Malcolm the Mallard – Free Pattern!

This cute mallard duck design was my entry into the Amigurumi Showcase competition; a mini design contest for new amigurumi designers (search #amigurumishowcase on Insta!) to help and promote artists who are either just starting out, or wanted some help to grow. The competition was created and judged by THE AMAZING @ohanacraft @lex_in_stitches @made_by_penguins @belleandgrace_hmc and @lemonyarncreations!

Unfortunately I didn’t make it through to the final shortlisted 6 designers, but I always intended to share my pattern for free, regardless of what happened in the contest, so here it is!

If you make a Malcolm please do tag me, I’d love to see it, and any questions, please drop me a message!

This pattern is written in UK TERMS. See my handy conversion chart for UK vs. US terms here.

The size of your Malcolm will vary based on the kind of yarn you use. For my Malcolm, I used RitoHobby Infinity Hearts Rose 8/4 – 100% Cotton yarn.

Materials

8/4 (Light weight) Yarn in:

– Dark Green

– Yellow

– Brown

– Beige

– Optional – Scraps for blush

2.5 mm hook (or hook size according to yarn label)
Toy Stuffing of your choice
(Suggested) 6 mm Safety Eyes
Stitch Marker
Large-eyed needle
Scissors

Abbreviations (UK Terms)

MR- Magic Ring
CH – Chain
DC – Double Crochet (UK)
FLO – Front Loops only
BLO – Back Loops Only
INC – Increase
INV DEC – Invisible Decrease
SL ST – Slip Stitch
FO – Fasten Off

Special Stitches

Invisible Decrease (INV DEC):

Insert your hook into the front loops ONLY of the next 2 stitches. Yarn over, pull through both loops, then yarn over again and pull through the 2 loops on the hook.

Clean Colour Change method:

Change to your new yarn colour in the last ‘yarn over’ of the previous stitch.

For example (working in dc stitches):

* Insert hook into the stitch before your colour change

* Yarn over

* Pull through (2 loops on hook)

* Yarn over with new colour

* Pull through both loops on hook

* Continue to work the next stitch in the new colour.

Pattern

Head and Body:

In green yarn:

1: 6 dc in MR (6)

2: Increase in each stitch (12)

3: [1 dc, inv inc] x 6 (18)

4: 1 dc, inv inc, [2 dc, inv inc] x 5, 1 dc (24)

5: [3 dc, inv inc] x 6 (30)

6: 2 dc, inv inc, [4 dc, inv inc] x 5, 2 dc (36)

7: [5 dc, inv inc] x 6 (42)

8 – 12: Dc in each st to end (42)

13: [5 dc, inv dec] x 6 (36)

14: 2 dc, inv dec [4 dc, inv dec] x 5, 2 dc (30)

Add safety eyes between rows 11 and 12, approximately 10 stitches apart. Add some toy stuffing. Optional: Sew a ‘blush’ line onto your duck’s cheeks under each eye.

15: [3 dc, inv dec] x 6 (24)

16: 1 dc, inv dec, [2 dc, inv dec] x 5, 1 dc. Change to beige yarn in last st (18)

Head and Body (Continued):

In beige yarn:

17: [1 dc, inv dec] x 6 (12)

18: Dc in each st (12)

19: Dc in each st. Change to brown in last st (12)

In brown yarn:

20: Inc in each st (24)

21: [1 dc, inv inc] x 12 (36)

22 – 24: Dc in each st. Change to beige in last st of rnd 24 (36)

In beige yarn:

25: 7 dc, inv inc, 20 dc, inv inc, 7 dc (38)

26: Inv inc, 17 dc, 2 inv inc, 17 dc, inv inc (42)

27: [Inv inc, dc] x 4, 30 dc, [inv inc, dc] x 2 (48)

28 – 29: Dc in each st (48)

30: [2 dc, inv dec] x 12 (36)

Top up stuffing. Continue adding stuffing as you go.

31: [1 dc, inv dec] x 12 (24)

32: [1 dc, inv dec] x 8 (16)

33: [Inv dec] x 8 (8)

Sl st in next st and FO with long tail. Sew remaining stitches closed.

Beak:

In yellow yarn:

1: Ch 5, dc in 2nd ch from hook and next 2 st. Work 2 dc in last ch.

Do not turn, continue working around the opposite side of the chain as follows:

1 dc in next 3 st, 2 dc in last st. (10)

Continuing in the round:

2: 2 dc, inc, 4 dc, inc, 2 dc (12)

3: Press the work flat along the original chain. Work 1 dc in each stitch and it’s opposite stitch together, along the top of the work (through both the stitch on the side facing you, and the adjacent stitch on the other side of the flattened work).

Fasten off with a long tail for sewing later.

Wings (Make 2):

In brown yarn:

1: 5 dc in MR (5)

2: [1 dc, inc] x 2, 1 dc (7)

3: 2 dc, [1 dc, inc] x 2, 1 dc (9)

4: Dc in each st. Change to beige in last st (9)

In beige yarn:

5: 2 dc, inc, dc 3, inc, dc 2 (11)

6: [1 dc, inc] x 5, 1 dc (16)

7: Dc in each st (16)

8: Press the work flat. Work 1 dc in each stitch and it’s opposite stitch together, along the top of the work (through both the stitch on the side facing you, and the adjacent stitch on the other side of the flattened work) Work 2 dc in the last st.

FO with a long tail for sewing later.

Feet (Make 2):

In yellow yarn:

1: 5 dc in MR (5)

2: [1 dc, inc] x 2, 1 dc (7)

3: 2 dc, [1 dc, inc] x 2, 1 dc (9)

4: Dc in each st (9)

5: 2 dc, inc, dc 3, inc, dc 2 (11)

6: 1 dc, [2 dc, inc] x 3, 1 dc (14)

7: Dc in each st (14)

8: Press the work flat. Work a dc in the next stitch and it’s opposite stitch along the top of the work (through both the stitch on the side facing you, and the adjacent stitch on the other side of the flattened work). Work a sl st in the next stitch (across both sides), dc in next 2 sts (across both sides), sl st in the next st (across both sides) and finally, 2 dc in the last st (across both sides).

FO with long tail – sew the webbing details using a small amount of yellow yarn.

Rain Hat:

In yellow yarn:

1: 9 dc in MR (9)

2: Inc in each st (18)

3: [1 dc, inc] x 9 (27)

4: [2 dc, inc] x 9 (36)

5: [3 dc, inc] x 9 (45)

6 – 8: Dc in each st (45)

9: In BLO, dc in each st (45)

10: Dc in each st (45)

11: Dc in each st (45)

Sl st in next st and FO. Weave in ends.

Hat strap (optional): Make a chain in yellow yarn and sew an end to each side of the hat.

🦆 THANK YOU for making a Malcolm, I hope you’ve enjoyed this pattern! I’d love to see your makes, tag me on my Instagram Page, on my Facebook Page or on my Twitter Page! 🦆

If you would like to say thanks and support the making of more free patterns, I do have a Ko-Fi page!