How to Crochet a Turtle: Beginner Amigurumi

Lay out everything you need before you sit down: a 7 mm crochet hook, one skein of super bulky brown yarn for the shell, one skein of green for the body and limbs, polyester fiberfill, two 18 mm safety eyes with their locking washers, a yarn needle, sharp scissors, and at least two stitch markers.

Start the shell with the brown yarn. Pinch the working end between your thumb and pointer finger, then wrap the yarn around the pointer and middle finger to form an X. Hold the X in place, slide your hook under it, turn the hook 180 degrees to catch the lower strand on the middle finger, and pull that strand back under the X. Turn the hook again, go over the X, and pull another loop through. That's your magic circle - one tidy adjustable ring ready to take its first round of stitches.

Round 1: work 7 single crochets into the magic ring, then pull the tail to cinch the ring shut. Drop in a stitch marker on that last stitch so you can find the end of the round later. Every round from here ends at the marker.

Round 2 is all increases: 2 single crochets into each of the 7 stitches, giving you 14 total. Round 3 alternates 1 single crochet and 1 increase seven times, ending at 21. Round 4 is a plain round with a single crochet in every stitch (still 21). Round 5 goes 2 single crochets, 1 increase, repeated seven times, finishing at 28. Move the marker up to the last stitch of every round as you go.

Rounds 6 through 9 are plain: 28 single crochets in each round, no increases or decreases. The shell will start to look like a domed bowl. Counting helps - jot a tally mark each time you pass the stitch marker.

Round 10 is the trick that defines the turtle. Work all 28 single crochets in the front loops only, which means you slide your hook under just the front strand of each V instead of both strands. The back loops are left exposed as a horizontal ridge. Right after you finish round 10, place a second stitch marker into the very first back loop you skipped. That marker tells you where to pick up the contrasting yarn for the belly in the next step.

The color change happens on the last stitch of round 10. Pull your brown yarn through the front loop and stop with two loops still on the hook. Lay the green yarn over the hook, pull it through both loops, and the stitch finishes in green. Tie the green and brown tails together with three knots and trim the brown tail short.

Now go back to that stitch marker you placed in the first abandoned back loop. Insert your hook into that loop and work 28 single crochets all the way around in back loops only. The green yarn closes the bowl from underneath and the brown shell hangs above like a turtle's domed top. The exposed front-loop ridge from round 10 becomes the visible band between shell and belly.

Round 11 starts the decreases. Work 2 single crochets, then 1 invisible decrease, repeated seven times, ending at 21 stitches. The invisible decrease keeps the fabric tight: hook through the front loops of two stitches at once, pull up a loop, then finish the stitch as usual.

Round 12 is 1 single crochet and 1 invisible decrease seven times, ending at 14 stitches. Pause here and stuff the turtle firmly with small handfuls of fiberfill. Push it into the corners with the end of a pencil or the back of the hook. Round 13 is 7 invisible decreases for 7 stitches, and you're done with the body. Cut a 10-inch tail, fasten off, and thread it through a yarn needle. Weave it through the remaining 7 stitches, pull tight to cinch the hole closed, knot a few times, and bury the tail inside the body.

Start the head with a fresh magic circle in green. Round 1: 7 single crochets into the ring. Round 2: 7 increases for 14 stitches. Rounds 3, 4, and 5: plain rounds of 14 single crochets each.

Before round 6, push the safety eyes through the fabric between rounds 3 and 4, about a quarter turn apart - count six or seven stitches between them. Set the locking washers loosely, step back, and check the face from the front. Once you're happy, snap the washers down hard - they don't come off again.

Round 6 is 7 invisible decreases, finishing at 7 stitches. Fasten off with a long 24-inch tail because you'll need that yarn to sew the head onto the shell in step 7.

Make the tail: magic circle with 4 single crochets, then 2 plain rounds of 4 single crochets each. Fasten off with a 12-inch tail for sewing. Make each leg: magic circle with 6 single crochets, then 3 plain rounds of 6 single crochets. Fasten off with a 12-inch tail. Repeat three more times so you have four matching legs in total.

Thread the head's long tail through your yarn needle and sew the head onto the brown shell, starting 2 to 3 rows up from the green-and-brown ridge. Work in a small circle, pinning the head straight before you commit. About halfway around, the seam crosses onto the green belly - keep going so the head is anchored to both colors. Go around twice for security.

Sew the tail directly opposite the head along the ridge, pinching it flat instead of stuffing it. Sew each of the four legs flat against the ridge: one on either side of the head and one on either side of the tail. Weave in all the loose ends with the yarn needle and your turtle is finished.