This Sunflower Hen Egg Basket is a small, sturdy round basket with a cheerful hen at the front. A mustard-gold base and bottom band hold up a cream checkerboard mesh wall, which ends in a soft scalloped rim. A cream head and neck rise at the front, a scalloped mustard tail fan stands at the back, and three bright sunflowers decorate the side.
The colors are warm and farmhouse-style: mustard gold, cream, sunflower yellow, chocolate brown, and a little rust for the wattle. A mustard bow with a pearl bead finishes the neck. The basket holds six to eight eggs and looks lovely on a kitchen counter or Easter table.
The pattern uses US crochet terms. The base of the finished basket is about 5.75 in (14.6 cm) across, and the wall is about 3.9 in (9.9 cm) tall. The top of the hen’s comb is about 8 in (20.3 cm) above the table.
Construction is simple. You work the base and wall as one continuous piece from the center out. Then you make the head and neck, tail, comb, beak, wattle, sunflowers, and bow cord separately and sew them on.
Finished Size and Construction
- Base diameter: 5.75 in (14.6 cm)
- Wall height (with scallops): 3.9 in (9.9 cm)
- Overall height to top of comb: about 8 in (20.3 cm)
- Skill level: Intermediate (simple stitches, careful assembly)
- Terminology: US
- Yarn weight: Worsted (#4) cotton
- Hook: 4.0 mm (G-6)
- Number of pieces: 11 (1 basket body, 1 head and neck, 1 tail, 1 comb, 1 beak, 2 wattle lobes, 3 sunflowers, 1 bow cord)
- Layout: Head at the front, tail directly opposite at the back, sunflowers spaced along one side
- Basket body size before rim: 5.75 in (14.6 cm) wide, 3.4 in (8.6 cm) tall
- Rim (border) depth: 0.5 in (1.3 cm)
Materials
Choose a smooth worsted cotton, either mercerized or matte. Cotton keeps its shape and makes a firm basket wall. Acrylic also works, but the basket will be softer.
- Mustard gold: 55 g / 88 m (base, bottom band, tail, comb, beak, bow cord)
- Cream: 75 g / 120 m (wall, head and neck)
- Sunflower yellow: 15 g / 24 m (petals)
- Chocolate brown: 10 g / 16 m (flower centers)
- Rust: 5 g / 8 m (wattle)
- Black embroidery floss: a short length for eyelashes
All quantities include about 15% extra.
Tools:
- 4.0 mm (G-6) crochet hook
- 10 mm black safety eyes (1 pair)
- 10 mm pearl bead
- Polyester fiberfill
- Stitch markers
- Tapestry needle and sewing pins
- Scissors and a ruler or tape measure
Abbreviations (US Terms)
- ch – chain
- sl st – slip stitch
- sc – single crochet
- hdc – half double crochet
- dc – double crochet
- inc – 2 sc in the same stitch
- sc2tog – single crochet 2 together
- BLO – back loop only
- sk – skip
- sp – space
- st(s) – stitch(es)
- rep – repeat
Special stitch – block-and-space mesh: A block is 3 dc, worked either into 3 stitches or into one ch-3 space. A space is ch 3. Each round has 12 blocks and 12 spaces, alternating. On the next round, you work the blocks into the spaces and chain the spaces above the blocks. This makes the checkerboard.
Gauge and Checkpoints
- Single crochet: 16 sts and 18 rounds = 4 in (10.2 cm)
- Double crochet: 16 sts and 8 rounds = 4 in (10.2 cm)
Make the base first and measure it. It works as your gauge swatch.
Checkpoints:
- After Rnd 6 (36 sts): the circle is about 2.7 in (6.9 cm) across.
- After Rnd 12 (72 sts): the base is 5.5–6 in (14.0–15.2 cm) across.
- After Rnd 15: the wall is about 0.7 in (1.8 cm) above the edge of the base.
- After Rnd 20: the wall is about 3.2 in (8.1 cm) tall.
