensil holder
Do you love poultry? Then take a look at our goose pattern as well!
YouTube tutorial: Sewing chicken HELGARD
What do I need to know as a beginner to sew a chicken?
Basic sewing knowledge is perfectly sufficient here. The Danish chicken is a great beginner project. You only need to be able to sew in a straight line.
Don't know if you're missing some basics? Then I recommend my online sewing course, “The SewSimple Sewing License”. In this 2.5-hour course, you will learn everything about materials, machines, and techniques that you need to get started.
If you haven't worked with non-stretchy fabrics (woven fabrics) before, you should take a look at my blog post on the topic Sewing cotton fabric. In it, you will learn everything you need to know for working with woven fabrics.
What does my sewing machine need to be able to do to sew a chicken?
Your normal household sewing machine is absolutely sufficient. It should be able to sew forwards and backwards. You need that to lock your seams. For this project, we work only with a straight stitch. Depending on the intended use and material of the chicken, different sewing feet are helpful.
If you want to sew a chicken as a doorstop, you generally use durable material like oilcloth or faux leather. When sewing with oilcloth and faux leather, a Teflon foot is very useful. It is also called a non-stick foot or gliding foot. Laminated fabrics like to stick to the sewing foot and are thus transported less easily. With this coated foot, you can counteract that.
A walking foot is also helpful. Many machines already have this intelligent fabric feed system integrated. At Pfaff, it is the IDT system; at Bernina, the Dual Feed; at Brother, it is the SFDS (Square Feed Drive System) and the built-in ICAPS fabric sensor system on selected machines.
Most fabrics for the chicken can be sewn with a size 80 universal needle. However, for leather, I recommend a leather needle. It has a chisel point and is designed to cut the leather as it penetrates. It should never be used for textiles. You can also sew faux leather with a universal needle because of its fabric backing.
READING TIP: Everything about sewing machine needles
Which fabrics are suitable for sewing a chicken?
In principle, you can use any non-stretchy fabric. Think about what purpose you want to sew the chicken for. For a warming chicken, you should use cotton or soft muslin. For a doorstop chicken, I recommend faux leather or coated fabrics, which are a bit more robust.
Here are a few recommendations:
| Fabric type | Characteristics | Notes/Tips | Source |
| Cotton poplin | - practical all-round fabric - well suited for beginners - easy to work with - wide selection |
- use with size 70 or 80 universal needle - suitable for all chickens |
Order cotton poplin* |
| Linen / Linen blend | - elegant, sustainable, natural - fabric edges fray easily |
- use with size 70 or 80 universal needle - do not trim too much - suitable for all chickens |
Order linen* |
| Muslin | - soft feel - frays, warps easily - suitable for warming chickens |
- use with size 70 or 80 universal needle - do not trim too much |
Order muslin* |
| Denim | - firm, robust - well suited for doorstops |
- use with size 80–100 universal needle | Order denim* |
| Canvas | - firm and heavy, robust | - use with size 80 to 100 denim needle - use sharp fabric scissors - works well for doorstop chickens |
Order canvas* |
| Faux leather | - robust, heavy, wipeable - well suited for doorstops |
- use with leather needle - use non-stick sewing foot |
Order faux leather* |
| Fine corduroy / Cord | - robust, heavy, soft | - use with size 80 or 90 universal needle | Order corduroy* |
| Coated cotton / Oilcloth |
- wipeable - water-repellent - robust |
- size 80 universal needle - non-stick sewing foot - clips, no pins |
Order coated cotton* |
Which fillings are suitable for a chicken?
It depends on what you want to use your chicken for.
Here are some recommendations:
Normal fiberfill - well suited for decorative chickens. It is very soft, light, and easy to handle.
Spelt grains, cherry pits, grape seeds - very good for warming chickens. They retain heat.
Lentils, rice - for decorative chickens that stand up better, light sewing weights.
Sand - I recommend bird sand here. Very good for doorstops and sewing weights. The sand should, however, be packaged separately, as it is very fine.
Lavender - for scented chickens. Can also be combined with other fillings.
Where can I find the free pattern?
