Prosperity Hens Sewing Tutorial
I’ve had a vertical strand of stuffed chickens hanging in my sewing room, appearing in most of my YouTube videos for a few years now, and have had countless questions about them. It’s definitely my most requested tutorial of all time, which I think is just too funny.
They’re called Prosperity Hens and I got mine from an estate sale many years ago. I finally got around to inspecting the figure out how they’re made and when I did, I was mad at myself for not doing it sooner. These hens are sooooo easy!
So I filmed a tutorial and popped the printable pattern into my shop so you can make your own little chickens! Whew, it’s about darn time, I know.
Prosperity hens historically originated in India, where it was thought that if you owned a flock of chickens, you were doing pretty well for yourself! Soon, women started sewing fabric chickens, stringing them together into a flock and hanging them in doorways to invite wealth and prosperity into the home.
These little chicken are a scrap friendly sewing project and are made from simple squares of fabric. You can even sew them by hand, as my original strand was, or by machine, whatever floats your boat. The fun part is stringing them together in a line, adding fun beads between each one and a bell at the bottom! I got my bells at Hobby Lobby, but you can also get them on Amazon. I like how the bell rings when I open the door :)
You can grab the printable version of this project, complete with the pattern pieces, here in my shop, or here on Etsy, if you prefer.
I know many of you have already enjoyed this tutorial and sent me photos of your prosperity hens! I’m thinking about making a Christmas dove version closer to the holidays, what do you all think about that idea??
Cheers and Happy Sewing!
Nikki
