This little hen basket sits on a kitchen counter or Easter table and holds four or five eggs. A cream mesh wall rises from a round sage-green base. A stuffed hen head and neck stands at one end and a green fan tail at the other. Two flower medallions decorate the side, and a green corded bow ties at the hen’s neck.
The colors are soft farmhouse shades: cream, sage green, blush pink and mustard, with black eyes and pearl bead centers. The mesh windows are staggered in a checkerboard so the eggs show through, and a scalloped rim finishes the top edge.
The pattern uses US crochet terms. The finished basket is 5.75 in (14.6 cm) across and 4 in (10.2 cm) tall to the scallop tips. With the head and comb it stands about 8 in (20.3 cm) tall.
You work the base in the round, turn the wall up with a back-loop round, then work dc mesh rounds. Next you crochet the small parts (head, tail, beak, wattle, comb, medallions, flowers and bow cord) and sew them on.
Finished Size and Construction
- Finished size: 5.75 in (14.6 cm) diameter x 4 in (10.2 cm) tall at the rim; 8 in (20.3 cm) tall at the comb
- Skill level: Intermediate
- Terminology: US crochet terms
- Yarn weight: Worsted (#4) cotton
- Hook: 4.0 mm (G-6)
- Number of pieces: 11 crocheted pieces: 1 basket body plus 10 small parts sewn on
- Layout: one round basket with the head at the front point, the tail at the back point and two medallions on one side
- Piece size: body base 5.5 in (14.0 cm) flat before turning up
- Size before border: 5.75 in (14.6 cm) x 3.5 in (8.9 cm) tall
- Border depth: 0.5 in (1.3 cm) scalloped rim
Materials
Use a smooth worsted-weight 100% cotton. Cotton holds the basket’s shape and shows the mesh clearly.
- Cream: 60 g / 93 m (walls, rim, head and neck)
- Sage green: 50 g / 78 m (base, tail, comb, medallions, bow cord)
- Blush pink: 10 g / 16 m (flowers, wattle)
- Mustard yellow: 5 g / 8 m (beak)
- Black embroidery floss: 1 short length (eyelashes)
Tools and notions:
- 4.0 mm (G-6) crochet hook
- 9 mm black safety eyes, 1 pair
- 3 pearl beads, 8 mm (2 flower centers, 1 bow knot)
- Polyester fiberfill, about 15 g
- Stitch markers
- Tapestry needle, plus a sewing needle with cream thread
- Straight pins
- Optional: fabric stiffener
All quantities include a margin of about 15% for swatching and sewing tails.
Abbreviations (US Terms)
- ch – chain
- sl st – slip stitch
- sc – single crochet
- hdc – half double crochet
- dc – double crochet
- sc2tog – single crochet 2 together
- inc – 2 sc in the same stitch
- BLO – back loop only
- MR – magic ring
- sk – skip
- sp – space
- st(s) – stitch(es)
Special stitches:
- Scallop: 5 hdc in the same stitch.
- Petal: (sl st, ch 2, 4 dc, ch 2, sl st) all in the same stitch.
Gauge and Checkpoints
Gauge: 16 sc and 18 rounds = 4 in (10.2 cm). 16 dc and 8 rounds = 4 in (10.2 cm).
Make the base first and use it as your test swatch for the whole project.
- After Rnd 6: 36 sts, about 2.75 in (7.0 cm) across.
- After Rnd 12: 72 sts, 5.5 in (14.0 cm) across and lying flat.
- After Rnd 20: wall 3.5 in (8.9 cm) tall, with a circumference of 18 in (45.7 cm).
- After Rnd 21: 4 in (10.2 cm) tall to the scallop tips.
If the base is larger than 5.75 in (14.6 cm), go down to a 3.75 mm hook. If it is smaller than 5.25 in (13.3 cm), go up to a 4.5 mm hook. Keep the stitch counts the same, because both the mesh and the rim depend on 72 sts.
Basket Body
Work the base in continuous rounds. Mark the first stitch of each round.
Base (green):
- Rnd 1: MR, 6 sc in ring. (6)
- Rnd 2: inc in each st. (12)
- Rnd 3: sc in next st, inc 6 times. (18)
- Rnd 4: sc in next 2 sts, inc 6 times. (24)
- Rnd 5: sc in next 3 sts, inc 6 times. (30)
- Rnd 6: sc in next 4 sts, inc 6 times. (36)
- Rnds 7–12: work 1 more sc between increases each round. Rnd 7: 42; Rnd 8: 48; Rnd 9: 54; Rnd 10: 60; Rnd 11: 66; Rnd 12: 72.
To keep the circle round, shift the increases on every other round by working half the sc before the first inc.
Turning round and green band:
- Rnd 13: sc in BLO of each st. (72) The unused front loops form the ridge at the bottom of the basket.
