The canary is a small songbird with a lovely singing voice, so lovely they became popular pets in European courts. They were also useful as an early warning system in the coal mines; toxic gases would affect the canary first and he would sadly die. The main character in the cartoon Tweety Bird is a canary. Norwich City football team’s nickname is The Canaries, because Norwich was famous for breeding and exporting the birds.
Knitted all in one piece, apart from the wings, the canary is a quick knit.
Length: 17cm (7in)
Height to top of head: 10cm (4in)
Pair of 3¼mm (US 3) knitting needles
15g (½oz) of Rowan Baby Merino Silk DK in Limone 675 (le)
2 pipecleaners for legs and tail
Tiny amount of Rowan Pure Wool 4ply in Black 404 (bl) for eyes
Small amount of Rowan Pure Wool 4ply in Shell 468 (sh) for beak and legs
See here.
(starting at the tail)
With le, cast on 6 sts.
Beg with a k row, work 8 rows st st.
Row 9: K1, inc, k2, inc, k1. (8 sts)
Work 7 rows st st.
Row 17: K1, inc, k4, inc, k1. (10 sts)
Row 18 and every foll alt row to row 54: Purl.
Row 19: Inc, k1, inc, k4, inc, k1, inc. (14 sts)
Row 21: Inc, k2, inc, k6, inc, k2, inc. (18 sts)
Row 23: Inc, k2, inc, k10, inc, k2, inc. (22 sts)
Row 25: Inc, k3, inc, k12, inc, k3, inc. (26 sts)
Row 27: Inc, k5, inc, k12, inc, k5, inc. (30 sts)
Work 5 rows st st.
Row 33: K10, inc, k8, inc, k10. (32 sts)
Row 35: K10, inc, k10, inc, k10. (34 sts)
Row 37: K10, inc, k12, inc, k10. (36 sts)
Row 39: K2tog, k4, k2tog, k20, k2tog, k4, k2tog. (32 sts)
Row 41: K2tog, k4, k2tog, k16, k2tog, k4, k2tog. (28 sts)
Row 43: K2tog, k4, k2tog, k12, k2tog, k4, k2tog. (24 sts)
Row 45: K2tog, k3, k2tog, k2, k2tog, k2, k2tog, k2, k2tog, k3, k2tog. (18 sts)
Row 47: K4, k2tog twice, k2, k2tog twice, k4. (14 sts)
Row 49: K5, inc, k2, inc, k5. (16 sts)
Work 5 rows st st.
Row 55: K2tog, k1, k2tog, k2, k2tog, k2, k2tog, k1, k2tog. (11 sts)
Row 56: P2tog, p1, p2tog, p1, p2tog, p1, p2tog. (7 sts)
Row 57: K2tog twice, k1, k2tog. (4 sts) Break yarn leaving long end, thread end through open sts, pull tight and secure.
(make 2 the same)
With le, cast on 4 sts.
Knit 2 rows.
Row 3: Inc, k3. (5 sts)
Knit 1 row.
Row 5: Inc, k4. (6 sts)
Knit 1 row.
Row 7: Inc, k5. (7 sts)
Knit 10 rows.
Row 18: K5, k2tog. (6 sts)
Knit 3 rows.
Row 22: K2tog, k2, k2tog. (4 sts)
Knit 3 rows.
Row 26: [K2tog] twice. (2 sts)
Row 27: K2tog and fasten off.
WINGS
To keep the wings flat, pin them down using a little stitch.
SEWING IN ENDS Sew in ends, leaving ends from cast on and cast (bound) off rows for sewing up.
BODY With RS together, fold the body in half. Using mattress or whip stitch, sew up tail and around the bottom edge of body to head, leaving a 2.5cm (1in) gap at tummy. Turn RS out.
TAIL Cut a pipecleaner 2.5cm (1in) longer than the tail. Fold over one end. Slip the folded end into the tail, add a little stuffing. The end of the pipecleaner will poke out and will vanish into the body stuffing.
STUFFING Starting at the head, stuff the body and. Sew up the gap.
WINGS Sew cast (bound) off row of wing to body, with the longer curve at the bottom of the wing. To stop the wings flapping, halfway down wing sew the underside of wing to the body with a little stitch.
LEGS AND FEET Cut a 12.5cm (5in) length of pipecleaner. Thread the pipecleaner through bottom edge of the tummy, leaving 1cm (½in) between the two legs. The legs should be about 2.5cm (1in) long. To make feet, fold the pipecleaner back on itself twice and trim. Repeat for other foot. Using sh and starting at the feet, wrap the feet and legs in yarn. Secure at top of legs.
BEAK Cut 2.5cm (1in) of pipecleaner. With sh, wrap 2cm (¾in) of pipecleaner, do not cut off yarn, fold in half and push into the head. Use the ends of the yarn to secure the beak.
EYES With bl, sew 3-loop French knots, positioned as in photograph.
LEGS
A little pink nail varnish on the claws will prevent the yarn unravelling.