- After Rnd 22: the wall is about 3.9 in (9.9 cm) tall.
If your base is too big, go down to a 3.75 mm hook. If it is too small, go up to a 4.5 mm hook. Do not change the stitch counts. The mesh and rim only work with exactly 72 stitches.
Basket Body
Work the base in continuous rounds, marking the first stitch of each round. Then work the wall in joined rounds.
Base (Mustard)
Rnd 1: Magic ring, 6 sc in ring. (6)
Rnd 2: Inc in each st around. (12)
Rnd 3: Sc 1, inc 6 times. (18)
Rnd 4: Sc 2, inc 6 times. (24)
Rnd 5: Sc 3, inc 6 times. (30)
Rnd 6: Sc 4, inc 6 times. (36)
Rnd 7: Sc 5, inc 6 times. (42)
Rnd 8: Sc 6, inc 6 times. (48)
Rnd 9: Sc 7, inc 6 times. (54)
Rnd 10: Sc 8, inc 6 times. (60)
Rnd 11: Sc 9, inc 6 times. (66)
Rnd 12: Sc 10, inc 6 times. (72)
For a rounder circle, you can shift where the increases fall on every other round. The stitch counts stay the same.
Bottom Band (Mustard)
Rnd 13: Sc in BLO of each st around. (72) This makes the crisp ridge where the wall turns upward.
Rnd 14: Sc in each st around. Sl st to first sc. Fasten off mustard. (72)
Mesh Wall (Cream)
Rnd 15: Join cream in any st. Ch 1, sc in each st around, sl st to first sc. (72)
Rnd 16: Ch 3 (counts as dc), dc in next 2 sts, ch 3, sk 3, dc in next 3 sts, ch 3, sk 3 11 times. Sl st to top of ch 3. (12 blocks of 3 dc + 12 ch-3 sps = 36 dc + 36 ch = 72 sts)
Rnd 17: Sl st in next 2 dc and into the next ch-3 sp. Ch 3 (counts as dc), 2 dc in same sp, ch 3, 3 dc in next ch-3 sp, ch 3 11 times. Sl st to top of ch 3. (12 blocks + 12 ch-3 sps = 72 sts)
Now each ch-3 sits above a block, and each new block sits above a space. This shift makes the checkerboard.
Rnds 18–20: Rep Rnd 17. (72 sts each round)
Top Sc Round (Cream)
Rnd 21: Ch 1, sc in each dc and 3 sc in each ch-3 sp around. Sl st to first sc. (36 sc over the dc + 36 sc in the spaces = 72)
Make All Pieces
Head and Neck (Cream, make 1)
Work from the top of the head down.
Rnd 1: Magic ring, 6 sc. (6)
Rnd 2: Inc in each st. (12)
Rnd 3: Sc 1, inc 6 times. (18)
Rnd 4: Sc 2, inc 6 times. (24)
Rnds 5–10: Sc around. (24)
Put in the safety eyes between Rnds 7 and 8, 5 sts apart. With black floss, embroider three short eyelashes above each eye.
Rnd 11: Sc 2, sc2tog 6 times. (18)
Rnds 12–13: Sc around. (18) Stuff the head firmly.
Rnd 14: Sc 2, inc 6 times. (24)
Rnd 15: Sc around. (24)
Rnd 16: Sc 3, inc 6 times. (30)
Rnd 17: Sc around. (30)
Rnd 18: Sc 4, inc 6 times. (36)
Rnds 19–20: Sc around. (36) Fasten off, leaving a long tail. Stuff firmly and leave the bottom open.
The head is about 2 in (5.1 cm) across, and the neck is 4.4 in (11.2 cm) long. When flattened, the bottom opening is about 4.5 in (11.4 cm) wide.
