Orca crochet pattern — ten pieces, 67 rounds written out
This free orca crochet pattern makes a black and white killer whale about 16 cm from nose to fluke tips and about 6 cm across at its widest, worked on a 4 mm hook in four colours over roughly three and a half hours. The belly is not a patch sewn on afterwards: rounds 8 to 21 of the body each carry a run of black, then white, then black, opening from eight white stitches to fourteen across the middle and shrinking to four before the colour runs out at round 21. All 67 rounds are written out below across ten pieces, each carrying the stitch count it ends on.
Maths verified, not yet made. Every one of the 67 rounds was checked against the round before it by machine — the counts, the increases and the decreases all add up. What nobody can promise you yet is how it sits in the hand.How we check
6 of 8 checks ran on 2026-09-04
- 1 format and stitch chainscripts/validate.py — 113 patterns, all counts chain.
- 2 catalogue auditscripts/audit-patterns.py — 113 audited, 0 errors, 66 warnings.
- 3 geometrygeometry-check.py — 113 checked, 0 errors, 4 warnings.
- 5 not a duplicate113 distinct display names across 113 patterns
- 6c target on the recordseo.headKeyword, confidence and demand present and cross-checked by scripts/validate.py
- 8 page readinessscripts/check-completeness.py --gate — 0 required fields missing, 114 editorial flags, 0 unearned claims.
Not yet checked
- 4 render matches the pattern — no image has been compared against its own prompt, so a render showing a piece the rounds do not make would not be caught here. Nothing has counted how many do.
- 6a recognisability — provenance.recognisability is empty in every pattern, so there is no feature list to check the parts against.
Why it is rated High
High: fourteen of the body's twenty-eight rounds change colour twice, and the white block has to stay over the same line of stitches or the belly visibly wanders off centre.
Sell what you make. Anything you crochet from this pattern is yours to sell — any quantity, no fee, no credit required.
00
00What you need before you start
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What you need before you start
Yarn — four colours, all weight 4
1 skein, around half of itWorsted acrylic or cotton, weight 4
1 skein, well under half of itWorsted acrylic or cotton, weight 4, the same brand as the black so the two sit at one thickness
scrapsWorsted acrylic or cotton, weight 4, a shade warmer than the belly white
scrapsWorsted acrylic or cotton, weight 4
Tools
5 you probably own, 2 to buyYou likely have
Tapestry needle
Scissors
Stitch markers
Pins
Measuring tape
You need to buy
Polyester stuffing (~30 g)
A second stitch marker in a contrast colour, for the belly line
Optional
6 mm black safety eyes x2, set through the cream patches before they are sewn down
A yarn bobbin or small clip for the white, so it does not tangle with the black
A row counter for the twelve colourwork rounds
Gauge and finished size
the last check before you cast onTension
Not critical, with one exception. Work tight enough that stuffing cannot show between stitches, and keep the twelve colourwork rounds at the same tension as the plain ones — carrying two yarns pulls the fabric in, and a tight belly section narrows the middle of the animal.
Finished size
~16 cm nose to fluke tips, about 6 cm across the body at its widest
The same stitch counts in bulky yarn on a 6 mm hook give roughly a 24 cm orca. Whatever you use, the black and the white have to be the same thickness, or the belly sits proud of the body around it.
How to make the orca, piece by piece
Switching rewrites every round:US6 sc in mrUK6 dc in mrWork a US sc as a UK single crochet and the fabric comes out looser and taller.
1
01The body and tail
Twenty-eight rounds, nose to tail, with the belly changing colour…28 RNDS
starts in black· magic ring· Piece 1 of 10
First six rounds[6] [12] [18] [18] [24] [24]
Nose opening out to 30
RND 1–71[6]
2[12]
3[18]
4[18]
5[24]
6[24]
7[30]
Straight body — the belly colourwork
RND 8–198[30]
9[30]
10[30]
11[30]
12[30]
13[30]
14[30]
15[30]
16[30]
17[30]
18[30]
19[30]
Tapering, white running out — stuff as you go
RND 20–2420[24]
21[24]
22[18]
23[18]
24[12]
Tail stalk, left unstuffed and flattened
RND 25–2825[12]
26[12]
27[12]
28[12]
US termsmrmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreasest(s)stitch, or stitches
When this piece is doneStuff it firmly through rounds 20 to 24 and stop before the tail stalk. The last four rounds stay flat and empty, ready for the flukes.
2
02The flukes
Two the same, each picked up from half the flattened tail end. Out to…6 RNDS
starts in black· picked up· Piece 2 of 10
First six rounds[6] [8] [8] [6] [4] [3]
1[6]
2[8]
3[8]
4[6]
5[4]
6[3]
US termsmrmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreasest(s)stitch, or stitches
When this piece is donePress each one flat and close the tip with its tail of yarn. The tail should sit horizontal, like a whale at the surface.
3
03Right fluke
— the same 6 rounds again, worked from piece 026 RNDS
starts in black· picked up· Piece 3 of 10· mirrors the flukes
First six rounds[6] [8] [8] [6] [4] [3]
1[6]
2[8]
3[8]
4[6]
5[4]
6[3]
US termsmrmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreasest(s)stitch, or stitches
4
04The dorsal fin
A small cone that opens to fifteen stitches, holds for a round, then…9 RNDS
starts in black· magic ring· Piece 4 of 10
First six rounds[6] [12] [15] [15] [12] [9]
1[6]
2[12]
3[15]
4[15]
5[12]
6[9]
7[6]
8[4]
9[3]
US termsmrmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreasest(s)stitch, or stitches
When this piece is doneStuff the bottom third lightly, flatten the rest, and sew it along the spine at about round 15 with the point leaning back.
