Sea turtle crochet pattern — eight pieces, 44 rounds written out
This free sea turtle crochet pattern makes an olive turtle about 14 cm across with the flippers out, with an 8.5 cm shell and about 4 cm tall, worked on a 4 mm hook in five colours over roughly two and a half hours. Both halves of the shell are the same increasing disc: the top runs to 42 stitches and three straight rounds then pull it into a shallow dome, while the underside stops at 36, and that six-stitch difference is eased in around the rim as the two are sewn together. All 44 rounds are written out below across eight pieces, each carrying the stitch count it ends on.
Maths verified, not yet made. Every one of the 44 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 Easy
Easy: every piece is a plain increasing disc or a short tube, and the only judgement in it is easing six extra stitches in evenly while the two shell halves are sewn together.
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 — five colours, all weight 4
1 skein, about a third of itWorsted cotton or acrylic, weight 4
small amount, around 15 gWorsted cotton or acrylic, weight 4
small amount, around 20 gWorsted cotton or acrylic, weight 4
a few metresScrap yarn or six-strand embroidery floss, worked on the surface at the end
a short lengthScrap yarn or six-strand embroidery floss
Tools
5 you probably own, 2 to buyYou likely have
Tapestry needle
Scissors
Stitch markers
Pins
Measuring tape
You need to buy
6 mm black safety eyes ×2
Polyester stuffing (~25 g)
Optional
Black embroidery floss in place of safety eyes, which is the safer choice for a child under three
A stitch marker in a contrast colour for the round start
A chopstick or similar for pushing stuffing into the shell
Gauge and finished size
the last check before you cast onTension
Not critical. Work tight enough that the stuffing does not show between stitches. A looser hand gives you a bigger turtle and nothing worse.
Finished size
~14 cm across with the flippers out, an 8.5 cm shell, about 4 cm tall
How to make the sea turtle, 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 shell top
A disc that grows six stitches a round out to 42, then three straight…10 RNDS
starts in olive· magic ring· Piece 1 of 8
First six rounds[6] [12] [18] [24] [30] [36]
Opening out, six stitches a round
RND 1–71[6]
2[12]
3[18]
4[24]
5[30]
6[36]
7[42]
Straight rounds that make the dome
RND 8–108[42]
9[42]
10[42]
US termsmrmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreasest(s)stitch, or stitches
When this piece is doneSet it down and look at it from the side. Those last three rounds should have given it a soft curve rather than a rim standing up at right angles.
2
02The shell underside
The same disc as the top, stopped six rounds in at 36 stitches. It…6 RNDS
starts in sandBeige· magic ring· Piece 2 of 8
First six rounds[6] [12] [18] [24] [30] [36]
1[6]
2[12]
3[18]
4[24]
5[30]
6[36]
US termsmrmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreasest(s)stitch, or stitches
When this piece is doneIt comes out smaller than the top on purpose. The extra six stitches on the top are what lets the dome sit over it.
3
03The head
A small ball at the 18-stitch scale, worked nose first. Three rounds…9 RNDS
starts in mossGreen· magic ring· Piece 3 of 8
First six rounds[6] [12] [18] [18] [18] [18]
1[6]
2[12]
3[18]
4[18]
5[18]
6[18]
7[18]
8[12]
9[6]
US termsmrmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreasest(s)stitch, or stitches
When this piece is doneStuff it firmly before the last round closes. A soft head reads as a lump rather than a face.
4
04The front flippers
Two the same. Out to 12, straight for two rounds, then down to 9 so…5 RNDS
starts in mossGreen· magic ring· Piece 4 of 8
First five rounds[6] [12] [12] [12] [9]
1[6]
2[12]
3[12]
4[12]
5[9]
US termsmrmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreasest(s)stitch, or stitches
When this piece is doneLeave them unstuffed and press each one flat. Flattened, they look like paddles rather than sausages.