Beak (Mustard, make 1)
Rnd 1: Magic ring, 4 sc. (4)
Rnd 2: Sc 1, inc 2 times. (6)
Rnd 3: Sc 2, inc 2 times. (8) Fasten off, leaving a long tail. The beak is about 0.75 in (1.9 cm) long.
Comb (Mustard, make 1)
Row 1: Ch 8. Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each ch across. (7)
Row 2: Ch 1, turn. Sc in first st, 5 dc in next st, sc in next st 3 times. (15 dc + 4 sc = 19 sts, 3 rounded lobes) Fasten off, leaving a long tail. The comb is about 1.75 in (4.4 cm) wide.
Wattle (Rust, make 2)
Ch 5. Sc in 2nd ch from hook, hdc in next ch, dc in next ch, 5 dc in last ch. Turn the work and continue along the other side of the chain: dc in next ch, hdc in next ch, sc in last ch. Sl st to first sc. (11 sts) Each teardrop is about 1 in (2.5 cm) long.
Tail Fan (Mustard, make 1)
Work flat in rows.
Row 1: Magic ring. Ch 3 (counts as dc), 9 dc in ring. Pull the ring closed into a half circle. (10)
Row 2: Ch 3, turn. Dc in same st, 2 dc in each st across. (20)
Row 3: Ch 3, turn. Dc in next 3 sts, ch 1, dc in next 4 sts 4 times. (5 groups of 4 dc = 20 dc + 4 ch-1 sps)
Row 4: Ch 3, turn. Dc in same st, dc in next 2 sts, 2 dc in next st, ch 1, sk ch-1 sp, 2 dc in next st, dc in next 2 sts, 2 dc in next st 4 times. (5 groups of 6 dc = 30 dc + 4 ch-1 sps)
Row 5 (scallops): Ch 1, turn. Sc in first st of group, hdc in next st, 3 dc in each of next 2 sts, hdc in next st, sc in last st of group, sl st in next ch-1 sp 4 times. Work the last group the same way, without the final sl st. (5 lobes of 10 sts = 50 sts + 4 sl st)
The ch-1 gaps make the lines that fan out between the five feathers. The fan is about 5.5 in (14.0 cm) wide and 3 in (7.6 cm) tall.
Sunflowers (make 3)
Rnd 1 (brown): Magic ring, 8 sc. (8)
Rnd 2: Inc in each st. (16)
Rnd 3: Sc 1, inc 8 times. Sl st to first sc. Fasten off brown. (24) The center is about 1.25 in (3.2 cm) across.
Rnd 4 (yellow): Join yellow in any st. Sl st in next st, (hdc, 2 dc, hdc) in next st 12 times. Sl st to first sl st. (12 petals) Fasten off, leaving a long tail. Each flower is about 2 in (5.1 cm) across.
Bow Cord (Mustard, make 1)
Ch 72. Sl st in the back bump of each ch back to the start. (71 sl st) The cord is about 18 in (45.7 cm) long. Tie it into a bow with two loops and two tails. Sew the pearl bead to the knot.
Pieces per Color
- Mustard: basket base and band, beak, comb, tail, bow cord
- Cream: basket wall, head and neck
- Brown + yellow: 3 sunflowers
- Rust: 2 wattle lobes
Placement Map (seen from above)
[ TAIL ] back
. .
[F3] BASKET .
[F2] (round) .
[F1] .
. .
[ HEAD ] front
F1–F3 are the sunflowers. Space them evenly along one side, between the head and the tail.
Joining and Assembly
Work the scalloped rim (Rnd 22, in the Border section) before you sew anything on. Then sew each piece on with its long tail, using a whipstitch from one stitch on the piece to one stitch on the basket. Keep the tension even and snug, but don’t pull so hard that the mesh puckers.
- Head and neck: Find the front of the basket and flatten the neck opening into an oval. Pin it so the front half of the opening sits on the outside of the wall, overlapping the top 1 in (2.5 cm), and the back half sits inside the rim. Sew all the way around the opening. The head should rise about 3.4 in (8.6 cm) above the rim.
