You know I love making marine animals. I mean, with a humpback whale, a shark, a penguin, and some jellyfish, I should just make my own aquarium, right? Well, this amigurumi baby seal is the newest addition to my crochet marine sanctuary. He’s the smallest of them all, and definitely the quickest one to make!
I received yarn support from LoveCrochet for this project. All photos and opinions are my own. There may be affiliate links in this post.
When I think of seals, especially baby ones, I think of them sprawled on the rocks or on the ice, basking in the winter sunshine. They’re roly-poly, a little awkward, and always seem to have this sort of shell-shocked look on their faces. That, in a nutshell, was what I was going for with this amigurumi creation.
This pattern only uses 1 color, and is worked in seamed rounds. They’re not perfectly round rounds, but rather a bit more oblong, with more roly-poly on top, and flat on the bottom. The tail and side fins use the same pattern and are simply sewn onto the end and sides, respectively. There is a new stitch in this pattern, the hdc2tog – it’s a half double crochet decrease. If you’ve never worked one before, you can see how it’s done in the video, at around the 12 minute mark.
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By far the hardest part of this amigurumi is sewing on the face. Unlike other amigurumi where the face is halfway up the body, the smile here is sewn right at Round 1. I chose not to use my normal amigurumi smile and tried for more of a snout. It took longer than I wanted, which is to say, don’t get frustrated if it takes you a while too. And if it’s all just too much, skip it! He’ll be just as adorable.
The video tutorial and pattern is below!
Supplies
- Paintbox Cotton Aran Paper White (~0.32 oz) or other orange
- F/3.75mm crochet hook
- Cluster fiberfill
- 6mm safety eyes
- scissors
- embroidery thread or lightweight yarn in Black
Abbreviations
- st(s) – stitch(es)
- sl st – slip stitch
- ch – chain stitch
- sc – single crochet
- inc – increase: work 2 sc in same st
- dec – decrease: work 2 sc together
- hdc2tog – half double crochet decrease
Pattern Notes
- Rounds in seal are worked with a seam and joined with a seamless join.
- Eyes are placed approximately 1.0-1.25 inches apart.
- Amigurumi can be closed using this technique.
- The seam is on the bottom of the seal.
Crochet Baby Seal Amigurumi Instructions
- Worked in seamed rounds.
Round 1: Work 6 sc into a magic circle. Join to first sc with sl st. (6)
Round 2: Ch 1. Work 1 sc, 2 inc, 1 sc, 2 inc. Join to first sc with sl st. (10)
Round 3: Ch 1. Work 1 sc, [1 sc, inc] 2x, inc, [inc, 1 sc] 2x. Join to first sc with sl st. (15)
Round 4: Ch 1. Work 1 sc in each st around. Join to first sc with sl st. (15)
Round 5: Ch 1. Work 2 sc, [1 sc, inc] 3x, [inc, 1 sc] 3x, 1 sc. Join to first sc with sl st. (21)
Round 6: Ch 1. Work 1 sc in each st around. Join to first sc with sl st. (21)
Round 7: Ch 1. Work 7 sc, inc, 2 sc, inc, 2 sc, inc, 7 sc. Join to first sc with sl st. (24)
Round 8: Ch 1. Work 7 sc, [inc, 2 sc] 3x, inc, 7 sc. (28)
Round 9: Ch 1. Work 1 sc in each st around. Join to first sc with sl st. (28)
- Add eyes between Rounds 4 and 5.
- Sew mouth at Round 1.
- Add some stuffing.
Round 10: Ch 1. Work 10 sc, dec, 4 sc, dec, 10 sc. Join to first sc with sl st. (26)
Round 11: Ch 1. Work 7 sc, dec, 8 sc, dec, 7 sc. Join to first sc with sl st. (24)
Round 12: Ch 1. Work [6 sc, dec] 3x around. Join to first sc with sl st. (21)
Round 13: Ch 1. Work 1 sc [dec, 5 sc] 2x, dec, 4 sc. Join to first sc with sl st. (18)
Round 14: Ch 1. Work 2 sc, inc, 9 sc, 2 dec, 2 sc. Join to first sc with sl st. (17)
Round 15: Ch 1. Work 11 sc, 2 dec, 2 sc. Join to first sc with sl st. (15)
Round 16: Ch 1. Work 2 sc, dec, 6 sc, 1 hdc2tog, 1 hdc, dec. Join to first sc with sl st. (12)
- Continue to add stuffing, enough to overstuff slightly to help fill in the next 3 rounds.
Round 17: Ch 1. Work 2 sc, dec, 5 sc, 1 hdc2tog, 1 hdc. Join to first sc with sl st. (10)
Round 18: Ch 1. Work 7 sc, dec, 1 sc. Join to first sc with sl st. (9)
Round 19: Ch 1. Work 6 sc, dec, 1 sc. Join to first sc with sl st. (8)
- Fasten off, close, and weave in ends.
TAIL FIN
Row 1: *Ch 7, leaving a 6 inch tail. Starting from 3rd ch from hook, work 1 hdc in each of next 2 chains, 1 dc in each of next 3 chains.* Do not fasten. Repeat from *. Fasten off, leaving a 6 inch tail. Tie two tails together and sew tail onto back of seal.
SIDE FINS (make 2)
Row 1: Ch 7. leaving a 6 inch tail. Starting from 3rd ch from hook, work1 hdc in each of next 2 chains, 1 dc in each of next 3 chains. Fasten off, leaving a 6 inch tail. Tie two tails together and sew side fins to the seal between Round 8 and Round 9.
- Fasten off and weave in all ends.
If you enjoyed this pattern and are showing it off to the world, make sure to tag me @1dogwoof with the hashtag #AmigurumiAdventCAL.
You can also head over to the Amigurumi Advent Calendar intro post to see the entire collection!
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