Crochet Scarlet Macaw parrot- free pattern
Check out my Youtube video tutorial for this pattern here:
When made with the stated yarn weight and hook size, the finished parrot is approx 27cm from the top of the head to the end of the long red tail diagonally, and the body is approx 15cm from the top of the head to the bottom of the feet.
I've used aluminium armature wire inside the feet which allows the parrot to wrap around your finger or perch on other objects and it has a good grip so it doesn't fall off. I also used thin flexible wire inside the tail feathers to make them stiff and keep their shape.
It isn't suitable as a toy for young children because the wire could poke through and be sharp.
How to change colour when working in single crochet:
Change colour as you finish the last stitch of the previous colour- push hook in stitch, yarn over and pull through, pull a loop of the new colour through both loops on the hook. This completes the sc in the previous colour and changes to the new colour for the future stitches.
Keep both yarns attached at all times and work the other colour into the back of your stitches all the way around, so that it's always in the right place when you need to change to it. The red yarn will show through the gaps of the white stitches slightly with this method.
Materials needed:
DK yarn in red, blue, yellow, white, black and light grey
3mm crochet hook
6mm black safety eyes
Stitch marker
Scissors
Stuffing
Yarn needle
Pins to help with sewing
2mm aluminium armature wire for the feet
Thin flexible wire for the tail feathers, I used copper wire for jewellery making
Pliers with wire cutters to cut the wire
Abbreviations (US crochet terms):
st- stitch
ch- chain
mr- magic ring
sl st- slip stitch
sc- single crochet
inc- increase
invdec- invisible decrease
hdc- half double crochet
dc- double crochet
tr- treble crochet
dt- double treble crochet
ctr- change to red
ctw- change to white
Head and body, starting with the head in red:
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: inc, sc in nxt 2 st, CTW, sc in nxt 8 st, invdec, sc in nxt 5 st, CTR, sc in nxt 6 st (24)
Rnd 6: inc, sc in nxt 2 st, CTW, sc in nxt 8 st, invdec, sc in nxt 6 st, CTR, sc in nxt 5 st (24)
Insert safety eyes between rnds 5 and 6, approx 10 st apart. The decreases should be in the middle of the eyes.
Rnd 7: sc in nxt st, inc, sc in nxt 2 st, CTW, sc in nxt 8 st, invdec, sc in nxt 5 st, CTR, sc in nxt 5 st (24)
Rnd 8: inc, sc in nxt 4 st, CTW, sc in nxt 7 st, invdec, sc in nxt 5 st, CTR, sc in nxt 5 st (24)
Rnd 9: sc in nxt st, inc, sc in nxt 4 st, CTW, sc in nxt 7 st, invdec, sc in nxt 5 st, CTR, sc in nxt 4 st (24)
Rnd 10: sc in nxt st, inc, sc in nxt 6 st, CTW, sc in nxt 5 st, invdec, sc in nxt 5 st, CTR, sc in nxt 4 st (24)
Rnd 11: sc in nxt 2 st, inc, sc in nxt 6 st, CTW, sc in nxt 5 st, invdec, sc in nxt 4 st, CTR, sc in nxt 4 st (24)
Rnd 12: sc in nxt 2 st, inc, sc in nxt 7 st, CTW, sc in nxt 4 st, invdec, sc in nxt 4 st, CTR, sc in nxt 4 st (24)
Rnd 13: sc in nxt 3 st, inc, sc in nxt 8 st, CTW, sc in nxt 3 st, invdec, sc in nxt 3 st, CTR, sc in nxt 4 st (24)
Rnd 14: sc in nxt 3 st, inc, sc in nxt 10 st, CTW, sc in nxt 2 st, invdec, sc in nxt 2 st, CTR, sc in nxt 4 st (24)
Begin stuffing as you go.