- Beak: Sew it below and between the eyes, at about Rnd 9.
- Wattle: Sew both lobes side by side, hanging straight down under the beak.
- Comb: Sew the straight edge of Row 1 along the top of the head, with the lobes standing up.
- Tail: Count 36 sts around from the center front to find the center back. Sew the straight edge of the fan (the ring and the row ends) to the inside of the wall along Rnd 21. The fan should stand upright and curve with the wall.
- Sunflowers: Center each flower over Rnds 17–19 on one side. Sew around the outer edge of the brown center, then tack down each petal tip.
- Bow: Sew the knot of the bow to the front of the neck, just below the wattle.
Size checkpoint: The assembled basket should be about 8 in (20.3 cm) tall, from the table to the top of the comb.
Border: Scalloped Rim
Work this round directly into Rnd 21, before assembly.
Border gauge: One scallop repeat = 6 sts = 1.5 in (3.8 cm).
Rnd 22 (cream): Ch 1, sc in first st, sk 2 sts, 5 dc in next st, sk 2 sts, sc in next st 11 times, sk 2 sts, 5 dc in next st, sk 2 sts. Sl st to first sc. Fasten off. (12 scallops = 60 dc + 12 sc = 72 sts)
Why the math works: Rnd 21 has 72 sts, and each scallop repeat uses exactly 6 of them (1 sc, 2 skipped, the 5-dc shell, 2 skipped). 72 ÷ 6 = 12 repeats, with no stitches left over. The rim stays 18 in (45.7 cm) around, the same as the base, so the wall stays straight.
Final Blocking
- Weave in all ends securely before blocking.
- Lightly mist the basket wall and tail with water.
- Fill the basket with a rolled towel or a small bowl that is 5.75 in (14.6 cm) across.
- Straighten the mesh so the blocks line up vertically.
- Pin each scallop on the rim into a rounded curve.
- Lay the tail feathers flat and pin their tips open.
- Let everything dry completely, for about 24 hours.
Final Quality-Control Checklist
- The base is flat and 5.5–6 in (14.0–15.2 cm) across.
- Every mesh round has 12 blocks and 12 spaces.
- The checkerboard shifts cleanly on every round.
- The rim has 12 even scallops.
- The head and neck are firmly stuffed and stand upright.
- The eyes are level, and the beak is centered.
- The tail sits directly opposite the head.
- The sunflowers are evenly spaced, and every petal is tacked down.
- The bow is secure, and the pearl bead is sewn on tightly.
- No loose ends show.
Troubleshooting
- The base cups upward: Your tension is tight. Go up a hook size, or shift where the increases fall.
- The base ruffles: Your tension is loose. Go down a hook size.
- The wall flares outward: Check that every round has exactly 72 sts, and work Rnd 15 snugly.
- The mesh doesn’t shift: Every block in Rnds 17–20 must go into a ch-3 space, never into the tops of dc.
- The head flops forward: Add more stuffing to the neck, or tack the back of the neck to the inside of the wall.
- The scallops look uneven: Recount Rnd 21. It must have exactly 72 sts.
- The tail droops: Starch it lightly, or sew it down along Rnd 20 as well.
Care
Spot clean with mild soap and cool water, then reshape and dry flat. Don’t machine wash it, because the stuffing and safety eyes can shift.
Final Notes
The whole design builds on one set of measurements. The 72-st base is 5.75 in (14.6 cm) across. The same 72 sts go straight up through the bottom band, the five mesh rounds of 12 blocks and 12 spaces, and the top sc round, bringing the wall to 3.4 in (8.6 cm). The 12 six-stitch scallops use exactly 72 sts and add 0.5 in (1.3 cm), so the finished wall is 3.9 in (9.9 cm) tall. The hen’s head and comb bring the total height to about 8 in (20.3 cm). Check each stage as you go, and your hen will turn out sturdy, upright, and ready for eggs.
Happy crocheting!