You can download the free pattern for chicken HELGARD on the left. The 1 cm seam allowance is already included. You will get the pattern in 4 different sizes.
Click here for the free chicken pattern:
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Please understand that we cannot send our free patterns via email. Unfortunately, we cannot answer such requests.
Sew a chicken: Accessories
In addition to the fabric and filling, you will need the following:
- Fabric of your choice
- Filling of your choice in sufficient quantity
- Felt (red and yellow for beak and comb) - I show alternatives from fabric scraps in the tutorial
- approx. 30 cm cord or cotton bias tape for the legs
- Embroidery thread, buttons, or rivets for the eyes
- matching sewing thread*
- Fabric clips* or pins*
- Fabric scissors*
- Thread snips*
- Sewing machine
Instructions: Sew a chicken - Basic tutorial
The basic instructions are the foundation for all chickens. Instead of embroidery thread, buttons, or rivets, you can also sew the chicken's eyes with a decorative stitch on your sewing machine. The possibilities here are truly diverse.
Important: A seam allowance of 1 cm is already included in the pattern.
You need:
- Fabric of your choice (linen, cotton, faux leather...)
- Felt in red and yellow
- approx. 30 cm cord
- Thread for the eyes
- the pattern in actual size without scaling
Note for cutting the comb and beak
The pattern pieces for comb and beak are quite small.
Mark them directly on the felt with a marking pen and cut them out.
How to sew the comb and beak out of fabric can be found further down in the post under Sewing tip - Comb and beak out of fabric.
How to sew the comb and beak out of faux leather can be found further down in the post under Sewing tip - Sewing a chicken out of faux leather.
Cutting:
- 2x body mirrored
- 1 comb
- 1 beak
- cord for the legs
- thread for the eyes
Pin the beak and comb to the marking on one of the body parts.
Sew the comb and beak to the body with a straight stitch, just inside the seam allowance. This secures both pieces so they can no longer shift.
Tip: If you want to hang the chicken on a clothes hanger as a lavender sachet, for example, you should also attach a small cord to the top between the beak and the comb. I’ll show you how to do this further down in the post under Sewing Tip - How to sew a chicken as a lavender sachet
Place the second body part right sides together on the first and pin the two side edges and the top edge.
The bottom edge remains open.
Sew all three sides together with a straight stitch. Backstitch briefly at the beginning and end to lock the seams.
Trim the seam allowance slightly at the two top corners.
Note: Do not cut into the seam.
Turn the chicken right side out and push out the corners well.
Since we are still going to stuff it, there is no need to iron it.
Mark the position of the eyes on both sides. Where you place them is up to you.
You can also use a pin to check the position. How you make the eyes is also entirely up to you.
Note: If you want to use rivets, you should attach them BEFORE sewing everything together. (see further down under Sewing tip for faux leather chicken)
Embroider or sew the eyes onto both sides of the chicken. By the way, you can also "paint" the eyes with your sewing machine.
Tip: For "bright" eyes, you can also use a French knot. You can find out how to do this further down in the post under Eyes with French knots
Tip: We show you how to "sew-paint" in the tutorial Embroidery with a sewing machine
Fold the seam allowance of the open bottom inwards and iron the edge well.
Now fill the chicken about halfway. If using stuffing, you can add a bit more. Remember that the chicken still needs to be closed and the presser foot needs space.
Note: Do not overstuff, otherwise closing the opening will be difficult.
Pin the bottom of the chicken together. The seam should lie in the middle.
At the same time, pin the legs in between at the position of your choice. For this, the 30 cm cord was halved. The exact length of the legs can be adjusted at the end.
Make sure the stuffing does not fall out or slip into the seam area, which could potentially break your needle during sewing.
Sew the bottom closed with a straight stitch, keeping close to the edge.
Tip: You can also use colored thread to highlight the seam as a decorative element.
Tie a knot at your preferred position and trim the cord.
Tip: You can also thread a bead onto the leg before knotting and cutting.
How you design the legs is up to your imagination.
Your chicken is finished.
Sewing Tip - Comb and beak from fabric
Since you don't need to finish the edges of felt, it's the material of choice for the comb and beak.
