As there are a lot of bird spotters among my friends and family, I’ve had quite some appeals for knitted birds. So I’ve taken up the venture of cloning different species in a knitted collection. Nowadays, the kids in my family actually collect these birds and I’m always delighted when they can actually spot and identify a species without even leaving the house!

Ducks are members of the waterfowl family Anatidae, a family shared with geese and swans. There are many collective -sometimes very cute - nouns to indicate a group of ducks, like a flock, paddling, plump or raft. As ducks are very social animals that live in groups, they may become stressed when living in isolation. So, keep all your knitted downy ducks together, to make sure they don’t get upset!

There are three gorgeous ducks included in this pattern: the 9 cm mallard, the 8 cm mandarin duck and the 11 cm king eider, knitted on 2.00 mm double pointed needles (UK 14, US 0) in Scheepjes Metropolis with knitting flat and in the round increases and decreases, short rows and some intarsia color work. The beaks and feet are done on miniature, but can be made in heavier yarn, on thicker needles and will be a bit bigger.

Each duck is a fun, fast, medium difficult project, that can be finished in an evening or so.

These ducks make great hanging ornaments, for example in your Easter branches!
Or, make your own aviary for in-house bird watching adventures, as there are many more bird patterns available!!

Only small amounts of yarns are needed, so a duck is a great project to use up any scraps you have lying around.
Some brands offer small skeins of yarn in many different colors. I find picking out my cute mini skeins from all those gorgeous shades half the fun of the project!

Happy Easter and have a quack-tacular knit! Viv