Crochet pelican with fish- free pattern

Check out my Youtube video tutorial for this pattern here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hLm0ycjj3k

When made with the stated yarn weight and hook size, the finished pelican will be approx 13cm tall and 10cm long.

It might be helpful to watch my Youtube video to see how to sew all of the pieces on.

Materials needed:

• 6mm black safety eyes

• 3mm crochet hook

• DK yarn in white, yellow, black and light blue

• Stitch marker

• Stuffing

• Sewing needle (appropriate size for the yarn)

• Scissors

• Pins to help with sewing

Abbreviations (US crochet terms):

st- stitch

ch- chain

mr- magic ring

sl st- slip stitch

sc- single crochet

inc- increase

invdec- invisible decrease

dc- double crochet

tr- treble crochet

BLO- back loops only

FLO- front loops only

Top beak piece:

In yellow:

Rnd 1: ch 11, starting in 2nd st from hook: sc in nxt 9 st, 4 sc in last st, turn and work on other side of chain, sc in nxt 9 st (22)

Place marker in last st you did.

Rnd 2: (inc in nxt st, sc in nxt 4 st) x4, inc in nxt st, sc in nxt st (27)

Fasten off leaving long tail for sewing. Weave the short tail from the slip knot into the back of the stitches on the underside all along (the wrong side of the stitches). Cut the yarn close to the edge of the work.

Lower beak piece (pouch):

In yellow:

Rnd 1: ch 11, starting in 2nd st from hook: sc in nxt 9 st, 4 sc in last st, turn and work on other side of chain, sc in nxt 9 st (22)

Place marker in last st you did.

Rnd 2: (inc in nxt st, sc in nxt 4 st) x4, inc in nxt st, sc in nxt st (27)

Rnd 3: sc in nxt st, inc in nxt st, sc in nxt 12 st, inc in nxt st, sc in nxt 11 st, inc in nxt st (30)

Rnds 4- 6 (3 rnds): sc in every st (30)

Fasten off leaving long tail for sewing. Weave the short tail from the slip knot into the back of the stitches on the inside near the first rnd (the wrong side of the stitches). Cut the yarn close to the edge of the work.

Head and neck:

In white:

Rnd 1: 6 sc in mr (6)

Rnd 2: inc in every st (12)

Rnd 3: (sc in nxt st, inc) x6 (18)

Rnd 4: (sc in nxt 2 st, inc) x6 (24)

Rnds 5- 7 (3 rnds): sc in every st (24)

Rnd 8: (invdec) x3, sc in remaning st (21)

Rnd 9: sc in every st (21)

Insert safety eyes making sure each eye is 2 stitches away from the three invdec stitches on each side, between rnds 7 and 8 (the decrease rnd should be the lower rnd)

Begin stuffing as you go.

Rnd 10: (sc in nxt 5 st, invdec) x3 (18)

Rnd 11: (sc in nxt 4 st, invdec) x3 (15)

Rnd 12: sc in nxt 2 st, inc, sc in nxt 6 st, invdec, sc in nxt 4 st (15)

Rnds 13- 14 (2 rnds): sc in every st (15)

Rnd 15: sc in nxt 3 st, inc, sc in nxt 6 st, invdec, sc in nxt 3 st (15)

Rnds 16- 17 (2 rnds): sc in every st (15)

Rnd 18: sc in nxt 4 st, inc, sc in nxt 6 st, invdec, sc in nxt 2 st (15)

Rnds 19- 20 (2 rnds): sc in every st (15)

Rnd 21: sc in nxt 5 st, inc, sc in nxt 6 st, invdec, sc in nxt st (15)

Fasten off leaving long tail for sewing.

Sew the top part of the beak between the eyes on rnd 8, by picking up loops from the surface of the stitches on the head and going under both loops of the stitches on the beak piece, use 3 stitches, then find a white loop nearby on the underside of the piece, go through it but don't pull through all the way, leave a loop and go through the loop from behind, pull tight to make a knot. Weave the tail through the head and out the other side, cut yarn close to the edge of the work and use the end of your needle to push end inside.

Sew the bottom part of the beak on the round directly below the top part, using 3 stitches, then weave the tail through the neck and come out in the middle (directly underneath where you sewed the top edge to) and sew the side edge of the beak to the neck by picking up loops on the surface of the beak and then the neck. Sew until you reach rnd 2 and then find a loop nearby the fasten off in the same way and weave the end inside, trim excess and push end inside.

