Chicken Roll Holder Basket Cover

These chicken toppers represent an old family tradition in my husband's family. Placed over a basket, they hide the rolls from would be "snitchers" before Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, and keep them warm and cozy. Then, when you lift the wing, there they are ready to be plucked out!

These are made with pre-quilted holiday colored fabric, a little felt, elastic, red bias tape and 2 black button eyes.

1. Cut out 2 chicken shapes for each half of the chicken.
2. Cut an oval out where the wing will cover - toward the top of the chicken, and centered from side to side.
3. Sew bias tape around the raw edges of the hole.
4. Cut out 2 wings and sew the bias tape around the raw edges.
5. Out of felt, cut a yellow beak, a red gobbler (for lack of a better word), and a red crest
6. Pin the one wing over the hole in the body.  Right side of chicken fabric should face wrong side of wing fabric.  Basically, right sides of the fabric should be facing you for both the chicken and the wing.  Sew along the top arc of the wing only. Leave the bottom half un-sewn.  This creates a flap to lift. Do this on both sides of the body.
7. Fold over the bottom of the chicken (.5 inch) to create a loop toward the inside (wrong side) of fabric. Pin and sew. This will be where you feed your elastic through.  Do this for both halves of the chicken. 

8. Pin the chicken, wrong sides together. Include the crest, beak and gobbler, all facing in. (They will face out when you turn the chicken right side out) Sew along the edge of the chicken, 1/4 inch seam allowance. Do not sew the bottom and do not sew over the loop you created for the elastic.
9. Turn the chicken right side out.
10. Feed the elastic through the loop, tighten it slightly, and sew it together.
11. Whip stitch closed the holes of the loop where the elastic was fed through.
12. Sew on the button eyes.

P.S. These are available for sale at my etsy shop!