Bird Ornament

By Anne Alexander

To make a bird ornament, you will need: pencil, tracing paper, scissors, heavy white paper, crayons or colored markers, large-eyed needle, and 3 1/2 yards (3.2 m) yarn.

1. Trace the bird pattern on this page on tracing paper and cut it out. Use this pattern to trace the bird onto the heavy paper. Cut out the bird, then cut out the large circle.

   bird ornament

   Illustrations by Mark Robison

2. Color the body, eye, and beak.

3. Cut off 18 inches (46 cm) of yarn and set aside. Thread the needle with the longer piece of yarn and pull the yarn so that the ends meet. Holding the ends of the yarn at the top of the bird’s body, put the needle down through the hole, around the bottom of the body, and up through the hole again. Pull the yarn not quite tight. Now bring the needle up around the top of the body, and repeat the process until all the yarn is gone (see illustration).

4. Cut the yarn at the top and bottom of the bird’s body and fluff it. Poke a hole in the bird for hanging. Thread the 18 inches of yarn through the hole and tie the ends together.