Free crochet seahorse pattern — ten pieces, 48 rounds, no neck seam

This free crochet seahorse pattern makes a turquoise seahorse about 15 cm tall with the tail curled under, worked on a 4 mm hook in five colours over roughly three and a half hours. The body is one piece of twenty-nine rounds from the tip of the tail to the top of the head — six stitches held for seven rounds, out to eighteen for the belly, in to twelve for the neck, out again for the head — so the only sewing left is the snout, three fins and five crown bumps. All 48 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 48 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
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Why it is rated Medium

Medium: rounds 13 to 17 and round 26 change colour inside the round, and a pipe cleaner has to go up the tail before the belly and head are stuffed and closed.

Sell what you make. Anything you crochet from this pattern is yours to sell — any quantity, no fee, no credit required.

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What you need before you start

gather it once, in one place
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Yarn — five colours, all weight 4

Turquoise1 skein (~50 g)Worsted / aran cotton
Seafoam~20 gWorsted / aran cotton
Butter yellow~10 gWorsted / aran cotton
CreamscrapsWorsted / aran cotton
BlackscrapsWorsted / aran cotton

Tools

5 you probably own, 2 to buy

You likely have

Tapestry needle
Scissors
Stitch markers
Pins
A chopstick or other stuffing tool

You need to buy

Polyester stuffing (~25 g)
One pipe cleaner or a 20 cm length of 1.2 mm floral wire, for the tail curl

Optional

6 mm black safety eyes x2, if you would rather set the eyes than work them in colour
A contrast stitch marker for the start of each round

Gauge and finished size

the last check before you cast on
Tension
Gauge is not critical. Work tight enough that the stuffing cannot show between stitches; a looser hand gives you a taller seahorse.
Finished size
~15 cm tall with the tail curled under, about 16 cm measured along the back

How to make the seahorse, piece by piece

48 rounds across five lists, making ten pieces in all.

Switching rewrites every round:US6 sc in mr→UK6 dc in mrWork a US sc as a UK single crochet and the fabric comes out looser and taller.
1
01

The body

Twenty-nine rounds from the tip of the tail to the top of the head…29 RNDS
starts in seafoam· magic ring· Piece 1 of 6

Twenty-nine rounds from the tip of the tail to the top of the head. Six stitches for a long while, then out for the belly, in for the neck, out again for the head.Change to turquoise on round 10 and keep the seafoam tail unstuffed.

Rounds 1 to 6 of The body: 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 stitchesFirst six rounds[6] [6] [6] [6] [6] [6]

The tail

RND 1–9
16 sc in mr[6]
26 sc[6]
36 sc[6]
46 sc[6]
56 sc[6]
66 sc[6]
76 sc[6]
8(sc, inc) x3[9]
9(2 sc, inc) x3[12]

Out to the belly

RND 10–17
10(5 sc, inc) x2, change to turquoise[14]
11(6 sc, inc) x2[16]
12(7 sc, inc) x2[18]
1318 sc, belly panel begins[18]
1418 sc[18]
1518 sc[18]
1618 sc[18]
1718 sc, belly panel ends[18]

The neck

RND 18–22
18(4 sc, dec) x3[15]
19(3 sc, dec) x3[12]
2012 sc[12]
2112 sc[12]
2212 sc[12]

The head

RND 23–29
23(3 sc, inc) x3[15]
24(4 sc, inc) x3[18]
2518 sc[18]
2618 sc, two eye stitches[18]
2718 sc[18]
28(sc, dec) x6[12]
29dec x6[6]
US termsmrmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreasest(s)stitch, or stitches
When this piece is doneThe body is done.Stuff the head and belly firmly before you close the last round, and keep the tail empty. The neck wants to stay soft.
2
02

The snout

A short cone that widens twice, then runs straight. It reads as a…6 RNDS
starts in butterYellow· magic ring· Piece 2 of 6

A short cone that widens twice, then runs straight. It reads as a snout only once it is sewn on pointing slightly down.Leave a long tail for sewing. Ten stitches is a wide edge to close neatly, so pin it at four points around the circle first.

Rounds 1 to 6 of The snout: 6, 8, 10, 10, 10, 10 stitchesFirst six rounds[6] [8] [10] [10] [10] [10]
16 sc in mr[6]
2(2 sc, inc) x2[8]
3(3 sc, inc) x2[10]
410 sc[10]
510 sc[10]
610 sc[10]
US termsmrmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreasest(s)stitch, or stitches
When this piece is doneThe snout is done.Stuff it lightly and sew the open edge to the front of the head, below the eye stitches.
3
03

The dorsal fin

A flat disc of four rounds. Do not stuff it — press it flat between…4 RNDS
starts in seafoam· magic ring· Piece 3 of 6

A flat disc of four rounds. Do not stuff it — press it flat between your fingers as you go.