Body:

In white, stuff as you go:

Rnd 1: 6 sc in mr (6)

Rnd 2: inc in every st (12)

Rnd 3: (sc in nxt st, inc) x6 (18)

Rnd 4: (sc in nxt 2 st, inc) x6 (24)

Rnd 5: (sc in nxt 3 st, inc) x6 (30)

Rnd 6: (sc in nxt 4 st, inc) x6 (36)

Rnd 7: (sc in nxt 5 st, inc) x6 (42)

Rnd 8: (sc in nxt 6 st, inc) x6 (48)

Rnds 9- 10 (2 rnds): sc in every st (48)

Rnd 11: (sc in nxt 14 st, invdec) x3 (45)

Rnds 12- 13 (2 rnds): sc in every st (45)

Rnd 14: (sc in nxt 13 st, invdec) x3 (42)

Rnds 15- 20 (6 rnds): sc in every st (42)

Rnd 21: (sc in nxt 12 st, invdec) x3 (39)

Rnds 22- 25 (4 rnds): sc in every st (39)

Rnd 26: (sc in nxt 11 st, invdec) x3 (36)

Rnd 27: (sc in nxt 4 st, invdec) x6 (30)

Rnd 28: sc in every st (30)

Rnd 29: (sc in nxt 3 st, invdec) x6 (24)

Rnd 30: (sc in nxt 2 st, invdec) x6 (18)

Rnd 31: (sc in nxt st, invdec) x6 (12)

Rnd 32: (invdec) x6 (6)

Fasten off leaving tail long enough to close the hole.

Thread the tail onto the needle and come up through the front loops only (the loops closest to you) of each of the last 6 stitches from the outside going upwards. Pull tight to gather all of the stitches together and close the hole. Find a loop nearby and fasten off in the same way as before. Weave tail through body and come out at the side, trim excess and push end inside.

Pin the neck to the body starting at rnd 9 on the body. Sew the neck to the body by picking up loops from the surface of the body and going underneath both loops of each stitch on the neck. Fasten off in the same way as before and weave tail through the body, trim excess and push end inside.

Wings- make 2 the same:

In white:

Row 1: 3 sc in mr (3)

Row 2: ch 1, turn, inc in every st (6)

Row 3: ch 1, turn, (sc in nxt st, inc) x3 (9)

Row 4: ch 1, turn, (sc in nxt 2 st, inc) x3 (12)

Row 5: ch 1, turn, (sc in nxt 3 st, inc) x3 (15)

Row 6: ch 1, turn, (sc in nxt 4 st, inc) x3 (18)

Row 7: ch 1, turn, (sc in nxt 5 st, inc) x3 (21)

sc in the spaces between the ends of the rows making 12 sc along that edge, starting in the same space you did the last inc st in (12)

Row 1: ch 1, turn, in FLO: sc in every st (12)

Row 2: ch 1, turn, in BLO: sc in every st (12)

Fasten off leaving long tail for sewing.

Attaching the feathers:

Pull up a loop of white in the first leftover back loop from row 1, on the right hand side, with the hook pointing towards the straight edge. (ch 11, starting in 2nd st from hook: sc in nxt 10 st, skip one st on the leftover back loops, sl st in nxt st) repeat 4 times, there will be one loop leftover. (5 feathers in total) Fasten off leaving short tail to weave in later.

Lift up the white feathers and pull up a loop of black in the first leftover front loop from row 2. Repeat the same as you did with the white feathers. Fasten off leaving short tail.

Pin the wings on to the sides of the body starting at rnd 9 and making sure the white feathers are on the outside top layer on both sides. Sew the white semi-circle part to the body including the straight edge (so it's sewn all around the D shape) and leave the feathers unsewn. Fasten off and weave in ends.

Fish:

In light blue:

Rnd 1: 6 sc in mr (6)

Rnd 2: (sc in nxt st, inc) x3 (9)

Rnd 3: (sc in nxt 2 st, inc) x3 (12)

Rnd 4: (sc in nxt 3 st, inc) x3 (15)

Rnds 5- 9 (5 rnds): sc in every st (15)

Make eyes now by making french knots: cut a 35cm piece of black yarn. The eyes will be placed between rnds 4 and 5, see my Youtube video to see how I made the french knots for the eyes. If you'd prefer to use safety eyes you can use 5mm eyes and put them in at this point.

Begin stuffing as you go.

Rnd 10: (sc in nxt 3 st, invdec) x3 (12)

Rnd 11: (sc in nxt 2 st, invdec) x3 (9)

Rnd 12: (sc in nxt st, invdec) x3 (6)

Flatten, work through both layers:

(dc, dc, tr, sl st) in same st, (tr, dc, dc, sl st) in nxt st

Fasten off and weave in tail.

Now you can place the fish in his mouth and the pelican is finished! I'd love to see a photo of yours, you can share it with me by tagging me on instagram @laura_wilson01

Check out my Etsy shop for more patterns: https://laurawilsondesigns.etsy.com

This pattern was designed by Laura Wilson of Laura Wilson Designs. This pattern is strictly for personal, non-commercial use. Copy, distribution or commercial use of this pattern or any of its parts is not allowed. Please give credit if posting photos or selling finished item. © Laura Wilson 2026- All rights reserved.