Sunflower Turtle Crochet Pattern (Free + Petals Crocheted Into the Shell)
Most flower-topped amigurumi cheat. You make the animal, you make a flower somewhere else, and then you sit there with a tapestry needle trying to stitch a floppy circle onto a curved shell without it sliding sideways.
This one does not do that. The petals grow directly out of the shell, worked into loops that were left waiting from the very first section.
I commissioned this pattern from the crocheter I work with, the same one behind the tiny pocket turtle I published earlier this year. She built it, photographed every stage, and I bought the rights so I could give it away here for free. Her crochet tortoise pattern comes with a Santa hat for Christmas.
The Trick That Makes This Pattern Work
Round 8 of the upper shell is 36 single crochet, and it does double duty.
You use the back loops only of that round to build the entire bottom shell and attach the body. Then you come back later and use the front loops only of the exact same round to sprout 18 sunflower petals.
One round of stitches, two completely separate jobs. That is why the flower sits flush on the shell instead of perching on top of it like a hat.
It also means the petals are the last thing you do, so you can stuff and finish the whole turtle first and still have a crisp, untouched loop line waiting for the yellow yarn.
Quick Info
| Skill level | Intermediate |
| Finished size | About 5 inches (12 cm) |
| Time | 4 to 6 hours |
| Main stitches | sc, inc, dec, dc, tr, sl st, BLO, FLO |
| Sewing required | Almost none. Head, flippers and tail are crocheted on |
Calling this intermediate rather than easy is deliberate. The stitches themselves are basic, but the attachment round asks you to hold five loose pieces against the shell and crochet through both at once, and that is a genuine step up from making a plain ball.
If you have finished a few amigurumi animals, you will be fine. If this is your first, make the tiny pocket turtle first and come back.
Materials
Yarn (4-ply milk cotton):
- Dark brown for the shell center
- Light green for the head, flippers, tail and bottom shell
- Yellow for the sunflower petals
- Black for the embroidered smile
- White for the eye highlights
Tools:
- 3.5 mm hook for every part of the turtle
- 3.0 mm hook for the petals only
- 8 mm safety eyes, or small black beads
- Fiberfill stuffing
- Tapestry needle
- Sharp scissors
- Stitch marker
The two hook sizes are not fussiness. The smaller hook makes the petals tighter and stiffer so they hold their shape in a ring instead of flopping over the shell.
Milk cotton is roughly 40% cotton, 40% acrylic and 20% milk protein fiber, which is what gives it that soft matte finish with almost no fuzz. Any worsted weight cotton will work if you cannot find it.
Abbreviations
- MR = magic ring
- ch = chain
- sc = single crochet
- inc = increase, 2 sc in one stitch
- dec = decrease, 2 sc together
- sl st = slip stitch
- dc = double crochet
- tr = treble crochet
- BLO = back loops only
- FLO = front loops only
- R = round
Upper Shell (Dark Brown)
- R1: 6 sc in MR [6]
- R2: 6 inc [12]
- R3: (1 sc, 1 inc) x 6 [18]
- R4: (2 sc, 1 inc) x 6 [24]
- R5: (3 sc, 1 inc) x 6 [30]
- R6: sc around [30]
- R7: (4 sc, 1 inc) x 6 [36]
- R8: sc around [36]
Fasten off and weave in the end.
Do not stuff this yet, and do not close it. Round 8 is the round both the bottom shell and the petals will feed off later, so it needs to stay open with both its loops free.
Tension matters more here than anywhere else in the pattern. A shell with loose stitches goes wavy at the rim, and a wavy rim makes the petal ring sit crooked.
Head (Light Green)
- R1: 6 sc in MR [6]
- R2: 6 inc [12]
- R3: (1 sc, 1 inc) x 6 [18]
- R4: (2 sc, 1 inc) x 6 [24]
- R5 to R8: sc around [24]
Stop here and put in the safety eyes, between rounds 5 and 6, about 7 stitches apart.
Do this before you decrease, while the opening is still wide enough to get your fingers inside to click the washers on. Once those washers are on they are not coming off, so hold the head at arm’s length and check the expression before you commit.
Now stuff the head firmly enough to hold a round shape, but not so hard the stitches gape.
- R9: (2 sc, 1 dec) x 6 [18]
- R10: (1 sc, 1 dec) x 6 [12]
- R11: 6 dec [6]
Fasten off, leaving the tail. Do not close the hole. The head gets crocheted onto the shell later, and a closed head is harder to hold in position.
Flippers and Tail (Light Green)
Front Flippers (make 2)
- R1: 8 sc in MR [8]
- R2: 8 inc [16]
- R3: (1 sc, 1 inc) x 8 [24]
- R4: (2 sc, 1 inc) x 8 [32]
Fold the circle flat in half and work 16 sc across both layers to seal it shut.
Folding a flat circle and crocheting the edges together gives you a flipper with a natural taper and zero bulk. No stuffing, no sewing, no lumpy seam.
Back Flippers (make 2)
- R1: 8 sc in MR [8]
- R2: 8 inc [16]
- R3: (1 sc, 1 inc) x 8 [24]
Fold in half and work 12 sc across both layers. Leave these unstuffed too.
The back flippers are one round shorter on purpose. Real turtles have smaller rear limbs, and matching all four makes the finished piece read as a generic blob animal.
Tail
- R1: 6 sc in MR [6]
- R2 to R4: sc around [6]
Fasten off. It is a tiny nub, and it is the detail people notice is missing if you skip it.
