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Guinea Fowl crochet pattern

This is one of those ideas that came to me on a whim and then I couldn’t possibly not make it! There are flocks of wild guinea fowl around Cape Town, and I see, or at least hear, them several times a week. It’s hilarious to watch a group of empty-headed guinea fowl following each other around, especially when one starts to run and they all follow, bobbing along at surprising speed!

Guinea fowl have beautiful spotted feathers, a plump, shapely body, and a colourful featherless face – the perfect combination of eye-catching colouring and exaggerated appearance to form a bold, stylized design:

Guinea Fowl amigurumi crochet pattern by PlanetJune
Colour! Shape! Isn’t it fun?

Inspiration

I didn’t think a bird with such detailed markings would be something I could reproduce for a crochet pattern, but then I saw the colourful, stylized guinea fowl designs on ceramics by local artist Dragana Jevtovic. It suddenly occurred to me that I could use a similar concept in my own work, by also representing the tiny guinea fowl spots on a larger scale. With that thought, an impossibly detailed surface pattern became perfect for amigurumi. This could be the start of new explorations of colour and pattern for me; I’m so happy with the eye-catching result of this first design!

amigurumi guinea fowl and real feathers
I like to pick up guinea fowl feathers when I see nice ones like these; they’re too pretty to leave on the ground.

Guinea Fowl fun facts

  • Guinea fowl (aka guineafowl or guineahens) are found in the wild throughout Africa south of the Sahara desert, but they have also been domesticated.
  • There are several species of guinea fowl, but the most recognisable (and the one on which I based my design) is the helmeted guinea fowl.
  • Guinea fowl make excellent farm ‘watchdogs’, as they squawk loudly whenever potential danger approaches, sending all the chickens running to safety!
  • They eat insects and ticks as well as seed, so domestic guinea fowl are handy to keep around the garden for pest control.
  • Guinea fowl can fly, but prefer to run from danger. At night, they fly up into a tree to roost.

Guinea Fowl amigurumi crochet pattern by PlanetJune

About this pattern

As well as a lovely ornamental amigurumi, a guinea fowl would make a perfect toy, with its large cuddly body, and bright colours and patterning. Don’t be intimidated by the combination of shaping and frequent colour changes – I carefully designed this pattern to have separate shaping rounds and colour changing rounds, so you never have to worry about both at once! And, when you’re making the spots, the other yarn is always carried, so there are no knots to tie and no ends to weave in. It’s surprisingly simple, and very satisfying to see the beautiful body shape come together.

Guinea Fowl amigurumi crochet pattern by PlanetJune

If you’d like to make a guinea fowl (or a whole flock!), you’ll find my Guinea Fowl pattern in the new Birds category of the PlanetJune shop.

Or, if youโ€™re not ready to buy just yet, add Guinea Fowl to your queue or favourites on Ravelry, so you donโ€™t forget about it:

I hope you’ll enjoy this design as much as I enjoyed creating it! Please let me know what you think in the comments ๐Ÿ™‚

12 Comments »

  1. jane gregoritch said

    Hi June,

    These lil guys are so adorable!

    My husband is a guinea fowl nut!

    I can’t crochet, arthritis in my hands.

    Do you think I could purchase a finished bird?

    • June said

      Hi Jane, I’m afraid I don’t have time to accept commissions for finished items based on my patterns, but some of my customers do: you can find the list of customers who sell items based on my patterns at www.planetjune.com/buytoys

      Maybe you’ll find one of them who has what you’re looking for in stock, or can custom-make it for you ๐Ÿ™‚

      • brandy hays said

        Is this pattern in US terms?

        • June said

          Yes, all PlanetJune patterns are written in standard (US) crochet terminology, with a conversion table for the UK stitch names.

  2. Wendy said

    I just wanted to say that pattern is AMAZING!

  3. Ina said

    I am from south Africa and we have a million of them in our neighbourhood. I love them so so much and get very upset when they get hurt. how much is the pattern and how do I go about buying it.

    • June said

      Hi Ina, you can find the pattern here in my shop. My shop currency is USD, but if you’d prefer to pay in ZAR (by EFT) instead, email me and we can sort that out!

  4. Janet Lipner said

    What a pretty stitch. I like the chubby body too.

  5. Judy Carlson said

    June, oh my gosh, that is SO cute!!!! I love it and must have my own! Bring on the birds!

    • June said

      This is my ‘test’ design – if it sells well, I have lots more ideas for ‘sitting’ birds like this, so your wish for birds may be granted…

  6. Rebecca D said

    Ahh, so cool! I want this guinea fowl so much! They are such funny creatures and this one is super cute and and and…. I vowed yesterday to go on a pattern- and yarn-buying moratorium until September (I am a little scared by the number of large projects I have ongoing simultaneously), but this will test my resolve. Little guinea fowl, on 1 September I am coming for YOU!

    • June said

      No hurry, Rebecca, he’ll be waiting for you whenever you’re ready ๐Ÿ™‚

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