- Rnd 14: sc in each st, sl st to first st to join. (72) Fasten off green.
Wall (cream): From here on, join each round with a sl st and do not turn.
- Rnd 15: Join cream in any st, ch 3 (counts as dc), dc in each st around. (72 dc)
- Rnd 16 (mesh): ch 3 (counts as dc), dc in next st, ch 2, sk 2, dc in next 2 sts 17 times, ch 2, sk 2, join to top of ch-3. (36 dc + 18 ch-2 sps = 72 sts)
- Rnd 17 (offset mesh): sl st in next dc and into next ch-2 sp, ch 3, dc in same sp, ch 2, sk next 2 dc, 2 dc in next ch-2 sp, ch 2, sk next 2 dc 17 times, join. (72 sts)
Each 2-dc block now sits over a window, and each window sits over a block. This makes the staggered checkerboard.
- Rnds 18–19: repeat Rnd 17. (72 sts each)
- Rnd 20 (solid): ch 3, dc in next dc, 2 dc in next ch-2 sp, dc in next 2 dc 17 times, 2 dc in last ch-2 sp, join. (72 dc)
Don’t fasten off. Go straight on to the Border section.
Head and Neck
Cream. Work from the top of the head down, in continuous rounds.
- Rnd 1: MR, 6 sc. (6)
- Rnd 2: inc in each st. (12)
- Rnd 3: sc, inc 6 times. (18)
- Rnd 4: sc 2, inc 6 times. (24)
- Rnds 5–10: sc in each st. (24)
Insert the safety eyes between Rnds 7 and 8, 5 sts apart.
- Rnd 11: sc 2, sc2tog 6 times. (18)
Stuff the head firmly.
- Rnds 12–25: sc in each st. (18)
- Rnd 26: sc 2, inc 6 times. (24)
- Rnds 27–30: sc in each st. (24)
Stuff the neck medium-firm, but keep the bottom 0.5 in (1.3 cm) lightly filled so it sits flat. Fasten off with a long tail. The neck is 6.75 in (17.1 cm) tall and about 2 in (5.1 cm) wide at the head. Embroider three short black lashes above each eye.
Beak
Mustard.
- Rnd 1: MR, 4 sc. (4)
- Rnd 2: sc, inc 2 times. (6)
- Rnd 3: sc 2, inc 2 times. (8)
- Rnd 4: sc in each st. (8)
Fasten off with a long tail. Don’t stuff it; flatten it slightly. The beak is about 0.75 in (1.9 cm) long.
Wattle
Pink. Ch 1 (this is the base ch).
Lobe: ch 5, sc in 2nd ch from hook, hdc in next ch, dc in next ch, 5 dc in last ch. Rotate and work along the other side of the chain: dc in next ch, hdc in next ch, sc in next ch, sl st in base ch. (11 sts)
Make 3 lobes from the same base ch. Fasten off with a long tail. Each lobe is about 1 in (2.5 cm) long.
Comb
Green.
- Row 1: ch 8, sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each ch across. Turn. (7 sc)
- Row 2: ch 1, sc in first st, 5 dc in next st, sc in next st 3 times. (4 sc + 15 dc = 19 sts)
Fasten off with a long tail. The comb is about 1.75 in (4.4 cm) wide with three rounded peaks.
Tail
Green. Work in turned rows to make a half-circle fan.
- Row 1: MR, ch 3 (counts as dc), 5 dc in ring, pull closed. Turn. (6 dc)
- Row 2: ch 3, dc in first st, 2 dc in each st across. Turn. (12 dc)
- Row 3: ch 3, dc in first st, dc in next st, 2 dc in next st, dc in next st 5 times. Turn. (18 dc)
- Row 4: ch 3, dc in first st, dc in next 2 sts, 2 dc in next st, dc in next 2 sts 5 times. Turn. (24 dc)
- Row 5: ch 3, dc in first st, dc in next 3 sts, 2 dc in next st, dc in next 3 sts 5 times. Turn. (30 dc)
Checkpoint: 5 in (12.7 cm) wide x 2.5 in (6.4 cm) tall.
- Row 6 (feathers): ch 1, sc in first st, sk 2, 9 dc in next st, sk 2, sc in next st 4 times, sk 2, 9 dc in next st, sk 1, sc in last st. (6 sc + 45 dc = 51 sts; 5 feathers)
Fasten off with a long tail. The tail is about 6 in (15.2 cm) wide x 3 in (7.6 cm) tall.
Flower Medallions (make 2)
Circle (green):
- Rnd 1: MR, ch 3 (counts as dc), 11 dc in ring, join. (12)
- Rnd 2: ch 3, dc in same st, 2 dc in each st around, join. (24)
- Rnd 3: ch 1, sc in next st, 2 sc in next st 12 times, join. (36)
Fasten off with a long tail. Each circle is 2.25 in (5.7 cm) across.
