Sunday 8 April 2012

Mini Crochet Creatures - Tiny Two-tone Turtle


These tiny turtles are great to use up scraps of yarn, and can easily be made as keychains. Using two colours and spike stitch makes a really pretty design on the shell. Why not make lots of them! For general instructions and abbreviations, please check this earlier post

Tiny Two-tone Turtle



You will need:
Small amounts of yarn: two colours for the shell (C1 and C2) and light brown for the body.
Black yarn for eyes and mouth.
Small amount of stuffing.
Small split ring approx 1" (2cm) diameter.
3.5mm (E) hook.

Special stitch instructions:
3 dc pop: popcorn stitch for legs. Work 3 dc into 1 st, take hook out leaving loop, put hook through 1st dc & pull loop through.

Spike stitch (spike st): instead of working the sc into the top of the stitch in the previous round, work it right over that stitch and into the stitch from the round before.

Start using C1.
Round 1: Ch 2, work 6 sc into 1st ch - 6 st.
Round 2: 2 sc in each st around - 12 st.
Change to C2.
Round 3: [2 sc in next st, spike st over next st] 6 times – 18 st.
Round 4: [2 sc in next st, sc in next 5 st] 3 times – 21 st.
Change to C1.
Round 5: [Sc in next 2 st, spike st over next st] 7 times - 21 st.
Change to light brown yarn.
Round 6: Work in BLO for whole round: Sc in next 2 st, (*tail: ss in next st, ch 2, ss in 2nd ch from hook, ss back into original st), sc in next 2 st, 3 dc pop in next st, sc in next 3 st, 3 dc pop in next st, sc in next 2 st, [head: 3 dc in each of next 2 st, take hook out leaving loop, put hook through 1st dc & pull loop through], sc in next 2 st, 3 dc pop in next st, sc in next 3 st, 3 dc pop in next st - 20 st.
Round 7: Sc in each st around - 20 st.
Round 8: [Sc2tog] 10 times – 10 st.
Round 9: [Sc2tog] 5 times – 5 st. FO, leaving a length of yarn.

(*To make tail with split ring attached: ss in next st, ch 3, put split ring onto hook, ss over split ring in 2nd ch from hook and pull split ring over the end of the hook. Ss into next ch, ss back into original st.) Continue with round 6.

Use black yarn to sew eyes and a tiny mouth on the turtle's head, stuff and use length of brown yarn to sew up hole at bottom.
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25 comments:

  1. Beansieleigh10 April 2012 at 14:54

    I was just about to make some turtles, but I think these little guys would be a cute addition to the little ones I hope to make this week! Thanks so much for sharing your pattern! ~tina

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  2. Lily10 April 2012 at 21:47

    I just came across this pattern and now I am trying to make a turtle myself. But I have a question to Round 6 about the Popcorn stitch: After pulling the the loop through the 1st dc, I went on with the sc in the next st - but this looked a bit strange because the sc is much smaller than the dc/the popcorn stitch. I now have decided to make ss's down the Popcorn stitch and then looked better. My question: What have I done wrong?

    (I'm sorry for my bad English - English is not my mother tongue)

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  3. x VickeryPokery x12 April 2012 at 19:30

    Ah, these are lovely :) I whipped one up this afternoon and he's really sweet - thank you for sharing the pattern :)

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  4. LucyRavenscar13 April 2012 at 17:00

    Thanks for the nice comments! Lily, it does work to do an sc after a popcrn stitch, even with a bit of difference in height. It makes the popcorn stick out a bit more. See what it looks like when you do the next round, because that can change how things look.

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  5. Anonymous14 April 2012 at 09:17

    It's so cute !!! Wonderful ...
    Kisses from France ;-)

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  6. LucyRavenscar17 April 2012 at 18:49

    Merci beaucoup!

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  7. Julie Davies30 April 2012 at 11:52

    Many thanks for this and all your other small 'no sewing' patterns that I found on Craftster. I've signed up to my son's Summer Fete in June to make some 'pocket money' buys for the kids, having been inspired by you! (Though it's coming around a bit too quickly!)

    Best wishes, Julie

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  8. LucyRavenscar1 May 2012 at 13:59

    Thanks Julie, and good luck with fete! I know I always end up making everything at the last minute.

