This is a pattern to create a lovely hanging knitted bird decoration for a Christmas tree or a door handle. The bird is knit in 6 pieces - 4 wing pieces, the bird body, head and tail in one piece and the beak. They are knitted on straight needles and sewn together afterwards. The wings and head are decorated with beads and a small amount of embroidery.

This pattern is a good stash buster as it can be made using left over 4 ply yarn and beads. Mine is a realistic interpretation of the Eurasian Jay but you can make it as colourful or imaginative as you wish. Using 4 ply yarn and 2.5 mm needles, the bird is around 14 cm long from til to beak tip. The gauge is not important but is 36 stitches and 40 rows to 10 cm. You could use dk and 3 mm needles and it would turn out slightly larger at around 17 cm long.

Materials Needed

4 ply yarn in pinky beige, cream, black and/or dark grey. Only a few metres (around 30 m in total, 15 to 20 m in the pink) are required so you may well be able to raid your scrap bag for suitable colours. Eg, Drops Flora in desert rose, (30), off white (01), dark grey (05) and black (06). The tail and beak are sleek on a jay and I used a 4 ply mercerised cotton for both as I had some available but just the dark grey or black wool yarn will be fine.
Small oddment dark grey 4ply cotton, e.g. King Cole Giza grey (2207) for the beak (optional) or use yarn above.
Polyester or wool stuffing.
3 or 4 mm black, spherical beads or use embroidery thread and French knots for the eyes.
Purl bullion in turquoise blue, ocean blue and black eg from the Golden Hinde, Warrington, UK. Peacock blue (CP036), ocean blue (CP037) and black (CP015). £2 for 5g/ 2m (in February 24).
Black embroidery thread (DMC 310).
Beads – eg Tohu Glass Seed Beads, Copper Lined Opal (741) - Size 8, 3mm from Wool Warehouse and black bugle beads, Trimits, 8g bag, from Wool Warehouse (UK)

Equipment
2.5 mm straight knitting needles
2 mm straight knitting needles for the beak
Large and small eyed tapestry needles for stitching the wool pieces together and for the embroidery
Very fine needle for beading/bullion if required and the appropriate coloured polyester thread(s)
Stitch markers or use scraps of contrasting yarn