Amigurumi Seal – Plush Crochet Seal – Free Pattern

My Chubby Seal pattern is my newest plush amigurumi free pattern!

Read on to learn more about my design process and inspiration, or scroll to the end to get the free pattern. If you’re in a hurry and need to take this pattern offline, grab the beautifully formatted, ad-free, PDF pattern from Etsy here.

A super simple, super sweet seal pattern!

I created this adorable seal pattern because I absolutely love simple and sleek (yet still cute!) crochet patterns.

This is a great second or third project for anyone who has mastered the basic ball-shaped amigurumi and wants to try their hand and making something with limbs and a more detailed face.

The body is started by working around a foundation chain to create an oval. You’ll build on the oval to create the oblong body, and then finish it off as usual.

The two tail flippers are created and crocheted together (I have a photo tutorial for this!) in a clever way to connect them, and then attached to the back of the body. Add the two arm flippers and you’re done!

The nose and mouth are embroidered onto a felt circle — I have a video tutorial for embroidering the nose and the rest of the mouth is done using a simple backstitch. If this is your first time creating a nose piece like this don’t worry, it’s pretty forgiving and you can give it a few shots!

I love finding the perfect balance between detailed enough to be cute, but not too complex. I think I hit it with this pattern and I hope you think so too!

Tips for working with plush yarn!

If you’ve never worked with plush chenille yarn before, here are a few tips to get you going on your way. Generally, chenille yarn isn’t too big a step up from regular cotton or acrylic yarn, so it’s a good first “novelty” yarn for novices to try.

  • Chenille yarn sheds very easily when frogged. Because velvet/chenille yarn generally is made up of a lot of tiny bristles stuck onto a central string, if you frog it, the friction can easily lead to a lot of shedding and stray yarn pieces. The best solution to this is to try to avoid frogging, and also working in a place that can be easily cleaned.
  • Working the magic ring can be really tricky when using plush yarn. The best way to avoid breaking the yarn is to make the magic ring extremely small at first — about the size of a dime — and before you’re done working the first round, continuously tug on the tail to decrease the size of the magic ring. This will ensure that the magic ring is as small as possible so that you don’t have to pull as hard later and risk breaking the yarn. If the yarn sheds significantly so that there’s no more fluff on the center string, I would recommend restarting completely since it’s likely that it will break later on.
  • If your chenille crochet fabric is too loose and you can see the stuffing poking through, size down your crochet hook so that it’s tighter. If it’s too tight and the crochet stitches are warping or too stiff, size up your crochet hook to get that perfect balance. For more tips on how to work with chenille, check out my post here!

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The Pattern

  • If you want to take this pattern offline, grab the beautifully formatted, ad-free, PDF pattern from Etsy here!

Description

This sweet and simple Chubby Seal is so fluffy and adorable! She works up really quickly with plush yarn, but can also be made with any substitute yarn. This project is amazing as a sweet gift or for anyone who loves animals!

Yarn

Confused about materials? For all my personal recommendations of my most-used tools, yarns, and supplies, check out my favorites in this complete guide!

  • Baby Snuggle by Hobbii (super bulky)
    • (<1 skein) Soft Pink
  • Brava Sport by WeCrochet (sport)
    • (<1 skein) Blush (pink)

Notions

  • Size F 3.75mm Clover Amour hook
  • Size D 3.25mm Clover Amour hook
  • 6.0mm safety eyes
  • black embroidery thread
  • embroidery needle
  • White felt (at least 1″ x 1″)
  • Tacky glue or hot glue
  • tapestry needle
  • fiberfill stuffing
  • stitch markers

Abbreviations

  • ch: chain
  • dec: decrease
  • inc: increase (work two single crochets in one stitch)
  • MR: magic ring
  • rnd: round
  • sc: single crochet
  • sk: skip
  • x sc: work x number of single crochets
  • sl st: slip stitch
  • st(s): stitch(es)
  • (x sts): total number of stitches for the round
  • (…) x: work all steps within parentheses x number of times

Technical Notes

  1. Crochet in continuous rounds, unless specified otherwise. Use a stitch marker or piece of yarn to keep track of the last stitch in each round.
  2. Plush yarn breaks very easily, especially when making the MR. To minimize breakage, make the MR as small as possible and tug the ring closed as you work stitches into it.
  3. Minimize frogging of chenille yarn as much as possible to prevent shedding.
  4. It is difficult to see stitches with plush yarn. Consider using a stitch marker to keep track of the halfway point of each round.
  5. This pattern is optimal for super bulky chenille yarn. If you use acrylic or cotton yarn, the proportions of the finished project may vary.