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  9. Betto21 September 2012 at 18:00

    Hello Lucy.
    I like your blog, it's amazing.
    I translated your pattern.
    I made a turtle, and it's posted in my blog.
    http://bettotejidos.blogspot.com/2012/09/tortuguitas.html

    Best wishes, Lucy.

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  10. LucyRavenscar24 September 2012 at 20:48

    Hi Betto!

    Thank you! Your turtles are very cute, I really like the colours you used. If anyone wants a translation to Spanish, I'll send them to your blog!

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  11. Sunni29 September 2012 at 00:10

    Hi Lucy!

    I love these turtles, but I can't seem to figure out round 7: How do I deal with the tail, legs, and head? How do I get underneath them so I can later close it off on the bottom? The way I did at first seemed like it would lead to the limbs all getting buried inside the turtle.

    I wonder if I'm so confused that you can't even imagine what my problem may be ;) but it looks fine before I start attempting this row.

    Thank you for all your great patterns. I'm particularly impressed by the ewok in your Star Wars collection!

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  12. LucyRavenscar29 September 2012 at 07:39

    Hi Sunni,

    It could be that you've ended up working inside out, and that could be making the popcorn stitches not work properly. When you work crochet in the round the right way round the part you're working on should be close to you, and the rest of the piece should be further away. If you're working inside out then it's the other way round. Check what the stitches on your shell look like and compare them to mine to be sure.

    Otherwise, each popcorn stitch you did on round 6 is a single stitch and you can work into the top of it as normal. With the tail, work into the first ss you made, but not the second.

    I hope this helps!

    Lucy

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  13. Sunni29 September 2012 at 21:02

    Oh! I had been pulling the popcorn stitches together over the top, sticking the hook through the underside of the first dc instead of from above. I feel silly!

    I'm so happy that I figured it out and don't have to give up on having an adorable two toned turtle of my own.

    Thanks for your time!

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  14. LucyRavenscar1 October 2012 at 13:13

    No problem! Now you can make a whole army.

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  15. Anonymous19 December 2012 at 04:00

    Thanks for this wonderful pattern... I will be making these as doorgifts for a stitching meeting in the coming months.

    Usha
    usharaneem@yahoo.com

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  16. LucyRavenscar20 December 2012 at 09:36

    Thanks Usha!

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  17. Amy20 March 2014 at 23:13

    I have made some of these too, with slight variations. See pictures on my blog: http://ipinky-promise.com/index.php?id=2

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  18. LucyRavenscar21 March 2014 at 10:54

    Hi Amy, your turtles look good, I love the colours you used for the shells. I'll have to try your variations and see if I prefer them that way.

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  19. Anita1 February 2015 at 14:32

    Thanks a lot for all the nice small patterns on your blog, they are very addictive, specialy this little turtles. Here's a link to my creations: http://anitashaakcreaties.blogspot.nl/2015/02/schildpadjes.html

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  20. LucyRavenscar2 February 2015 at 08:52

    Thanks Anita, I'm so glad you're enjoying them!

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  21. Unknown15 September 2015 at 22:16

    Hi Lucy, I wanted to say how much I love your turtles , I will be trying to make them this weekend and I love all things about turtles esp sea turtles too. Well I hope that you have a great day and when I get mine made I will post pics
    D'Aun ~

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  22. LucyRavenscar17 September 2015 at 23:47

    Thank you! Have a fun weekend, I'd love to see any turtles that you make.

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  23. Anonymous21 March 2016 at 04:09

    I have made your turtles and I actually make the feet and head bigger with an added stitch or two, they're great. I have also made your pig and monkeys and I really like them. I agree that if you do a dc pop you don't have to sc because the other round evens things out, I've done both, both wasy work.

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  24. Anonymous10 May 2022 at 19:27

    Gini Bogers, is there also a Dutch translate for this little turtle? My 86 years old aunt will love this

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  25. Desley Kerr24 October 2022 at 12:10

    I have now made over 500 of these gorgeous little creatures and given them to children at the schools where I work. They are used for comfort, for working hard, for helping, for grief, to encourage better behaviour (baby turtle that you need to teach), reading buddies, etc. There is no limit to their use! Now some of our 10 yr olds are learning to make their own. Thank you.

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