There's something about a plush, chunky yarn turtle that just makes you want to squeeze it. This pattern comes together in pieces — legs, head, tail, and a two-tone shell — that all get sewn onto one stuffed body at the end, so it looks a lot more complicated than it actually is to make. Pick two colors you love (one for the body, one for the shell) and let's get into it.
Quick Overview & Materials
Yarn: Two colors of plush super chunky yarn. A soft, microfiber-style super chunky yarn (such as Baby Snuggle) works beautifully here and gives the finished turtle that squishy texture.
Hook: A 4.25mm (US size G) crochet hook, which pairs well with super chunky yarn.
Safety eyes: Around 10mm, though you can size up or down depending on how big or small you'd like the eyes to look.
Also needed:
- A yarn needle (a bent-tip needle is generally easier to work with for amigurumi)
- Scissors
- Polyester fiberfill for stuffing
Skill level: You'll want to be comfortable with single crochet, the magic ring, increases, and invisible decreases before starting. This pattern also uses a color change, plus working in back loops only (BLO) and front loops only (FLO) for the shell section, so it's a great project once you've got the fundamentals down.
Stitch Abbreviations Used
- sc – single crochet
- st(s) – stitch(es)
- inc – increase (2 single crochets in the same stitch)
- dec – invisible decrease
- ch – chain
- BLO – back loop(s) only
- FLO – front loop(s) only
- sl st – slip stitch
Front Legs (Make 2)
Round 1: Work 7 single crochet into a magic ring. Pull the ring tight to close, then place a stitch marker in that last stitch to mark the end of the round.
Round 2: Work 7 increases (2 sc in each stitch around) — 14 stitches total.
Round 3: Work the pattern of 1 sc, then 1 increase, repeated 7 times — 21 stitches total.
Round 4: Work the pattern of 2 sc, then 1 increase, repeated 7 times — 28 stitches total.
Closing the leg: Remove your stitch marker and fold the leg piece in half. Single crochet across both sides of the top together, all the way across, to close the whole piece. You can tuck the tail from your magic ring inside, or just trim it off. Once the leg is closed all the way along the top, cut your yarn and pull the tail through.
Making them symmetrical: For one of your two front legs, take that tail and sew it through to the opposite end of the leg. Don't pull it too tight — you want the leg to keep its shape at that end, just gently shaping it out nicely. Do this on only one of your two front legs. This gives you a mirrored, symmetrical pair.
Back Legs (Make 2)
These are nearly identical to the front legs, just one round shorter.
Round 1: Work 7 single crochet into a magic ring. Pull tight and mark the last stitch.
Round 2: Work 7 increases — 14 stitches total.
Round 3: Work the pattern of 1 sc, then 1 increase, repeated 7 times — 21 stitches total.
Closing the leg: Remove the stitch marker, fold the piece in half, and single crochet closed along the top edges, just like the front legs. Cut the yarn and pull the tail through.
Making them symmetrical: Just like the front legs, take the tail on one of the two back legs and sew it through to the opposite end, shaping it out gently without pulling too tight. This gives you two symmetrical back legs.
Head
Round 1: Work 6 single crochet into a magic ring. Pull tight and place a stitch marker at the end of the round.
Round 2: Work 6 increases — 12 stitches total.
Round 3: Work the pattern of 1 sc, then 1 increase, repeated 6 times — 18 stitches total.
Round 4: Work the pattern of 2 sc, then 1 increase, repeated 6 times — 24 stitches total.
Rounds 5–8: Work 24 single crochet around for each of these four rounds (no increasing or decreasing — you're just building the roundness of the head).
Attaching the safety eyes: The eyes go in between rounds 4 and 5 — so right at the round 4 line. Space the two eyes 7 stitches apart from each other, then attach the backing pieces securely on the inside.
Round 9: Work the pattern of 2 sc, then an invisible decrease, repeated 6 times — bringing you down to 18 stitches. An invisible decrease gives a much neater finish than a standard decrease, which is worth using throughout this pattern.
Round 10: Work the pattern of 1 sc, then an invisible decrease, repeated 6 times — bringing you down to 12 stitches.
Finishing the head: Cut your yarn, leaving a long tail. Close the opening with a slip stitch into the next single crochet, then pull it through. Stuff the head firmly, then set it aside — you'll attach it at the very end.
Tail
Round 1: Work 4 single crochet into a magic ring.
Round 2: Work the pattern of 1 sc, then 1 increase, repeated twice.
Rounds 3–4: Work 6 single crochet around for each round (no shaping).
Finish off with a slip stitch and cut the yarn.
Shell
Work the shell in a different color from your body color.
Round 1: Work 6 single crochet into a magic ring.
Rounds 2–6: Continue increasing evenly round by round. By the end of round 6, your shell should total 36 stitches around — this is confirmed in round 7 below, where all 36 stitches are worked with no further shaping. If you're not sure how many increases to work in each of these middle rounds, spacing them evenly is the way to go, since the goal is simply to reach that 36-stitch count by the time round 6 is complete.