Final Size

4.5″ x 4″

BODY (in pink super bulky yarn and larger hook.)

  • Begin: Chain 6 (6 sts)
  • Rnd 1: Beginning from the second chain from the hook, sc 10 around the foundation chain (10 sts)
  • Rnd 2: inc x10 (20 sts)
  • Rnd 3: inc x2, work 8 sts, inc x2, work 8 sts (24 sts)
  • Rnd 4: (3 sc, inc) x6 (30 sts)
  • Insert two 6.0mm safety eyes between rounds 2 and 3 (see fig. 2).
  • Rnd 5-6 (2 rnds): sc around (30 sts)
  • Rnd 7: (4 sc, inc) x6 (36 sts)
  • Rnd 8-9 (2 rnds): sc around (36 sts)
  • Rnd 10: (4 sc, dec) x6 (30 sts)
  • Rnd 11: sc around (30 sts)
  • Rnd 12: (3 sc, dec) x6 (24 sts)
  • Rnd 13: sc around (24 sts)
  • Rnd 14: (2 sc, dec) x6 (18 sts)
  • Rnd 15: sc around (18 sts)
  • Stuff.
  • Rnd 16: (sc, dec) x6 (12 sts)
  • Rnd 17: dec x6 (6 sts)
  • Finish off and weave in the end.
Fig. 1: Finished body.
Fig. 2: Placement of eyes.

NOSE

  • Cut an oval out of white felt 7/8″ long and 5/8″ tall. To create an oval of this size, measure and draw out a 7/8″ line going horizontally and then draw a 5/8″ line intersecting at the middle. This will provide the points for the top, bottom, left and right. Draw in the rest of the oval, and then cut it out. (Or, you can freehand the whole thing!)
  • Draw a triangular nose in the center of the oval, as well as two wide “U” shapes (see fig. 3).
  • Using black embroidery thread, embroider the triangle nose (video tutorial here), and then use a backstitch (video tutorial here) to embroider over the “U” shape.
  • Glue the nose between the eyes, with the top of the oval aligning with the top of the eyes (fig. 4).
Fig. 3: Nose piece.
Fig. 4: Placement of nose.

TAIL FLIPPERS (in pink super bulky yarn and larger hook, make 2)

  • Rnd 1: 6 sc in MR (6 sts)
  • Rnd 2: (2 sc, inc) x2 (8 sts)
  • Rnd 3: sc around (8 sts)
  • Rnd 4: (2 sc, dec) x2 (6 sts)
  • Rnd 5: sc around (6 sts)
  • After finishing the first flipper, invisible finish off and weave in the end. Make the second flipper, but do not finish off.
  • Connect the two flippers (follow the photo tutorial below): With your hook still connected to the second flipper (B), pick up a stitch on the first flipper (A). Work 6 scs all around, then work the first stitch in the round back on flipper B. Work the remaining 5 stitches all around flipper B for a total of 12 stitches all around.
  • Invisible finish off, leaving a tail for sewing (tutorial here). Sew the flippers to the back of the body (fig. 5).
Fig. 5: Placement of tail flipper on back of body.

How to connect tail flippers:

Two flippers, one finished off (A) and one still connected to hook (B).
Pick up a stitch on flipper A and crochet 6 scs all around it.
Insert hook into the next available stitch on flipper B, the first stitch in the round. Work 6 scs all around.

ARM FLIPPERS (in pink super bulky yarn and larger hook, make 2)

  • Rnd 1: 6 sc in MR (6 sts)
  • Rnd 2: (2 sc, inc) x2 (8 sts)
  • Rnd 3-4 (2 rnds): sc around (8 sts)
  • Finish off, leaving a tail for sewing. Make another identically. Sew to the body, between rounds 8-10 (counting from the front of the body). See fig. 5.
Fig. 5: Placement of arm flippers.

BLUSH (in pink sport weight yarn, with smaller hook. Make 2.)

  • Rnd 1: 6 sc in MR, sl st to first st in round (6 sts) Finish off, leaving a tail for sewing. Make another identically.
  • Sew to the left and right sides of the face, at round 3-4 (counting from the front of the body). See fig. 6.
Fig. 6: Placement of blush on face.

Your Chubby Seal amigurumi is all done! I hope you enjoyed crocheting it and found the pattern helpful. I would love to see your finished amigurumi, so share a picture on Instagram with me by using the #littleworldofwhimsy and tagging me @littleworldofwhimsy.