Rounds 1 to 4 of The dorsal fin: 6, 12, 18, 18 stitchesFirst four rounds[6] [12] [18] [18]
16 sc in mr[6]
2inc x6[12]
3(sc, inc) x6[18]
418 sc[18]
US termsmrmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreasest(s)stitch, or stitches
When this piece is doneThe dorsal fin is done.Flatten it, then sew the open edge along the back of the belly so the fin stands out sideways.
4
04

The side fins

Two the same, small and flat. Six stitches out to twelve, then one…3 RNDS
starts in seafoam· magic ring· Piece 4 of 6

Two the same, small and flat. Six stitches out to twelve, then one straight round.Keep them level with each other, one on each side.

Rounds 1 to 3 of The side fins: 6, 12, 12 stitchesFirst three rounds[6] [12] [12]
16 sc in mr[6]
2inc x6[12]
312 sc[12]
US termsmrmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreasest(s)stitch, or stitches
When this piece is doneBoth side fins are done.Flatten each one and sew it to the side of the neck, just under where the head widens.
5
05

Right side fin

— the same 3 rounds again, worked from piece 043 RNDS
starts in seafoam· magic ring· Piece 5 of 6· mirrors the side fins

The same 3 rounds as the side fins, worked a second time.

Rounds 1 to 3 of Right side fin: 6, 12, 12 stitchesFirst three rounds[6] [12] [12]
16 sc in mr[6]
2inc x6[12]
312 sc[12]
US termsmrmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreasest(s)stitch, or stitches
6
06

The crown bumps

Five tiny knobs, three rounds each. They stand in for the ridge along…3 RNDS
starts in butterYellow· magic ring· Piece 6 of 6· make 5

Five tiny knobs, three rounds each. They stand in for the ridge along a seahorse's crown.Leave a long tail on each of the five. Three rounds apiece makes them small enough to mislay — keep them in a dish until all five are done.

Rounds 1 to 3 of The crown bumps: 6, 6, 3 stitchesFirst three rounds[6] [6] [3]
16 sc in mr[6]
26 sc[6]
3dec x3[3]
US termsmrmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreasest(s)stitch, or stitches
When this piece is doneAll five bumps are done.Sew them in a line down the back of the head, evenly spaced, smallest gap at the top.
Ten pieces from five lists. One list — the side fins — is written once and worked twice, identical round for round; the grey bars are piece length, all drawn to the same scale.48 ROUNDS IN ALL

Eight notes on the seahorse

Read them
01An original Crochet Genie design.
02Every stitch here is a single crochet. The fabric comes out smooth and even, with no ribbing, no openwork and no gaps anywhere in the piece.
03Worked in a continuous spiral, so there is nothing to join at the end of a round. Move your marker up as you pass it.
04The body is one piece from the tail tip to the top of the head. The only sewing is the snout, the three fins and the five crown bumps.
05Leave the first nine rounds unstuffed. Slide a pipe cleaner up inside the tail, then curl it — the wire is what holds the spiral, not the stitches.
06The belly panel on rounds 13 to 17 and the two eyes on round 26 are worked stitch by stitch in a second colour, carried loosely along the inside.
07The crown ridge is five small knobs, each worked to three stitches and sewn in a line down the back of the head.
08Stuff the belly and head firmly and keep the neck softer, so the head can tilt forward the way a seahorse holds it.

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 seahorse?

Inside the round, not at the start of it: six of the 48 rounds carry a colour run, all of them in the body. Each of those rounds gives the run in stitches: round 13 of the body is three turquoise, then six cream, then nine turquoise.

How much yarn will the seahorse take?

Five colours, all weight 4, and the pattern asks for turquoise: 1 skein (~50 g); seafoam: ~20 g; butter yellow: ~10 g; cream: scraps; black: scraps.

What hook will the seahorse need, and what is the finished size?

A 4.0 mm hook, US G/6. Finished, it comes out ~15 cm tall with the tail curled under, about 16 cm measured along the back; the leading tilde is there because that came off the stitch counts rather than a tape measure.

How long will the seahorse take to crochet?

About three and a half hours. That is 48 rounds on the page, from six written lists that make ten pieces, coming to 487 single crochet, 46 increases and 33 decreases once every piece is worked, and the hours are an estimate rather than a timing of anybody making it.

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