Flower (pink):
- Rnd 1: MR, ch 1, 5 sc in ring, join. (5)
- Rnd 2: Petal in each sc around. (5 petals, 20 dc)
Fasten off. Each flower is about 1.6 in (4.1 cm) across. Sew one flower to the center of each circle and add a pearl bead to the flower center.
Bow Cord
Green. Ch 55, then sl st in the back bump of the 2nd ch from hook and in each ch across. (54 sl sts)
Fasten off. The cord is about 12 in (30.5 cm) long.
Assembly
Finish the Border (Rnd 21) and block the body first, then assemble.
- Neck: Stand the neck inside the basket against the wall at the front point. Whipstitch the open bottom edge to the base. Then tack the back of the neck to the inner wall along Rnds 15–20.
- Tail: Center the tail at the opposite point. Slip the lower 1.25 in (3.2 cm) inside the wall and sew it to the inner wall, so the feathers rise 1.75 in (4.4 cm) above the rim.
- Face: Sew the beak between the eyes at Rnds 8–9 and the wattle just below it at Rnds 10–11. Sew the comb across the top of the head over Rnds 1–3.
- Medallions: On one side, center one medallion 2.5 in (6.4 cm) from the neck and the other 2.5 in (6.4 cm) from the tail, both over Rnds 16–19. Whipstitch around the outer edges.
- Bow: Tie the cord into a bow with two 1 in (2.5 cm) loops. Sew the knot to the neck at rim level on the medallion side and add the third pearl. Let the short tail hang 2 in (5.1 cm). Run the long tail down to the top of the medallion nearest the neck, tacking it every 0.5 in (1.3 cm).
Border: Scalloped Rim
Border gauge: each scallop covers 4 sts of Rnd 20, or 1 in (2.5 cm) of rim. The rim is 0.5 in (1.3 cm) deep.
- Rnd 21: ch 1, sc in next st, sk 1, scallop in next st, sk 1 18 times, join to first sc. (18 sc + 90 hdc = 108 sts; 18 scallops)
Per half: the head half and the tail half each start with 36 dc and get 9 scallops.
Why the math works: Rnd 20 has exactly 72 dc, and 72 ÷ 4 = 18 repeats with no stitches left over. Each repeat uses 4 sts (sc, skip, scallop, skip), so the scallops are evenly spaced and the rim stays straight instead of flaring. Fasten off and weave in the ends.
Final Blocking
- Weave in all ends.
- Find a bowl or jar about 5.75 in (14.6 cm) across.
- Turn the body upside down over it so the base sits flat on top.
- Spray with water until damp. For a firmer basket, brush on diluted fabric stiffener instead.
- Smooth the mesh so the windows are square and line up vertically.
- Pin the scallops so they hang evenly.
- Pin the tail and both medallions flat on a blocking mat and spray them lightly.
- Let everything dry completely, at least 24 hours.
- Remove the pieces from the forms and assemble.
Final Quality-Control Checklist
- The base is 5.5 in (14.0 cm) across and sits flat with no cupping.
- Every wall round has 72 sts and the wall stands straight.
- The mesh windows alternate evenly in a checkerboard.
- The basket is 5.75 in (14.6 cm) wide and 4 in (10.2 cm) tall at the rim.
- The neck stands upright without leaning.
- The eyes are level and the beak is centered.
- The tail rises 1.75 in (4.4 cm) above the rim.
- The medallions are level and evenly spaced.
Troubleshooting
- Base ruffles: your sc is loose; go down a hook size and check the increase counts.
- Wall flares outward: your dc is loose; use a smaller hook for Rnds 15–20 only.
- Windows are uneven: check that each ch-2 skips exactly 2 sts and that each round starts in the correct ch-2 sp.
- Scallops ripple: recount Rnd 20; it must have exactly 72 sts.
- Neck flops: add stuffing to the neck and tack it higher on the inner wall.
- Tail curls: block it again with stiffener and leave it pinned until dry.
- Medallion cups: Rnd 3 may have extra sts; it should have exactly 36.
Care
Hand wash in cool water with mild soap, reshape over a bowl and let dry completely. Don’t machine wash or tumble dry, because the stuffed neck and pearls need gentle handling.
Final Notes
Here is the measurement chain. The base grows to 72 sts and 5.5 in (14.0 cm) across. The wall keeps those 72 sts and rises to 3.5 in (8.9 cm). The rim divides the 72 sts into 18 scallops and adds 0.5 in (1.3 cm), so the finished basket is 4 in (10.2 cm) tall. With the neck and comb, the hen stands 8 in (20.3 cm) tall. If every checkpoint matches, the pieces will fit together cleanly.
Happy crocheting!