I have been diligently working on this sea turtle blanket of mine for weeks. And I am so tired of it. I usually prefer to have 3 or 4 projects on the go at once. But I was trying to get this blanket done as quickly as possible so I have focused on only one project for the past few weeks and I just can’t do it any longer!

I am cheating on my project and starting something new. But I am keeping the theme so that I can pretend this is still related to my work.

I wanted something soft and fluffy so I grabbed these leftover skeins from my stash. There is a full skein of pink and white but only a teeny tiny bit of green. I remember getting these on clearance from Michael’s but I don’t remember for sure how much I paid. I used them for some baby blankets a few months ago.

This yarn is classed as a 4-medium weight and it is super fluffy and soft. It has a strip of sparkle in it that can sort of irritate the hands while crocheting but isn’t noticeable in the finished piece.

The skein label suggests using a 5.5 mm crochet hook but you usually need to use a smaller hook when you do amigurumi because you will want the stitches to be quite tight. We aren’t looking for drape in a toy like we would want in a blanket or a sweater.

I plan on making three turtles (I have 3 kids, if you didn’t already know, and I try to make things fair when possible). I managed to get three circles out of the green I had so that will be the top of each shell.

I have two girls and one son and they like it when their things are the same but different, you know what I mean? So I am going to use white for the “boy” turtle flippers and pink for the “girl” turtles.

I think all their tummies can just be white and their heads should match their tummy piece.

So, for one turtle I will need a green shell, a white tummy, 4 flippers and a head. That means 6 circles and a ball.

Remember, even though isn’t a nice PDF pattern it is still my work and you can’t copy it and sell it as your own. Thank you for supporting your designers!

Materials Needed

  • 4.5 mm crochet hook
  • Scissors
  • Finishing needle
  • Small amount of fluffy yarn
    • I used Premier Pixie Dust yarn, less than a handful of green and about a fist size of white
  • Small amount of Stuffing material (I used yarn scraps)

Key

I use american crochet terminology and I believe these are all quite common abbreviations.

Ch = chain = yarn over and pull a loop through

DC = double crochet = yarn over, insert hook, yarn over and pull a loop through, yarn over and pull through 2 loops on hook, yarn over and pull through remaining 2 loops on hook

Inc = increase = do two stitches in the same spot

Magic circle = a magic trick that allows you to tighten the hole around your first stitches but I can never figure it out ?

SC = single crochet = insert hook, yarn over and pull a loop through, yarn over and pull through both loops on hook

SC dec = decrease = sc2tog = insert hook in next stitch, yarn over and pull up a loop, insert hook in next stitch, yarn over and pull up another loop, yarn over and pull through all loops on hook

Sl st = slip stitch = insert hook and pull a loop through

Whip stitch = use a large finishing needle to sew the pieces together

Cupped Circles for Shell

I am using a 4.5 mm hook with this fluffy worsted weight yarn. The fluff makes it look full but there is actually still some gapping between the stitches so that makes it hard to use for amigurumi. Do NOT overstuff a piece like this.

The shell is supposed to pucker to make space for stuffing.

Step 1: you can do a magic circle or just chain three and work in the first chain. Create 8 double crochets in the first chain/magic circle. Join with a slip stitch. (8)

Step 2: chain 2 (counts as dc), double crochet in same stitch (increase has been made). Put 2 double crochets in each stitch around (increase in each stitch). Join with slip stitch. (16)

Step 3: chain 2, double crochet in same stitch (increase has been made). Repeat *dc, inc* all the way around. Or, another way to say that is put one double crochet in the next stitch, then two double crochets in the following stitch. Repeat doing one then two all the way around. Join with a slip stitch. (24)

If you feel it is puckering too much you can add an extra stitch or two – no one will be counting your stitches when we are done.

Step 4: chain 2, double crochet in same stitch (increase has been made). Repeat *dc, dc, inc* around. Join with a slip stitch. (32)

Step 5: cut and tie off.

Flat Circle for Tummy and Flippers

These circles aren’t supposed to pucker like the shell but it is ok of they are only “flatish”, they don’t need to be perfect.

You need one tummy and 4 flippers per turtle (I am doing 3 white tummies and then the flippers for one turtle will be white but for the other 2 turtles they will pink).

Tummy and flippers

Step 1: you can do a magic circle or just chain three and work in the first chain. Create 12 double crochets in the first chain/magic circle. Join with a slip stitch. (12)

Step 2: chain 2 (counts as dc), double crochet in same stitch (increase has been made). Put 2 double crochets in each stitch around (increase in each stitch). Join with slip stitch. (24)

Step 3: chain 2 (counts as dc), double crochet in same spot. Repeat *dc, inc* around. Join with slip stitch. (36)

Step 4: for the flippers: fold the circle in half and slip stitch it closed before cutting your yarn.

Flipper circle folded in half before seaming together

Step 4: for the tummy: cut and tie off.

Tummy circle

Ball for Head

I am using the same color for the head as I used for the flippers.

Step 1: you can do a magic circle or just chain two and work in the first chain. Create 6 single crochets in the first chain/magic circle. Join with a slip stitch. (6)

You may want to use a stitch marker to help you find the beginning of each round.

Step 2: chain 1 (doesn’t count as sc). Put 2 single crochets in each stitch around (increase in each stitch). Join with slip stitch. (12)

Step 3: chain 1 (doesn’t count as sc). Repeat *sc, inc* around. Join with slip stitch. (18)

Step 4: chain 1 (doesn’t count as sc). Repeat *sc, sc, inc* around. Join with slip stitch. (24)

Step 5: chain 1 (doesn’t count as sc). Put 1 sc in each stitch around. Join with slip stitch. (24)

Step 6: chain 1, sc decrease in each stitch around (see key). Join with slip stitch. (12)

Step 7: stuff it! Make sure the right side is facing out first. Use stuffing or, alternatively, you can crochet 25 chains, then dc back and stuff that in there. Slip stitch it to the same stitch you were at and then continue to step 8.

Step 8: chain 1, sc decrease in each stitch around (see key). Join with slip stitch. (6)

Step 9: chain 1, sc in each stitch around. Join with slip stitch. (6)

Step 10: cut and tie off. Optionally: add some embroidery eyes. I just made slitted sleepy eyes because they are the easiest.

Assembly

Now that we have all the pieces we need to join them together. First attach the head to the white tummy circle (flatten the neck and whip stitch the 6 stitches of the neck to the edge of the tummy circle).

Sew the flippers to the tummy circle. I like having the sewn edges facing up towards the head. Overlap the points of the half circle into the tummy area like the photos below show.

At this point I realized a tail would be easy and make it look cuter so I chained 5, then sc 4 stitches back and used the tails to sew it to the white tummy circle before adding the green top shell.

Then sew your green shell on top of that mess. Make sure to stuff it before sewing it completely. I am using some scrap yarn for stuffing this part. Remember, those dc stitches make large gaps and aren’t ideal for small stuffing.

In general, do not use double crochet (US terminology) for amigurumi. If you see a pattern asking for double crochet make sure they aren’t actually using UK terminology- their double crochets are the same as our single crochets.

I used dc for this one because there isn’t a lot of stuffing to do. The holes are too big to properly stuff this guy.

Ok, I should get back to my blanket now. So many of you are waiting patiently for that pattern (and no one was asking for this stuffed toy ?).