Crochet tortoise- free pattern

Check out my Youtube video tutorial for this pattern: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEl-2165bR4

When made with the stated hook size and yarn weight, the tortoise is approx 13.5cm long from his head to tail, and 7cm wide. Every piece is made in continuous spiral rounds using a stitch marker.

Materials needed:

• DK yarn in light brown, yellow and dark brown and a small piece of black for the mouth (I used Hayfield bonus DK in Walnut, Fields of gold, Chocolate and Black)

• 3mm crochet hook

• 6mm black safety eyes

• Stitch marker

• Scissors

• Stuffing

• Sewing needle (appropriate size for the yarn)

• Pins to help with sewing

• Tape measure to measure lengths of yarn (optional)

Abbreviations (US crochet terms):

st- stitch

mr- magic ring

sc- single crochet

sl st- slip stitch

inc- increase

invdec- invisible decrease

dc- double crochet

BLO- back loops only

FLO- front loops only

Head:

In light brown, stuff as you go

Rnd 1: 6 sc in mr (6)

Rnd 2: inc in every st (12)

Rnd 3: (sc in nxt st, inc) x6 (18)

Rnds 4-7 (4 rnds): sc in every st (18)

Insert safety eyes between rnds 4 and 5, 4 stitches apart (they have to be put in on the correct side because of the neck shaping- the part of the spiral that the arrow is pointing to should be this way up and the eyes on the opposite side)

Rnd 8: (sc in nxt 4 st, invdec) x3 (15)

Rnds 9-10 (2 rnds): sc in every st (15)

Rnd 11: inc, sc in nxt st, inc, sc in nxt 3 st, invdec, sc in nxt st, invdec, sc in nxt 4 st (15)

Rnd 12: sc in nxt st, inc, sc in nxt 2 st, inc, sc in nxt 3 st, invdec, sc in nxt st, invdec, sc in nxt 2 st (15)

Rnd 13: inc, sc in nxt 3 st, inc, sc in nxt 3 st, invdec, sc in nxt 2 st, invdec, sc in nxt st (15)

Rnd 14: (sc in nxt st, inc) x4, sc in nxt 3 st, invdec, sc in nxt 2 st (18)

Fasten off leaving tail for sewing.

Mouth:

Cut a 20cm long piece of black yarn, tie a double knot near the end to stop it coming through the stitches. Thread onto needle and come up through the neck opening and come out between rnds 7 and 8 in line with the inner edge of the right eye, make a short diagonal stitch across rnd 8 and then come out the opposite side in line with the inner edge of the other eye and make another short diagonal st (a wide V shape), go back in where you came out of and come out of the neck opening, find a loop from a st on the last rnd on the inside, go through it but leave a loop, go through the loop from behind and pull tight to make a knot. Trim excess tail and push inside head.

Body:

In light brown, stuff as you go

Rnd 1: 6 sc in mr (6)

Rnd 2: inc in every st (12)

Rnd 3: (sc in nxt st, inc) x6 (18)

Rnd 4: sc in nxt st, inc in nxt 3 st, sc in nxt 6 st, inc in nxt 3 st, sc in nxt 5 st (24)

Rnd 5: sc in nxt 2 st, inc, (sc in nxt st, inc) x2, sc in nxt 6 st, (sc in nxt st, inc) x3, sc in nxt 5 st (30)

Rnd 6: sc in nxt 3 st, inc, (sc in nxt 2 st, inc) x2, sc in nxt 8 st, inc, (sc in nxt 2 st, inc) x2, sc in nxt 5 st (36)

Rnd 7: sc in nxt 4 st, inc, (sc in nxt 3 st, inc) x2, sc in nxt 9 st, inc, (sc in nxt 3 st, inc) x2, sc in nxt 5 st (42)

Rnd 8: sc in nxt 5 st, inc, (sc in nxt 4 st, inc) x2, sc in nxt 10 st, inc, (sc in nxt 4 st, inc) x2, sc in nxt 5 st (48)

Rnds 9-11 (3 rnds): sc in every st (48)

Rnd 12: (sc in nxt 6 st, invdec) x6 (42)

Rnd 13: (sc in nxt 5 st, invdec) x6 (36)

Rnd 14: (sc in nxt 4 st, invdec) x6 (30)

Rnd 15: (sc in nxt 3 st, invdec) x6 (24)

Rnd 16: (sc in nxt 2 st, invdec) x6 (18)

Rnd 17: (sc in nxt st, invdec) x6 (12)

Rnd 18: (invdec) x6 (6)

Fasten off leaving a long tail, thread tail onto needle and come up through the FLO of each of the last 6 stitches from the ouside, pull tight to gather stitches together and close the hole. To fasten off, find a loop nearby, go through it but not all the way- leave a loop and go through the loop from behind, pull tight to make a knot. Weave tail through the body going in near where it comes out. Cut the yarn close to the edge of the work and use the end of your needle to push end inside and hide it.

Front legs- make 2:

In light brown

Rnd 1: 6 sc in mr (6)

Rnd 2: inc in every st (12)

Rnd 3: In BLO: sc in every st (12)

Rnd 4: (sc in nxt 2 st, invdec) x3 (9)

Rnds 5-7 (3 rnds): sc in every st (9)

Rnd 8: inc, sc in nxt 3 st, invdec, sc in nxt 3 st (9)

Rnd 9: sc in nxt st, inc, sc in nxt 3 st, invdec, sc in nxt 2 st (9)

Fasten off leaving tail for sewing. Push tail from magic ring inside.