However, you might find yourself without felt, or you simply prefer not to use it. There is a simple solution for this as well - fabric.
You need 1-2 fabrics of your choice for the comb and beak. Small scraps that are a bit more than double the size of the pattern pieces are sufficient. These should not be too thick and do not need to be reinforced.
Place both fabric scraps right sides together. Trace the pattern piece with a fabric marker.
Sew along the marking with a straight stitch. Backstitch briefly at the beginning and end to lock the seam.
Corner sewing tip: Leave the needle in the fabric at the corners. Lift the presser foot and rotate the fabric. Lower the presser foot again and continue sewing.
Now trim the fabric close to the seam. Please be careful not to cut into the seam.
Note: You can leave about 1 cm of fabric at the bottom edge
Turn the comb right side out, push out the corners, and iron well.
Follow the same steps for the beak.
Done. Now you can sew in the pattern pieces as described in the basic instructions.
Sewing Tip - Faux leather chicken as a doorstop
A faux leather chicken in XL is a perfect doorstop. The material is robust and wipeable. The basic instructions are the same as described above. I will show you a few sewing tips here for a consistent look.
Comb and beak from faux leather
Place two leather scraps wrong sides together and sew the comb according to the pattern with a straight stitch.
Cut out the comb close to the seam. Be careful not to cut through the stitching.
Follow the same steps for the beak.
The comb and beak are now ready and can be inserted. Since the pattern pieces are small and faux leather is very robust, there is no need to turn them.
Eyes with rivets
Eyes made of rivets complement the cool look of the faux leather. These must be attached BEFORE sewing the body together.
The position is up to you. Only sew on the comb and beak afterwards.
Filling with sand
Sand is the perfect material for a doorstop. It is dense and heavy. But it is also fine. To prevent anything from leaking through the seams, I recommend filling the sand into a small bag and sealing it well with tape. Make sure to seal it as airtight as possible.
You can then place this bag inside your chicken.
This also works for sewing weights.
Tip: Bird sand from the pet supply store works perfectly.
Follow the basic instructions for sewing.
Sewing tip - Sewing a chicken as a lavender sachet
The smaller-sized chickens can also sit in your wardrobe as a decorative lavender sachet, or even hang.
Place a small cord in the corner between the comb and the beak and sew it in. This will later serve as a hanging loop.
Trim the fabric carefully at this spot so that the cord cannot pull out or fray. The size of the loop is up to you.
Eyes with French knots
You can also attach the eyes using French knots. Use embroidery thread or darning yarn for this.
Thread the needle and tie a knot at the end.
Stitch from the inside through the body part at the position of the eye.
Lay the needle on the fabric and wrap the thread 2-3 times around your needle.
Then stitch back to the inside and knot the thread on the inside.
The eye is finished.
Continue with the hanging chicken as described in the basic instructions.
Legs made of bias tape
Instead of cords, you can also use bias tape for the legs. The length remains the same.
You will need approx. 30cm of cotton bias tape.
Fold the bias tape inwards lengthwise and pin the long sides well.
Stitch along both sides close to the edge with a straight stitch.
Cut the tape into two equal pieces. These are the legs. They can now be sewn into the bottom seam.
You can determine the leg length and finish yourself.
Your hanging chicken is finished.
Conclusion
As you can see, sewing a fabric chicken is an ideal project for beginners and advanced crafters alike. It offers countless possibilities. You can go wild with fabrics and use up small scraps. And not just for Easter. The HELGARD chicken can bring you joy all year round.
Whether plain or colorful, large or small – there are no limits to creativity when sewing for Easter. Anyone who wants to sew a fabric chicken can choose from various patterns and customize the design to their own taste.
Whether as an Easter chicken that heralds the arrival of spring, or as a shelf-sitter chicken that sits comfortably on a shelf – a handmade decorative chicken adds an individual touch to any room. Especially at Easter, it is great fun to sew an Easter chicken and use it to decorate your table, windowsill, or Easter basket. With a few fabric scraps and some skill, you can sew a unique chicken, which also makes a great gift for family and friends.
Happy simple sewing, Eve & Sabine
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