Rnd 15: (sc in nxt 7 st, inc) x3 (27)
Rnd 16: (sc in nxt 8 st, inc) x3 (30)
Rnd 17: (sc in nxt 9 st, inc) x3 (33)
Rnd 18: sc in nxt 6 st, inc, sc in nxt 14 st, inc, sc in nxt 2 st, inc, sc in nxt 8 st (36)
Rnd 19: sc in nxt 7 st, inc, sc in nxt 28 st (37)
Rnd 20: sc in nxt 7 st, inc, sc in nxt 29 st (38)
Rnd 21: sc in nxt 8 st, inc, sc in nxt 29 st (39)
Rnd 22: sc in nxt 9 st, inc, sc in nxt 29 st (40)
Rnd 23: sc in nxt 9 st, inc, sc in nxt 30 st (41)
Rnd 24: sc in nxt 10 st, inc, sc in nxt 30 st (42)
Rnd 25: sc in nxt 10 st, inc, sc in nxt 31 st (43)
Rnd 26: sc in nxt 11 st, inc, sc in nxt 31 st (44)
Rnd 27: sc in nxt 11 st, inc, sc in nxt 21 st, invdec, sc in nxt 9 st (44)
Rnd 28: sc in nxt 12 st, inc, sc in nxt 21 st, invdec, sc in nxt 8 st (44)
Rnd 29: sc in nxt 13 st, inc, sc in nxt 21 st, invdec, sc in nxt 7 st (44)
Rnd 30: sc in nxt 13 st, inc, sc in nxt 21 st, invdec, sc in nxt 7 st (44)
Rnd 31: sc in nxt 14 st, inc, sc in nxt 21 st, invdec, sc in nxt 6 st (44)
Rnd 32: sc in nxt 14 st, inc, sc in nxt 22 st, invdec, sc in nxt 5 st (44)
Rnd 33: sc in nxt 15 st, inc, sc in nxt 21 st, invdec, sc in nxt 5 st (44)
Rnd 34: sc in nxt 16 st, inc, sc in nxt 21 st, invdec, sc in nxt 4 st (44)
Rnd 35: sc in nxt 5 st, invdec, sc in nxt 9 st, inc, sc in nxt 10 st, invdec, sc in nxt 9 st, invdec, sc in nxt 4 st (42)
Rnd 36: sc in nxt 16 st, inc, sc in nxt 20 st, invdec, sc in nxt 3 st (42)
Rnd 37: (sc in nxt 5 st, invdec) x6 (36)
Rnd 38: (sc in nxt 4 st, invdec) x6 (30)
Rnd 39: (sc in nxt 3 st, invdec) x6 (24)
Rnd 40: (sc in nxt 2 st, invdec) x6 (18)
Rnd 41: (sc in nxt st, invdec) x6 (12)
Rnd 42: (invdec) x6 (6)
Fasten off leaving a long tail.
Close hole and weave end through the body.
Black part of beak:
Rnd 1: ch 7, starting in 2nd st from hook: sc in nxt 5 st, 4 sc in last st, turn the corner and work on other side of chain: sc in nxt 4 st, inc in last st (15)
Rnd 2: inc, sc in nxt 4 st, (sc in nxt st, inc) x2, sc in nxt 4 st, inc, sc in nxt st (19)
Rnd 3: sc in every st (19)
Fasten off leaving long tail for sewing.
White part of beak:
Row 1: ch 5, starting in 2nd st from hook: sc in nxt 4 st (4)
Row 2: ch 1, turn, inc, sc in nxt 2 st, inc (6)
Row 3: ch 1, turn, inc, sc in nxt 4 st, inc (8)
Row 4: ch 1, turn, inc, sc in nxt 6 st, inc (10)
Row 5: ch 1, turn, sc in nxt 4 st, 2 dt in nxt st (yarn over 3 times), tr in nxt st, sc in nxt 4 st (11)
Fasten off leaving long tail for sewing.
Wings- make 2:
In red:
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 every st (30)
Place marker in last st you did.
(ch 4, starting in 2nd st from hook: sc in nxt 3 st, skip 1 st on the main piece, sl st in nxt st) x6 (6 feathers) Leave the marker in place, fasten off leaving a long tail for sewing. Fold piece in half so that the marker is in the corner.
Blue section:
With the piece folded in half and the feathers with the right side of the stitches closest to you and the marker in the corner on the right hand side, pull up a loop of blue in the BLO of the st next to the marker (leave the marker in until you've done the feathers):
Row 1: ch 1, In BLO: sc in same st, sc in nxt 12 st (13)
Work the following rows in both loops:
Rows 2-6 (5 rows): ch 1, turn, sc in every st (13)
Row 7: ch 1, turn, In BLO: sc in every st (13)
Work the following rows in both loops:
Rows 8-12 (5 rows): ch 1, turn, sc in every st (13)
Row 13: ch 1, turn, In BLO: sc in every st (13)
Fasten off leaving long tail for sewing.
Feathers for the first wing:
First row of feathers: With the right side of the red feathers facing you, pull up a loop of blue in the corner red front loop next to the marker, (ch 7, starting in 2nd st from hook: sc in nxt 6 st, skip 1 st on the main piece, sl st in nxt st) x2
Fasten off leaving a tail long enough to weave into the back of the stitches. Pull up a loop of yellow in the same st you just did the blue sl st in, (ch 7, starting in 2nd st from hook: sc in nxt 6 st, skip 1 st on the main piece, sl st in nxt st) x4. (6 feathers in total in this row)
Fasten off leaving a tail long enough to weave into the back of the stitches.