5
05The front flippers
— the same 5 rounds again, worked from piece 045 RNDS
starts in mossGreen· magic ring· Piece 5 of 8· mirrors the front flippers
First five rounds[6] [12] [12] [12] [9]
1[6]
2[12]
3[12]
4[12]
5[9]
US termsmrmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreasest(s)stitch, or stitches
When this piece is donePress this one flat the way you pressed the first, then lay the two together. Both end on nine stitches, so anything you can see between them is tension rather than count, and a six-round flipper is quicker to work again than to stretch into agreement.
6
06The rear flippers
Two small pads, three rounds each. Out to 12 and straight, nothing…3 RNDS
starts in mossGreen· magic ring· Piece 6 of 8
First three rounds[6] [12] [12]
1[6]
2[12]
3[12]
US termsmrmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreasest(s)stitch, or stitches
When this piece is doneFlatten these the same way as the front pair. They sit lower and further back on the rim.
7
07The rear flippers
— the same 3 rounds again, worked from piece 063 RNDS
starts in mossGreen· magic ring· Piece 7 of 8· mirrors the rear flippers
First three rounds[6] [12] [12]
1[6]
2[12]
3[12]
US termsmrmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreasest(s)stitch, or stitches
When this piece is doneFlatten it like the other three, then lay all four out together before any of them goes into the seam. The rear pair is three rounds against the front pair's six, so they should read as visibly shorter — that difference is the pattern, not a mistake.
8
08The tail
Three rounds and a point. Two stitches added, then the same two taken…3 RNDS
starts in mossGreen· magic ring· Piece 8 of 8
First three rounds[6] [8] [6]
1[6]
2[8]
3[6]
US termsmrmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreasest(s)stitch, or stitches
When this piece is doneThat is the last piece. Everything now goes into the seam around the shell.
You are here
Eight pieces from six lists. Two lists — the front flippers and the rear flippers — are written once and worked twice, identical round for round; the grey bars are piece length, all drawn to the same scale.44 ROUNDS IN ALL
Thirteen notes on the sea turtle
Read themClose
01An original Crochet Genie design.
02Every piece is worked in a continuous spiral. Nothing is joined and nothing is turned, so mark the first stitch of each round and carry the marker up with you.
03The shell top and the shell underside are the same flat disc, one taken to 42 stitches and one stopped at 36. The top then works three straight rounds at 42, which pull the disc into a shallow dome instead of leaving it flat.
04The six increases of each disc round stack into six spokes running out from the centre. Those spokes are your placement guide when the flippers go on, so you never have to count around the rim.
05The two shell halves are sewn together rather than crocheted together. The brief's joining round works single crochet through both layers at once, which takes stitches from two pieces in the same round and cannot be written as a counted round here. Sewing the rim gives the same seam: pin the underside to the last round of the top, right sides out, and whip stitch around through both edges.
06The underside is 36 stitches against the top's 42, so ease the difference in as you sew. Take two top stitches to one underside stitch six times, spaced evenly around, and the rim stays flat instead of puckering in one place.
07Catch the head, the four flippers and the tail into that seam as you go, or sew them on afterwards — either works. Setting them in the seam hides the join and holds them more firmly.
08The front flippers are worked as small tubes and left unstuffed, then flattened so the last round closes as a straight edge. Press each one flat with your fingers before sewing and it will keep that shape.
09The rear flippers are the same idea at three rounds, flattened the same way. They sit further back and lower on the rim than the front pair.
10The tail is a very small cone. Round 2 adds two stitches and round 3 takes them back off, which is enough to give it a point without stuffing.
11Set the safety eyes into the head between rounds 4 and 5, about 7 stitches apart, while the head is still open. Once round 8 starts you cannot reach the backs of them.
12The mouth is a single black stitch across the front of the head, two rounds below the eyes. The scute lines on the shell and the pale edges on the front flippers are cream surface embroidery worked at the end, so the stitch counts never change for them.
13Stuff the head firmly and the shell moderately. A shell packed hard loses its dome and starts to look like a ball.
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 many pieces make up the sea turtle?
How much yarn will the sea turtle take?
What hook will the sea turtle need, and what is the finished size?
How long will the sea turtle 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 8, round of — and hands it back where you left it.
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