Marking your place: Once round 6 is done, place a stitch marker in the back loop of the very first single crochet from that round. This will help you find it again later.
Round 7: Work 36 single crochet in the front loops only, all the way around the entire shell. No increases or decreases here — just single crochet through the front loop of every stitch.
Round 8 (color change to body): Change to your body color. The easiest way to do this is to make the color change in the stitch before the one you're changing on, so the new color is ready to go. This is also where that marked stitch comes back into play — the back loop of the first stitch of round 6 is where you'll be working this round. Insert your hook into that marked stitch, and work the entire round in the back loops only, for a total of 36 single crochet. (If you like, you can work over the tail ends from your color change as you go, though you can also just weave them in later.)
Round 9 (creating the leg and tail openings): This round is worked in both loops again, and it's where the openings for the legs and tail are created:
- 3 single crochet
- Chain 3, then skip the next 3 stitches — this creates the opening for one of the front legs
- 7 single crochet
- Chain 2, then skip 2 stitches — this creates the opening for one of the back legs
- Single crochet 2
- Chain 2, then skip 2 stitches — this creates the opening for the tail
- Single crochet 2
- Chain 2, then skip 2 stitches — this creates the opening for the second back leg
- 7 single crochet
- Chain 3, then skip 3 stitches — this creates the opening for the second front leg
- Single crochet 3 to bring you back to your stitch marker
You should have 36 stitches total at the end of round 9.
Round 10: Work the pattern of 4 sc, then an invisible decrease, repeated 6 times — bringing you to 30 stitches. This round works over the chain stitches created in round 9, so instead of going into both loops of a stitch like usual, you'll be working into just the one loop of each chain stitch.
Round 11: Work the pattern of 3 sc, then an invisible decrease, repeated 6 times — bringing you to 24 stitches.
Attaching the Legs and Tail
After round 11, don't cut your yarn. Remove your hook and place a stitch marker in that last loop so it doesn't unravel, and leave your working yarn attached — you'll come back to it after sewing on the limbs.
Planning the placement: Lay out your pieces to figure out where everything goes. The front legs go toward the front of the turtle, and it looks best if the single crochet stitches at the closed top edge of each leg face upward and outward. The back legs are placed the same way, with that last single crochet facing upward. The tail goes at the very back.
Sewing on a front leg: Take the first front leg and its yarn tail, and push the leg into the first chain-3 space from round 9 so it sits snugly inside. Using the leg's yarn tail, sew from one side of the leg to the other, working into each stitch to secure it in place (working on the inside of the piece). Once it's sewn on, check along the outside to make sure there are no gaps or holes, and add a few extra stitches on the inside to secure it further if needed. Tuck the yarn tails inside, or trim them off if you prefer.
Repeat this exact process for the second front leg, using the second chain-3 space. You can have the legs curve outward or the opposite direction — it comes down to personal preference.
Sewing on the back legs: Repeat the same sewing process for both back legs, again making sure the single crochet edge faces upward, tucking each leg into its chain-2 space from round 9.
Sewing on the tail: Push the tail piece into its chain-2 space at the back of the shell, and sew it in place on the inside using the same method as the legs.
Once all four legs and the tail are attached, you're ready to keep crocheting the body.
Finishing the Body
Insert your hook back into the working loop to continue.
Round 12: Work the pattern of 2 sc, then an invisible decrease, repeated 6 times — bringing you to 18 stitches.
Round 13: Work the pattern of 1 sc, then an invisible decrease, repeated 6 times — bringing you to 12 stitches.
Stuffing the body: At this point, stuff the body fairly firmly — firm enough that it holds its shape well, but not so tightly packed that the stuffing shows through the stitches.
Round 14 (final round): Work 6 invisible decreases all the way around, with no plain single crochets in between.
Closing the body: Cut your yarn and pull it through. Close the piece using what's sometimes called an "ultimate finish" — insert your needle from the middle of the opening, through the front loops of all 6 remaining stitches from the last round, then pull tight to close it up neatly. Insert your hook into the center and pull the tail through to a different spot on the body. Cut it, but leave the tail there for now — you'll tuck it in at the very end.
Final Assembly: Attaching the Head
Before sewing, pin the head onto the body first to check the placement — make sure the eyes are centered and the head isn't tilted too far up or down.
Sew the head on using an invisible joining method:
- Go under a stitch of the body.
- Come up from the bottom through a stitch of the head.
- Go back down into the next stitch of the head.
- Grab another stitch from the body.
- Come up into a stitch of the head, then back down into the next stitch of the head.
Repeat this all the way around until the head is fully and securely attached.
Finishing touches: Once the head is in place, insert your needle under the head and bring it through to the same stitch where your other tail (from closing the body) is waiting. Tie the two tails together with a double knot to secure everything, cut off the excess, and tuck that little knot down into the center of the piece to hide it.
And that's it — your amigurumi turtle is complete! Give it a squeeze, admire that little shell, and enjoy your new soft, chunky friend.