Second row of feathers: Pull up a loop of blue in the first front loop of row 6, (ch 7, starting in 2nd st from hook: sc in nxt 6 st, skip 1 st on the main piece, sl st in nxt st) x6 (6 feathers)
Fasten off leaving tail long enough to weave into the back of the stitches.
Last row of feathers:
Pull up a loop of blue in the first front loop of row 12,
ch 5, starting in 2nd st from hook: sc in nxt 4 st, skip 1 st, sl st in nxt st,
ch 6, starting in 2nd st from hook: sc in nxt 5 st, skip 1 st, sl st in nxt st,
ch 7, starting in 2nd st from hook: sc in nxt 6 st, skip 1 st, sl st in nxt st,
ch 8, starting in 2nd st from hook: sc in nxt 7 st, skip 1 st, sl st in nxt st,
ch 9, starting in 2nd st from hook: sc in nxt 8 st, skip 1 st, sl st in nxt st,
ch 10, starting in 2nd st from hook: sc in nxt 9 st, skip 1 st, sl st in nxt st
(6 feathers in total) Fasten off leaving a tail long enough to weave in.
Feathers for the second wing: Rnds 1-6 in red and the feathers are the same as the first wing, and Rows 1- 13 of the blue section are also the same as the first wing, but when we make the feathers we will reverse the instructions for the yellow and blue feather row and reverse the last feather row so that it's a mirror image:
First row of feathers:
With the right side of the red feathers facing you, pull up a loop of yellow in the corner red front loop next to the marker, (ch 7, starting in 2nd st from hook: sc in nxt 6 st, skip 1 st on the main piece, sl st in nxt st) x4
Fasten off leaving a tail long enough to weave into the back of the stitches. Pull up a loop of blue in the same st you just did the yellow sl st in, (ch 7, starting in 2nd st from hook: sc in nxt 6 st, skip 1 st on the main piece, sl st in nxt st) x2. (6 feathers in total in this row)
Fasten off leaving a tail long enough to weave into the back of the stitches.
Second row of feathers:
Pull up a loop of blue in the first front loop of row 6, (ch 7, starting in 2nd st from hook: sc in nxt 6 st, skip 1 st on the main piece, sl st in nxt st) x6 (6 feathers)
Fasten off leaving tail long enough to weave into the back of the stitches.
Last row of feathers:
Pull up a loop of blue in the first front loop of row 12,
ch 10, starting in 2nd st from hook: sc in nxt 9 st, skip 1 st, sl st in nxt st,
ch 9, starting in 2nd st from hook: sc in nxt 8 st, skip 1 st, sl st in nxt st,
ch 8, starting in 2nd st from hook: sc in nxt 7 st, skip 1 st, sl st in nxt st,
ch 7, starting in 2nd st from hook: sc in nxt 6 st, skip 1 st, sl st in nxt st,
ch 6, starting in 2nd st from hook: sc in nxt 5 st, skip 1 st, sl st in nxt st,
ch 5, starting in 2nd st from hook: sc in nxt 4 st, skip 1 st, sl st in nxt st
(6 feathers in total) Fasten off leaving a tail long enough to weave in.
Weave in all of the short ends into the back of the stitches underneath the feathers, leave the long red and blue tails for sewing.
Tail feathers:
Work the thin wire into the back of your stitches all the way around on all feathers, leaving a few cm of wire sticking out:
Long tail feather: In red: ch 37, starting in the 3rd st from the hook: dc in nxt 24 st, hdc in nxt 6 st, sc in nxt 4 st, 4 sc in last st, work on other side of chain: sc in nxt 4 st, hdc in nxt 6 st, dc in nxt 24 st (72)
Fasten off leaving long tail for sewing. Weave the short tail into the back of the stitches, trim excess.
Short blue tail feathers- make 2:
ch 20, starting in the 3rd st from the hook: dc in nxt 12 st, hdc in nxt 3 st, sc in nxt 2 st, 4 sc in last st, work on other side of chain: sc in nxt 2 st, hdc in nxt 3 st, dc in nxt 12 st (38)
Fasten off leaving long tail for sewing. Weave the short tail into the back of the stitches, trim excess.
Feet:
In light grey:
Toes- make 4 (2 for each foot):
Rnd 1: 4 sc in mr (4)
Rnds 2- 12 (11 rnds): sc in every st (4)
Trim tail from magic ring.
Fasten off leaving tail long enough to close the hole and to weave through and use for sewing. Push the armature wire inside down to the bottom and use the wire cutter part of the pliers to cut the end.
Close hole and fasten off. Weave through the inside and come out at the middle. Bend piece in half and wrap around your finger to get the shape you need.
See part 2 of my Youtube video where I show how I sewed all of the pieces on.
The scarlet macaw 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.
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