Stuff lightly using the end of your hook to push it inside. Curve the front legs at the end where the shaping is making it curve (decreases at the front).

Back legs- make 2:

In light brown

Rnd 1: 6 sc in mr (6)

Rnd 2: inc in every st (12)

Rnd 3: In BLO: sc in every st (12)

Rnd 4: (sc in nxt 2 st, invdec) x3 (9)

Rnds 5-8 (4 rnds): sc in every st (9)

Fasten off leaving tail for sewing. Push tail from magic ring inside.

Stuff lightly using the end of your hook to push it inside. The back legs will be straight.

Tail:

In light brown

Rnd 1: 6 sc in mr (6)

Rnd 2: sc in every st (6)

Rnd 3: (sc in nxt st, inc) x3 (9)

Rnd 4: sc in every st (9)

Fasten off leaving tail for sewing. Flatten, don't stuff. Trim tail from the magic ring.

Sewing:

Use pins to position each piece and leave them in place while sewing so that the pieces don't move. Sew the neck to the side curved edge of the front of the body in the middle as you look at it from the front, between rnds 5 to 9, by picking up loops from the surface of the stitches on the body and going through both loops on each st of the last rnd of the head. Fasten off in the same way as when you closed the hole, and weave end inside body, trim excess and push end inside.

Sew the front legs on across rnds 12 and 13 of the body, approx 4 st apart. Don't flatten the end- sew in a circle and curve them slightly. Fasten off and weave in end.

Sew the back legs on across rnds 12 and 13, 4 stitches apart, in line with the front legs. Fasten off and weave in end.

Sew the tail to the body between the back legs across rnds 10- 11. Fasten off and weave in end.

Shell:

In yellow (Rnds 1-8 are the same as on the body)

Rnd 1: 6 sc in mr (6)

Rnd 2: inc in every st (12)

Rnd 3: (sc in nxt st, inc) x6 (18)

Rnd 4: sc in nxt st, inc in nxt 3 st, sc in nxt 6 st, inc in nxt 3 st, sc in nxt 5 st (24)

Rnd 5: sc in nxt 2 st, inc, (sc in nxt st, inc) x2, sc in nxt 6 st, (sc in nxt st, inc) x3, sc in nxt 5 st (30)

Rnd 6: sc in nxt 3 st, inc, (sc in nxt 2 st, inc) x2, sc in nxt 8 st, inc, (sc in nxt 2 st, inc) x2, sc in nxt 5 st (36)

Rnd 7: sc in nxt 4 st, inc, (sc in nxt 3 st, inc) x2, sc in nxt 9 st, inc, (sc in nxt 3 st, inc) x2, sc in nxt 5 st (42)

Rnd 8: sc in nxt 5 st, inc, (sc in nxt 4 st, inc) x2, sc in nxt 10 st, inc, (sc in nxt 4 st, inc) x2, sc in nxt 5 st (48)

Rnd 9: sc in every st (48)

Rnd 10: In FLO: dc in nxt 32 st, sl st in nxt 2 st, dc in nxt 14 st, sl st in nxt st through both loops (48)

Fasten off.

Pattern on shell:

See my Youtube video tutorial for this part. Cut a 3 metre long piece of brown yarn, tie a double knot in the end of it. Come up from the underside at the base of slip stitches at the top, make 4 hexagons (6 lines for 6 edges) going down the middle in a straight line through where rnd 1 is. The base of the double crochet stitches is the border so don't make lines over that part yet.

Then make a final half hexagon at the bottom, and then make 3 horizontal lines on each side coming out of the middle corner of each hexagon. Then make lines around the border in a circle, one line for each segment. Then weave through to the edge and make a lines going from the base of the double crochet stitches and then go underneath the V of the top of the stitch, make a line every 2 double crochet stitches, all the way around. Fasten off in the same way as before by finding a loop nearby and then use the remaining length of brown yarn to sew the shell to the body.

The part with the 2 slip stitches goes behind the back of his neck. Pin the shell to the body in several places making sure it's flat against the body. Lift up the double crochet edge, this part won't be sewn down, use the remaining back loops to sew to the body all the way around by picking up loops from the surfaces of the stitches on the body. Fasten off and weave in end, trim excess and hide the end.

Toes:

Choose 5 of the remaining loops on the edges of the feet at the front, with the tortoise upside down, start on the right hand side, push hook in, pull up a loop of brown, ch 1, sl st in same st, (ch 1, sl st in nxt st) repeat until you've used 5 stitches. Fasten off and weave in tails. Repeat for each leg, making sure the toes are pointing towards the front on each foot.

The tortoise is finished! I'd love to see a photo of yours, you can share it with me by tagging me on instagram @laura_wilson01

Check out my Etsy shop for more patterns: https://laurawilsondesigns.etsy.com

This pattern was designed by Laura Wilson of Laura Wilson Designs. This pattern is strictly for personal, non-commercial use. Copy, distribution or commercial use of this pattern or any of its parts is not allowed. Please give credit if posting photos or selling finished item. © Laura Wilson 2025- All rights reserved.