crochet owl pattern

It is with great pleasure that I present to you a new realistic crochet owl: Fronsky, the tawny owl!

I had originally planned to create another animal, but this summer I saw my first adult tawny owl and later spotted a second one. Having seen tawny owl chicks this spring, I was eager to see an adult. After some research, I discovered a few roosting spots where owls are regularly seen. Visiting sites like these isn’t usually my thing, but for a chance to see a roosting tawny owl, I had to make an exception. During our first three visits, the owl was not present, which left me disappointed. However, on our fourth visit—a sunny afternoon—the owl was there! What a delightful sight it was! I found it almost magical how that gorgeous creature sat calmly and even looked at us from its perch. I was overjoyed and managed to take a few amazing pictures.

A few weeks later, we travelled to Germany. During a hike, we stumbled upon an old corn mill that showed signs of a roosting owl. There were droppings around, pellets, and feathers stuck to the wall. I checked for the owl but found none. Later that week, we took an evening stroll after a day of rain. As we walked the path to the mill, I wondered if there might be an owl now. When we were almost there, I carefully walked beneath a large chestnut tree and cautiously looked up at the mill. And there it was! A huge gray morph tawny owl perched on a beam—it didn’t even fully open its eyes when I looked at it. This one was much closer than the first one I saw, and I finally realized just how large they are. My holiday was perfect!

When I returned to work, my mind was so full of owls that the only thing I could do was crochet another owl pattern. Since I’ve already made several species of owls, I could easily adapt those patterns into a chubby tawny owl. That sounds easier than it is though, but at least I didn’t have to start from scratch. Real owls vary significantly in size, but I decided to make this one slightly bulkier because I like all my dolls to be about the same size. Choosing the colours for this owl was challenging; however, to keep it simple, I decided to omit the rust colours of the brown morph and instead go for a more greyish morph—like the owl I saw in Germany. This way, it can be made using only three colours, which is more than enough.

An interesting detail: for this owl, I adjusted the feet. Owls have two toes at the front of their feet and two at the back. When I made my other owls, I didn’t know this detail, and I bet many of you might not either.

Here are some more pictures of Fronsky the tawny owl amigurumi. Below them you can find all the information you need about the pattern.

Pattern Details

This is an intermediate pattern made with basic stitches. The difficulty lies in the colour changes; the strands can quickly become tangled, so you need to keep your focus!

This crochet owl is made with Istex Lett Lopi—a 100% wool yarn known for its fuzziness—and stands 5.5 inches (14 cm) tall. The pattern includes clear and colour-coded instructions on how to crochet and assemble the doll, along with instructional images and notes next to the text. You’ll also find pictures of the finished doll at the end. In the pattern, you’ll discover what materials you need as well as the yarn colour numbers—in short, everything necessary to create your own realistic owl amigurumi! All the additional information you need to know about this pattern you can find in the shop listings. You can purchase it in my shop at Ravelry or Etsy.

And heads up! This pattern has a one-dollar release discount until my birthday on October 6th. Feel free to let me know if you need any additional information!

Patterns

Torsbie, crochet long-eared owl pattern

September 21, 2023January 18, 2024 Sonja

This crochet owl pattern is very dear to me. Meet Torsbie and the owling, made after the owls that brightened my summer!

Owls are such gorgeous birds and I always wanted to see one for real, but they are very rare these days, and creatures of the night. This winter we often heard a long-eared owl singing in our largest tree, but I couldn’t find it in the daytime. Time went by and and I looked around for traces. White poo under a tree, feathers or pellets would reveal a daytime roosting spot, but I never found any.

Then one night when I was cycling past the nice field where I regularly spotted a hare, I saw a creature disappearing in the bushes. And then I heard unusual sounds, like squeaking doors. ‘Oh my,’ I thought, ‘could this be’? It was too dark to properly see, so I went home and eagerly searched online for owling calls. I had heard it right, there were owlets in those trees!

So I went back the next evening and a dream came true. In a large bush I saw a great ball of fluff with a black face and orange eyes. It was looking at me as surprised as I was looking at it. I walked to a better spot and eventually I saw four chicks. Every evening I visited them and saw them grow up into beautiful young owls. The parents I never saw in the evening, so I went out of bed before sunrise, and then saw one of the gorgeous adults too. How lucky was I that it was just sitting there watching me curiously? It was an amazing experience!

Of course now I had to make a long-eared owl crochet pattern. I could tell you all about the process, but just believe me when I say it was a very challenging pattern to design. These owls have such delicate features and I had to simplify it down to create a do-able pattern. And as a gift to you because of my happiness, I also added the instructions for an owling in the pattern.

Here are some more pictures of the amigurumi long-eared owls and below them you can find info about the pattern.

This is a pattern for experienced crafters. It’s made with basic stitches, but the many colour changes and the shaping of the owl don’t make it suitable for beginners.

This crochet owl is made with Istex Lett Lopi, a 100% wool with a lot of fuzziness. It’s 5 inch / 13 cm tall. The pattern contains a clear and colour-coded description of how to crochet and assemble the doll, with instruction images with notes next to the text and pictures of the finished doll at the bottom. In the pattern you can also find out what materials you need, the yarn colour numbers — in short, everything you need to know to make your own realistic owl amigurumi. All the additional information you need to know about this pattern you can find in the shop listings. You can purchase it in my shop at Ravelry, Etsy or order it here.

And heads up! This pattern has a one dollar release discount till the 28th of September.

Here a some pictures of the amazing owl family, because you must have become curious about them! In the last picture see a grown-up owling.

Patterns

Odi, little owl crochet pattern

November 9, 2015February 25, 2020 Sonja

And here he is. Meet Odi, a crochet little owl.

Never have I been so insecure during the process of designing a crochet pattern. Thankfully, now I am very happy with my little Odi. Why was this so difficult?

Well, I wanted to create a crochet owl that resembled a real owl species. There are loads of crochet owl patterns to find online, and you can see they are owls, but they don’t look like real owls, you probably know what I mean. And I wanted to make a little owl.

Giving it a sweet face, was the first obstacle I stumbled upon. I made several heads and they all looked quite unpleasant. When I finally had succeeded in making a sweet little face, I had trouble getting the size of the body right. At some point after taking things apart who knows how many times, I just continued working because of the amount of time I’d already spend on this project. And then there came a turning point. I had this lovely idea for the legs and feet and it did look so adorable, that the love for my crochet owl came back. I finished the feet and attached them to prototype Odi. It looked marvelous. Now I only had to make some wings and the little owl was finished.

But then, when I looked at the promotional and pattern pictures I had taken, I realized there still was something wrong with this doll. He did not look owly enough. His beak was much too big. After all this work I could not just let that be. So, I made a new tiny beak and took new photos. Now I can finally show you the result. I know Odi is not completely realistic looking. I did exaggerate the colours of the beak and feet to make him a more fun and expressive crochet owl. Just look at him!

How to get this whimsical crochet owl pattern?

The pattern for this adorable and rather realistic looking owl, you can find in my shop at Ravelry, Etsy or order it here. Odi is 14,7 inch / 12 cm tall when sitting. He is made with Istex lett lopi, 100% wool. The pattern contains a clear description of how to crochet and attach the bird with example pictures at the bottom to help you get everything right. In the pattern you can also find what materials you need, the Lopi colour numbers, in short, everything you need to know to make this lovely creature.

And heads up, the pattern has a one dollar release discount for the first week.

Ok, this one is just for fun.