Seal crochet pattern — five pieces, 36 rounds written out
This free seal crochet pattern makes a pale grey and cream pup about 11 cm from nose to tail flippers and about 5 cm across the middle, worked on a 4 mm hook in four colours over roughly two and a half hours. Head and body come off the hook as one teardrop of sixteen rounds, with each of the three increase rounds followed by a plain one so the nose tapers instead of balling up, which leaves no neck seam to sew or to hide. All 36 rounds are written out below across five pieces, each carrying the stitch count it ends on.
Maths verified, not yet made. Every one of the 36 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: five pieces, one colour change at round 5, and nothing beyond paired increases and decreases. The safety eyes have to go in at round 6 or 7, before the body closes.
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
CollapseExpand
What you need before you start
Yarn — four colours, all weight 4
about 20 gWorsted / aran acrylic or cotton
about 25 gWorsted / aran acrylic or cotton
scrapsWorsted / aran acrylic or cotton
scrapsWorsted / aran, or a strand of embroidery floss
Tools
4 you probably own, 2 to buyYou likely have
Tapestry needle
Scissors
Stitch markers
Pins
You need to buy
6 mm black safety eyes ×2
Polyester stuffing (~25 g)
Optional
A row counter
A contrast stitch marker for the round start
Gauge and finished size
the last check before you cast onTension
Tight enough that the stuffing does not peek between stitches. A looser hand only makes a larger pup.
Finished size
~11 cm nose to tail flippers, about 5 cm across the middle
How to make the seal pup, 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 head
One teardrop, worked nose first. The increases come in pairs with a…16 RNDS
starts in cream· magic ring· Piece 1 of 5
First six rounds[6] [6] [12] [12] [18] [18]
The nose end, opening out
RND 1–71[6]
2[6]
3[12]
4[12]
5[18]
6[18]
7[24]
Straight through the middle
RND 8–138[24]
9[24]
10[24]
11[24]
12[24]
13[24]
Closing the tail end
RND 14–1614[18]
15[12]
16[6]
US termsmrmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreasest(s)stitch, or stitches
When this piece is doneStuff it firmly through the middle and lightly at the nose, then close the last six stitches and weave the tail in.
2
02The muzzle
Three rounds and a flat little disc. It goes on as an oval because of…3 RNDS
starts in cream· magic ring· Piece 2 of 5
First three rounds[6] [12] [18]
1[6]
2[12]
3[18]
US termsmrmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreasest(s)stitch, or stitches
When this piece is doneLeave a long tail. Pin it to the nose end, sew all the way round, then embroider the nose and mouth in black across the seam.
3
03The front flippers
Two the same. Out to twelve stitches, then three straight rounds, the…5 RNDS
starts in paleGrey· magic ring· Piece 3 of 5
First five rounds[6] [12] [12] [12] [12]
1[6]
2[12]
3[12]
4[12]
5[12]
US termsmrmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreasest(s)stitch, or stitches
When this piece is doneLeave them unstuffed and press each one flat. Sew them low on the sides, around round 9, angled slightly back.
4
04Right front flipper
— the same 5 rounds again, worked from piece 035 RNDS
starts in paleGrey· magic ring· Piece 4 of 5· mirrors the front flippers
First five rounds[6] [12] [12] [12] [12]
1[6]
2[12]
3[12]
4[12]
5[12]
US termsmrmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreasest(s)stitch, or stitches
5
05The tail
A small piece that widens to fifteen stitches, takes a charcoal…7 RNDS
starts in paleGrey· magic ring· Piece 5 of 5
First six rounds[6] [12] [15] [15] [15] [12]
1[6]
2[12]
3[15]
4[15]
5[15]
6[12]
7[12]
US termsmrmagic ringscsingle crochetincincreasedecdecreasest(s)stitch, or stitches
When this piece is doneStuff it very lightly, flatten it, and pinch the middle of the wide edge with a stitch or two so it reads as two blades. Sew it to the closed end of the body.
You are here
Five pieces from four lists. One list — the front flippers — is written once and worked twice, identical round for round; the grey bars are piece length, all drawn to the same scale.36 ROUNDS IN ALL
Eight notes on the seal pup
Read themClose
01An original Crochet Genie design.
02Every piece is smooth single crochet worked in a continuous spiral — the fabric comes out plain and even, with no ribbing, texture or open gaps anywhere in it.
03Body and head are one piece, so there is no neck seam to sew or to hide.
04The tail flippers are one small piece, stuffed lightly and flattened. Pinch the middle of the wide edge with a stitch or two of pale grey to suggest the notch between the two blades — the two-pointed split of a real tail is shaped by that pinch, not by the stitches.
05The muzzle is a flat disc pressed into an oval as you pin it on. Sew it to the nose end of the body, then embroider the nose and the little downturned mouth in black over the seam.
06Set the safety eyes into round 6 or 7 of the body, about 5 stitches apart, before you stuff.
07Front flippers are left unstuffed and flattened, then sewn low on the sides at around round 9 so the pup lies flat on a table.
08Yarn, hook and eye size here are suggestions — anything worsted at a firm tension will make a pup of about this size.
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 seal pup?
How much yarn will the seal pup take?
What hook will the seal pup need, and what is the finished size?
How long will the seal pup 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 5, round of — and hands it back where you left it.
More sea creatures patterns
All 113 patterns
Little whaleSea creatures · Easy3.5 mm hook · 35 rounds
StarfishSea creatures · Medium3.5 mm hook · 38 rounds
Sea turtleSea creatures · Easy4 mm hook · 44 rounds
SeahorseSea creatures · Medium4 mm hook · 48 rounds
Sea urchinSea creatures · Easy3 mm hook · 12 rounds
Sand dollarSea creatures · Beginner5 mm hook · 7 rounds