There's a reason chenille yarn keeps showing up in amigurumi patterns lately — it turns even a simple stitch into something that looks and feels genuinely plush, almost like a store-bought stuffed animal rather than something made stitch by stitch. This little duck leans into that completely, right down to a tuft of fuzzy acrylic "hair" on top of its head that gives it real personality.
The whole duck is built from just a handful of pieces — a continuous head-neck-body, a little beak, two wings, and two webbed feet — so it comes together faster than the plush, finished look would suggest.
Quick Overview & Materials
The head, neck, and body are all worked as one continuous piece, so once you start, you won't be fastening off until the very end of that section. From there, you'll add a beak, wings, feet, some fuzzy hair, and embroidered eyebrows to finish the face.
What you'll need:
- Chenille yarn in white and orange — white for the head, neck, and body, and orange for the beak. These are also the two colors used for the wings and feet: white for the wings to match the body, and orange for the feet to match the beak, since those are the only two shades used throughout this pattern.
- A 4.5mm crochet hook (if you find the decrease rounds on the wings tricky to work at this size, a smaller hook can make those stitches easier to control).
- A strand of black embroidery floss, for the eyebrows.
- A yarn/tapestry needle.
- Black safety eyes.
- Polyester fiberfill stuffing.
- Medium-weight acrylic yarn, for the fuzzy tuft of hair on top of the head.
Stitch Abbreviations Used
- MR — Magic Ring
- sc — single crochet
- hdc — half double crochet
- ch — chain
- inc — increase (2 sc worked into the same stitch)
- inv dec — invisible decrease (insert your hook under the front loops of the next two stitches, pull the yarn through both, then yarn over and pull through to complete the stitch — there are plenty of great video tutorials on this technique if you're newer to it and want to see it worked in real time)
- sl st — slip stitch
Part 1: The Head, Neck & Body
This entire section is worked as one continuous piece in white yarn, starting at the top of the head and working straight down through the neck into the body — you won't fasten off until the very end of Round 30.
Shaping the Head
Round 1: Magic ring, work 6 sc into the ring. Tighten the ring and mark your last stitch with a stitch marker.
Round 2: Work 6 increases, one into each stitch from round 1. (12 sts)
Round 3: Work "1 sc, inc" around, repeating 6 times. (18 sts)
Round 4: Work "2 sc, inc" around, repeating 6 times. (24 sts)
Round 5: Sc in each stitch around, no shaping. (24 sts)
Round 6: Work "3 sc, inc" around, repeating 6 times. (30 sts)
Round 7: Sc in each stitch around, no shaping. (30 sts)
Round 8: Sc in each stitch around, no shaping. (30 sts)
Round 9: Work "3 sc, inv dec" around, repeating 6 times. (24 sts)
Round 10: Work "2 sc, inv dec" around, repeating 6 times. (18 sts)
Round 11: Work "1 sc, inv dec" around, repeating 6 times. (12 sts)
Stuffing and eyes: Lightly stuff the head at this point, then attach your safety eyes between rounds 6 and 7, spacing them 4 stitches apart.
Shaping the Neck
Round 12: Work "4 sc, inv dec" around, repeating just 2 times (since the stitch count is much smaller here). (10 sts)
Rounds 13–19 (7 rounds): Sc in each stitch around, no shaping — 10 sts each round. This straight section forms the neck.
Shaping the Body
Round 20: Work "4 sc, inc" around, repeating 2 times. (12 sts)
Round 21: Work "1 sc, inc" around, repeating 6 times. (18 sts)
Round 22: Work "2 sc, inc" around, repeating 6 times. (24 sts)
Round 23: Sc in each stitch around, no shaping. (24 sts)
Round 24: Work "3 sc, inc" around, repeating 6 times. (30 sts)
Round 25: Sc in each stitch around, no shaping. (30 sts)
Round 26: Sc in each stitch around, no shaping. (30 sts)
Round 27: Work "3 sc, inv dec" around, repeating 6 times. (24 sts)
Round 28: Work "2 sc, inv dec" around, repeating 6 times. (18 sts)
Round 29: Work "1 sc, inv dec" around, repeating 6 times. (12 sts)
Stuffing: Now fill the body firmly, and go back and add a little more stuffing to the neck too — but only lightly, so the neck stays flexible rather than stiff.
Round 30 (final round): Work 6 invisible decreases evenly around. (6 sts)
Cut the yarn and close the remaining hole.
Part 2: The Beak
Worked in orange yarn.
Round 1: Magic ring, work 6 sc into the ring. Tighten the ring and mark your last stitch.
Round 2: Work "1 sc, inc" around, repeating 3 times. (9 sts)
Round 3: Work "2 sc, inc" around, repeating 3 times. (12 sts)
Round 4: Sc in each stitch around, no shaping. (12 sts)
Cut the yarn and sew the beak onto the face.
Part 3: The Wings (make 2)
Worked flat, in rows, using white yarn to match the body.
Row 1: Chain 3.
Row 2: Work 2 sc, chain 1, and turn.
Row 3: Work 2 increases, bringing your stitch count to 4. Chain 1 and turn.
Row 4: Work 4 sc. Chain 1 and turn.
Row 5: Work 4 sc. Chain 1 and turn.
Row 6: Work 4 sc. Chain 1 and turn.
Row 7: Work 2 invisible decreases to close the tip of the wing. (If these decreases feel tricky at 4.5mm, switching to a smaller hook just for this row can make them easier to control.)
Cut the yarn and close up the starting chain. Repeat this entire pattern to make a second, matching wing. Sew both wings onto the body.
Part 4: The Feet (make 2)
Worked in orange yarn to match the beak.
Round 1: Magic ring, work 6 sc into the ring. (6 sts)
Round 2: Work "1 sc, inc" around, repeating 3 times. (9 sts)
Round 3: Sc in each stitch around, no shaping. (9 sts)
Round 4: Work "2 sc, inc" around, repeating 3 times. (12 sts)
Round 5 (flattening and closing the foot): Flatten the piece and crochet the two open edges together, working as follows: 2 hdc into the first stitch (both worked into the same stitch), then a sl st in the next stitch, then 2 hdc into the next stitch, then another sl st, and finish with 2 more hdc worked into the last stitch. Cut the yarn.
Repeat this entire pattern to make a second, matching foot. Sew both feet onto the body.
Part 5: Finishing Touches
Fuzzy head hair: Using your medium-weight acrylic yarn, cut a handful of short threads and tie them individually onto the stitches at the top of the head. Once you've tied on as many as you'd like, gently open up and separate the plies of each thread — this gives the hair its soft, fuzzy texture rather than sitting flat.
Eyebrows: Using your black embroidery floss, embroider a small eyebrow above each eye to finish off the face.
And that's your finished duck — soft, a little fuzzy on top, and genuinely quick to put together once you get into the rhythm of the increases and decreases. Chenille yarn can take a little getting used to if you haven't crocheted with it before, since it has more give than a standard acrylic, but the payoff is a plush that feels irresistibly soft the moment it's done.
