Craft project: Make this rockhopper penguin crochet hat (child-sized) for Bird of the Year

Eastern Rockhopper penguins are the punk rocker of the penguin world, but their numbers have declined by 30 per cent in the past 30 years. They need our help.

NZ Life & Leisure and thisNZlife are supporting the Rockhopper penguin for Forest & Bird’s Bird of the Year competition – Te Manu Rongonui o Te Tau(1-14 October 2018) so look out for our stories on these fascinating birds.

Kids will look great in this fun crochet beanie. Don’t forget to vote for the Rockhopper at birdoftheyear.org.nz

Words and photos: Jane Wrigglesworth

For this project I bought a skein of each colour, but you can easily use up leftover wool if you have it.

YOU NEED:

8-ply black yarn
8-ply yellow yarn
8-ply orange yarn
8-ply white yarn
Crochet hook (5mm)
Tapestry needle
White millinery feathers
Yellow food colouring
Small piece black felt
Fabric glue

*Abbreviations
ch – chain
sl st – slip stitch
sc – single crochet
sc dec – single crochet decrease
dc – double crochet
hdc – half double crochet
tc – triple crochet

HOW TO MAKE:

Feathers
(penguin dyeing feathers)

Soak feathers in a tub of water with yellow food colouring. Leave to soak overnight, then drain and set aside to dry.

Hat

Make a magic ring.
Round 1: 11 dc in magic ring, join to first dc with sl st, ch 2.
Round 2: 2 dc in each st, join to first dc (not ch), ch 2 (22 dc).
Round 3: [2 dc in first st, dc in next st], repeat to end of round, join, ch 2 (33 dc).
Round 4: [2 dc in first st, dc in next 2 sts], repeat to end of round, join, ch 2 (44 dc).
Round 5: [2 dc in first st, dc in next 10 sts], repeat to end of round, join, ch 2 (48 dc).
Round 6: [2 dc in first st, dc in next 11 sts], repeat to end of round, join, ch 2 (52 dc).
Round 7: [2 dc in first st, dc in next 12 sts], repeat to end of round, join, ch 2 (56 dc).
Round 8: [2 dc in first st, dc in next 13 sts], repeat to end of round, join, ch 2 (60 dc).
Round 9: [2 dc in first st, dc in next 14 sts], repeat to end of round, join, ch 2 (64 dc).
Round 10-15: dc in each st to end of round, join, ch 2 (64 dc).

Earflap 1

Row 1: ch 1, sc in next 12 sts, ch 1, turn.
Row 2: sc dec, sc in next 8 sts, sc dec, ch 1, turn.
Row 3: sc to end (10 sc), ch 1, turn.
Row 4: sc dec, sc in next 6 sts, sc dec, ch 1, turn.
Row 5: sc to end (8 sc), ch 1, turn.
Row 6: sc dec, sc in next 4 sts, sc dec, ch 1, turn.
Row 7: sc to end (6 sc), ch 1, turn.
Row 8: sc dec, sc in next 2 sts, sc dec, ch 1, turn.
Row 9: sc to end (4 sc), ch 1, turn.
Row 10: 2 sc dec, ch 1, turn.
Row 11: sc dec, fasten off with sl st, weave in ends.

Earflap 2

Leave 22 sts in front of hat.
Join black yarn.
Rows 1-11: same as earflap 1.

White trim

Using the white yarn, and starting at the middle back, sc around the hat and earflaps. At the tip of each earflap, ch 50, sl st into the 3rd ch from the hook and the rest of the way along the ch. Sc into the tip again, and continue around the hat, making a chain at the 2nd earflap as per the first flap.

Nose

Using the orange yarn, ch 5.
Sc in 2nd chain from hook, hdc in next ch, dc in the next ch, tc in the next ch.
Fasten off, leaving a tail.

Eyes

Make a magic ring.
Ch 2, 8 dc in ring.
Pull tight and fasten off, leaving a tail.

Pompoms
(penguin pompom)

Using the yellow yarn, wrap the yarn around three of your fingers 75 times. Carefully slide off your fingers, leaving the loops intact, and tie securely with a separate piece of yellow yarn around the middle. Once tied, cut the loops, fluff out the yarn and trim to the size you want. Attach pompoms to hat ties with yellow yarn.

Making Up
(penguin hat making up)

Using tails on eyes and nose, sew onto face with a tapestry needle. Sew a black French knot in the centre of the eyes. Poke the ends of the yellow feathers into the hat. Cut black felt so you have two small pieces that will cover the ends of the feathers on the inside of the hat.

Apply fabric glue to one side of each piece of felt and glue to the inside of the hat. If needed, sew around the edges of the black felt to keep the feathers totally secure.

SHARE YOUR PHOTOS

All done?

You can do your bit to help the endangered Rockhopper penguins by casting a vote for them in Forest & Bird’s Bird of the Year competition here (Voting open 1-14 October 2018) and by sharing photos of your Rockhopper hats with the thisNZlife community.

Email your pictures to us here, or message them to the Facebook page.

Forest and Bird

Bird of the Year is an annual competition run by Forest & Bird. New Zealanders are asked to vote for their favourite bird at www.birdoftheyear.org.nz. Make a donation to help save New Zealand’s threatened and endangered birds here.