FREE PATTERN: Easy Peasy Amigurumi Mini Turtles

Those who follow me on Instagram probably remember my mini crocheted turtle.  At that time, I was pretty skeptical (as in, he didn’t look like anything that would be liked by anyone) of him in terms of fitting into the Croochet world.  He was subsequently casted as a “failed project” and placed in a forbidden box…never to see daylight again.  I eventually forgot about him until I tidied up my room recently and took a curious look to see what else is in that box.  Upon opening the lid, mini turtle looked at me with tiny glistening eyes.  I picked him up, glared at him for a good minute and thought: “hmmmm….you kindddaaaa look cuter than I remembered you to be!”.

I was still not convinced, I naturally reintroduced him on my Instagram and many of my followers seem to like him!  A lot of users even asked if I could sell my pattern and my answer was “maybe!” or “I’m not sure yet!”.  Nevertheless, I thought long and hard to recall the steps I took in creating this turtle.  After several tries, I finalized the pattern.  This new version is slightly different from what I initially came up with, but I actually prefer this a bit more because it is quite a newbie-friendly pattern for those  just starting to learn crochet.  For advance crocheters, this little turtle can be made super quickly!  If you are like me (who likes to finish pieces in one sitting), I promise this would be the ideal project!

Finally, to answer my followers’ question:  No, I won’t be selling my mini turtle amigurumi pattern…because I’m offering this to you for free!

I sincerely hope you like it! 🙂

MATERIALS
4.0 mm crochet hook
4.5 mm crochet hook
Acrylic yarn (in Green and Brown) – medium weight (10-12ply)
6 mm safety eyes
Darning needle
Scissors
Polyester Stuffing

ABOUT THIS PATTERN
This pattern is in US crochet terms
This pattern has a number of parts legs (4x), belly, head, shell
You will create all parts before sewing together
This pattern is made up in continuous rounds.  DO NOT JOIN at the end of each round

ABBREVIATIONS (in US crochet terms): 
MC – magic circle
sts – stitches
slst – slip stitch
sc – single crochet
sc-inc – single crochet increase
sc-dec – single crochet decrease

LEGS – using 4mm crochet hook and with brown yarn
make 4
ch 3, 1 sc on 3rd stitch from hook
leave tail for sewing

BELLY – using 4mm crochet hook and with brown yarn
make 1
R1: sc 6 (6)
R2: (sc-inc) x 6 (12)
R3: (sc, sc-inc) x 6 (18)
R4: (2sc, sc-inc) x 6 (24)
slst and leave a long tail for sewing

HEAD – using 4.5mm crochet hook and brown yarn
make 1
R1: sc 5 (5)
R2: (sc, inc) x 5 (10) – insert 6mm safety eyes and secure
R3: sc 10 (10)
R4: (sc, sc-dec) x 5 (5)
slst and leave a long tail for sewing

SHELL – using 4mm crochet hook and green yarn
make 1
R1: sc 6 (6)
R2: (sc-inc) x 6 (12)
R3: (sc, sc-inc) x 6 (18)
R4: (2sc, sc-inc) x 6 (24)
R5: sc 24 (24)
fasten off

Take a long piece of brown yarn and sew on a pattern.  You can create any pattern you like, but for me, I did the most widely observed one (see below),  
ASSEMBLY:
Use a darning needle for sewing

Take the 4 legs you made and sew them onto the belly.  Ensure each leg is spaced out evenly:

After all 4 legs are sewn on, you piece should look something like this:

You should now have the following:

Next, sew the turtle head onto the shell as desired:

When finished, sew the belly + legs part to the shell.  Use the backloop of the tummy and the front loop of the shell to create a more uniform look.  (TIP: make sure the turtle head aligns in a way that makes anatomical sense!)

When you are about finished, Insert polyester stuffing (TIP: do not overstuff!)

Sew the last few stitches shut, fasten off, and then you’re done!

The side view of your turtle should look like:

Hope you had fun making this and that you like my new mini turtle!  Remember to tag me on Instagram (@croochetshop) and use the hashtag #croochetshop to show me your work!  Follow me for more patterns and random thoughts blog post in the future!

Xx,
Jenn

 

 

 

– This post is not endorsed in any way –

 

 

(All photos and designs are copyrighted and belong to the creator of this pattern,  Jenn @ Croochet.  Please do not repost, redistribute, copy, alter or claim any parts of this pattern in any way as your own.  Do not use my photos please.  You are permitted to resell finished products, but you must give credit to me (Jenn @ Croochet) with a direct link to my etsy shop: croochet.etsy.com.  Failure to comply means you are breaking several sections of copyright law, which protects artists’ creations.)