5
05The pectoral fins
Two four-round cones. They are quick, and they are the last…4 RNDS
starts in black· magic ring· Piece 5 of 10
First four rounds[6] [12] [15] [15]
1[6]
2[12]
3[15]
4[15]
US termsmrmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreasest(s)stitch, or stitches
When this piece is doneFlatten each one and sew the open edge shut against the body, low on the sides at about round 12, angled slightly back.
6
06Right pectoral fin
— the same 4 rounds again, worked from piece 054 RNDS
starts in black· magic ring· Piece 6 of 10· mirrors the pectoral fins
First four rounds[6] [12] [15] [15]
1[6]
2[12]
3[15]
4[15]
US termsmrmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreasest(s)stitch, or stitches
7
07The eye patches
Two tiny cream ovals, two rounds each. Put the four increases at the…2 RNDS
starts in cream· magic ring· Piece 7 of 10
First two rounds[8] [12]
1[8]
2[12]
US termsmrmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreasest(s)stitch, or stitches
When this piece is doneSew one on each side over rounds 6 and 7, tilted back towards the tail, then work the black eye on the front end of each.
8
08Right eye patch
— the same 2 rounds again, worked from piece 072 RNDS
starts in cream· magic ring· Piece 8 of 10· mirrors the eye patches
First two rounds[8] [12]
1[8]
2[12]
US termsmrmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreasest(s)stitch, or stitches
9
09The saddle patches
Two grey ovals, three rounds each, a little larger than the eye…3 RNDS
starts in paleGrey· magic ring· Piece 9 of 10
First three rounds[12] [16] [16]
1[12]
2[16]
3[16]
US termsmrmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreasest(s)stitch, or stitches
When this piece is doneThey sit behind the dorsal fin over rounds 18 to 21, one on each side, the same distance out from the spine. Sew them down loosely so they lie against the curve.
10
10Right saddle patch
— the same 3 rounds again, worked from piece 093 RNDS
starts in paleGrey· magic ring· Piece 10 of 10· mirrors the saddle patches
First three rounds[12] [16] [16]
1[12]
2[16]
3[16]
US termsmrmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreasest(s)stitch, or stitches
You are here
Ten pieces from six lists. Four lists — the flukes, the pectoral fins, the eye patches and the saddle patches — are written once and worked twice, identical round for round; the grey bars are piece length, all drawn to the same scale.67 ROUNDS IN ALL
Thirteen notes on the orca
Read themClose
01An original Crochet Genie design.
02Worked in a continuous spiral, nose first. Nothing is joined and nothing is turned, so mark the first stitch of every round and carry the marker up with you.
03The white belly is not a patch sewn on afterwards. It is worked into the body: rounds 8 to 21 each carry a run of black, then white, then black, and the app gives you the exact run lengths round by round. Change colour where the run changes, and let the yarn you are not using ride along the inside of the work.
04Keep the white centred over the same line of stitches all the way along. Put a second marker in the middle white stitch of round 8 and move it up as you go — a belly that wanders by five stitches reads as a mistake, while one that drifts by a stitch reads as an animal.
05The white opens from eight stitches to fourteen across the middle of the body and narrows again, then shrinks to six and four through the two decrease rounds. That taper is what gives the underside its pointed ends.
06Rounds 25 to 28 are the tail stalk. Leave them unstuffed and flatten them side to side, so the twelve stitches close into a horizontal line with six falling either side of centre.
07Each fluke starts on its own six stitches picked up across one half of that flattened end, which is why neither has a magic ring. They are worked as small tapering tubes and pressed flat, so the tail comes off the body in one piece with nothing to sew.
08The dorsal fin is stuffed only in its bottom third, lightly. Too much stuffing rounds it off and it stops standing up.
09The pectoral fins stay unstuffed. Flatten each one, then sew its open edge closed and onto the body at the same time, low on the sides at about round 12.
10Pin all four patches before sewing any of them, and count stitches rather than trusting your eye. The eye patches sit one on each side at rounds 6 and 7, angled back towards the tail; the saddle patches sit behind the dorsal fin over rounds 18 to 21, the same number of stitches out from the spine on each side. Symmetry is most of what makes this read as an orca.
11The eye patches are cream rather than the belly white on purpose. The warmer white keeps them from vanishing into the belly when the orca is seen head on.
12The eye itself is embroidery: five or six short black stitches worked over each other at the front end of each cream patch, until it reads as a small dark dot. Safety eyes work too, but they have to go through the patch and the body before the body is closed.
13At 4 mm with worsted this comes out around 16 cm nose to fluke tips. The same stitch counts in bulky yarn with a 6 mm hook give roughly a 24 cm orca, if you would rather have a big one to hug.
Four questions this pattern answers
Not questions anybody asked. Each one is written from this pattern's own record, and every answer is read off the fields it names.
How is the colour worked into the orca?
How much yarn will the orca take?
What hook will the orca need, and what is the finished size?
How long will the orca take to crochet?
A round that will not add up?
Tell us the piece and the round number — the stepper already knows where you are.There is nowhere to send one yet.
Put the laptop down mid-round
The iPhone app keeps your place — piece of 10, round of — and hands it back where you left it.
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