Bottom Shell and Attachment (Light Green)
This is the section that replaces sewing. Read it once before you pick up the hook.
Join light green to the back loops only of Round 8 of the upper shell.
- R1: working in BLO, sc around [36]
R2 is the attachment round. Hold each body part on the outside of the shell as you reach it. Push your hook through the body part first, then through the shell stitch, then finish the single crochet as normal.
Work in this order:
| Sequence | Stitches |
|---|---|
| Plain sc | 2 |
| Attach head | 3 |
| Plain sc | 2 |
| Attach front flipper | 4 |
| Plain sc | 6 |
| Attach back flipper | 3 |
| Attach tail | 3 |
| Attach second back flipper | 3 |
| Plain sc | 6 |
| Attach second front flipper | 4 |
That totals 36 stitches, so you finish the round exactly where you started.
The pieces will feel floppy while you work and that is normal. They tighten up as soon as the following rounds pull the base in.
- R3: (2 sc, 1 dec, 2 sc) x 6 [30]
- R4: (3 sc, 1 dec) x 6 [24]
- R5: 12 dec [12]
Stuff the body now, through the hole that is left. Add fiberfill in small pinches rather than one wad, and stop before it feels solid. An overstuffed shell splays the flippers outward.
- R6: 6 dec [6]
Fasten off, then thread the tail through the front loops only of the last 6 stitches and pull tight. Working front loops only draws the hole shut into a flat point instead of a puckered knot.
Sunflower Petals (Yellow, 3.0 mm Hook)
Switch to the 3.0 mm hook and join yellow to the front loops only of Round 8, the loops you left free at the very start.
Repeat this sequence all the way around:
ch 2, then work (1 dc, 1 tr, peacock stitch, 1 tr, 1 dc) all into the next stitch, ch 2, sl st into the following stitch.
Each repeat eats 2 stitches, so 36 stitches gives you 18 petals in a full ring.
The peacock stitch: ch 2, then slip stitch into the back bump of the first of those chains. The back bump is the third loop sitting behind the V on the back of the chain, and anchoring there pulls the chain into a sharp point rather than a soft loop. That point is the petal tip.
If the peacock stitch feels awkward, practice two or three on a scrap swatch first. It is the only unfamiliar move in the whole pattern.
Fasten off and weave the end in behind a petal where it will not show.
Finishing
- Embroider the smile in black, sitting slightly below and between the eyes. Higher than you think looks right, or the face turns sad.
- Add eye highlights with two tiny white stitches, one on each eye. This is a ten second job and it does more for the face than anything else in the pattern.
- Shape the petals with your fingers, bending each one slightly outward and downward so the ring opens up instead of standing straight.
Tips for Success
- Use a stitch marker from Round 1. The shell is worked in a continuous spiral and dark brown yarn hides the round start completely.
- Check eye placement in daylight. Safety eye backs are permanent, and 7 stitches apart is what gives this face its expression.
- Do not overstuff. The shell should keep a soft dome. Firm stuffing pushes the rim outward and the petals splay flat.
- Keep petal tension tight. Loose petals droop within a day. If yours flop, drop to a 2.5 mm hook and redo the round.
- Weave ends before the petals go on. Once 18 petals are in the way, reaching the shell surface with a tapestry needle is genuinely annoying.
FAQ
Is this pattern really no-sew?
Almost. The head, both front flippers, both back flippers and the tail are all crocheted onto the shell during the attachment round, so there is no seaming of body parts.
The only needle work left is the embroidered smile, the eye highlights and weaving in ends.
Can I make it safe for a baby?
Yes. Skip the safety eyes and embroider two black French knots or small satin stitches instead.
Also skip the fiberfill in favour of tightly packed cotton yarn scraps if the toy is for a child under three, and go up in yarn density so nothing works loose.
What can I use instead of milk cotton yarn?
Any worsted weight cotton. Milk cotton is a blend of roughly 40% cotton, 40% acrylic and 20% milk protein, so it is softer and less splitty than pure cotton, but the pattern does not depend on it.
Avoid anything fuzzy. Mohair or chenille will bury the petal definition entirely.
Why won’t my petals lie flat?
Two usual causes. Either you worked into both loops of Round 8 instead of the front loops only, which fights the bottom shell for space, or your petal tension is too loose.
Go down a hook size for the petal round and keep the yarn under firm tension as you work each dc and tr.
Can I make a jumbo or a mini version?
Yes, and the pattern scales cleanly because everything is proportional to the shell.
For a jumbo turtle use worsted or aran yarn with a 5.0 mm hook and 12 mm safety eyes. For a mini, drop to lace or thread weight with a 2.0 mm hook and 5 mm eyes, and expect the petals to need extra tension to stay crisp.
Can I turn it into a keychain?
Add a split ring or swivel clasp through two stitches at the back edge of the shell, right where the petal ring meets the rim.
At 5 inches it is on the large side for keys, so a mini version works better clipped to a bag. My tiny turtle keychain pattern covers the hardware step in detail.
Make One and Show Me
This is the pattern I hand to people who have made a few amigurumi animals and want something that looks harder than it is. The petal ring does all the visual work, and it takes about twenty minutes of the total build.
Save it to Pinterest so it is there when you have an afternoon free, and if you make one, I would genuinely like to see it.
If you want more flowers that never need water, my roundup of free crochet flower patterns collects ten of them, including the sunflower keychain that uses a flatter version of the same petal idea.
