Korkhenn, with Sochi Chicken variation

This is another entry to a line of cat toys that can be stuffed with a cork from a wine bottle: Korkfisshe, Korkmauser, and Korkmann. The idea is that the cork won’t leave fluff all over the house when kitty disembowels it, but polyfill will work fine if your cat prefers it. A catnip marinade is also a fine thing.

Korkhenn

Materials:

• US4 dpns
• Kitchen cotton (ie Sugar n’ Creme, etc.) in two colors, MC and CC
• darning needle
• stuffing: either polyfill or a cork from a wine bottle
• bits of yarn for eyes and beak

1. Cast on 4 st with MC; pull yarn all the way to the right, as if knitting I-cord

2. Knit-front-and-back (kfb) all stitches, knitting each increased stitch on to a new DPN and join to knit in the round (8 stitches, 2 on each needle)

3. Knit 1 round

4. KFB all stitches (16 stitches)

5. Knit 2 rounds

6. KFB all stitches (32 stitches)

7. Knit 4 rounds

8. KFB all st (64 stitches)

If you are a knitter who has seen the movie Chicken Run, at this point you might say to yourself “I don’t want to be made out of pi!”

9. Knit 4 rounds or until hen is big enough. If you want a great big hen, after 8 rounds work another increase round (KFB every stitch), then knit 16 rounds plain; another increase round, then knit 32 rounds plain; at this point the chicken would surely be life-sized.

10.  Break yarn. Add CC, knit 1 round

11. Weave in ends.

12. Fold circle in half and begin to close edges together with 3-needle bindoff, using a stitch from each side of the hen. With a few stitches left to go, stuff the Korkhenn with either a cork or polyfill, then finish the bind off. Weave in ends.

If you know wine, then you know I drink only the best: Three-Buck Cluck.

13. Make the comb: pick up 4 stitches from the fold line, at one end of the hen. With CC, knit 4 rows, then slip 2 stitches to the right needle, then knit those stitches together (SSK), then knit next 2 stitches together (K2TOG). K2TOG once more, then bind off.

14. Embroider eyes, beak, and feet.

Sochi chicken

There’s been a lot of talk on Ravelry about knitting rainbow items during the Sochi games. I normally agree with Samuel Goldwyn: It you want to send a message, use a telegram, but sometimes you want to make a gesture.

This gesture says “Cluck you, Putin!”

It looks like the Gay Pride flag skips indigo, so you’ll need yarns in colors that spell out ROY G BV. I used Caron Simply Soft with US4 dpns.

As in the Korkhenn pattern, cast on with red, KFB all stitches for 1 round (8 stitches), knit 1 round, then KFB all stitches for 1 round (16 stitches).

Switch to orange. Knit 2 rounds, KFB all stitches for 1 round (32 stitches), knit 1 round.

Switch to yellow. Knit 3 rounds, then KFB all stitches for 1 round (64 stitches).

Switch to green. Knit 3 rounds (at this point 4 rounds/color looks like 1 round too many).

Switch to blue. Knit 3 rounds.

Switch to violet. Knit 3 rounds (if you were knitting a larger chicken or a circle shawl, the last row should be an increase round, but for this it’s not necessary).

Switch back to red, knit 1 round plain, then weave in ends.

There are a lot of ends.

Fold the chicken in half and bind off and stuff as for hen.

Add comb as for Korkhenn, or try a Fabulous Comb, made with an extended picot bindoff. I switched to Vanna’s Glamour in Ruby Red, because I come from the Johnny Weir school of protest chicken knitting.

Pick up 5 stitches from the fold line of the chicken. Knit two rows. With a cable cast on, add five stitches to the left needle, then bind off 6 stitches. Repeat twice more, then bind off.

Embroider eyes, beak, and feet.

ETA: It also looks quite tidy if you cast off in violet, without switching to the red: