Free Crochet Whale Amigurumi Pattern Worked-On Fins, Tail, and White Belly

Whales are the one soft toy nobody outgrows. This free crochet whale Amigurumi pattern gives you a rounded body, a flat tail and small fins, worked in the round so the shaping stays smooth. Make it small enough for a pram or work the same rounds larger for a floor cushion sized one.

This crochet whale amigurumi is a rounded body that tapers to a flat tail, with small side fins and the whole thing shaped in the round. You work the body from the nose back, stuffing as the shaping closes, then add the tail and fins. It sits stable on a flat surface rather than rolling. The full pattern runs round by round, and the tail is the only part that needs a bit of attention.

Crochet Whale Amigurumi

Materials

Yarn: Blue for the body, white for the belly and detail sections

Hook: Sized to match your chosen yarn weight

Other supplies:

• Stitch marker
• Scissors
• Safety eyes or embroidered eyes
• Polyester fiberfill stuffing

Abbreviations

• MR — Magic ring
• sc — Single crochet
• dc — Double crochet
• hdc — Half double crochet
• BLO — Back loops only
• inc — Increase (2 sc into the same stitch)
• dec — Decrease (invisible decrease recommended)
• sl st — Slip stitch

The Pattern

Body

Use blue yarn. Work in continuous rounds with a stitch marker in the first stitch of each round.

Round 1:

• Make a magic ring
• Work 6 sc into the center of the ring
• Pull the ring tail firmly to close the center completely — no hole should remain

Don’t let crochet patterns intimidate you! If you’re a beginner, the video tutorial below makes it super easy to follow along!

Round 2:

• Work 2 sc into every stitch around — 1 inc into each of the 6 stitches from Round 1, worked one after the other all the way around

Round 3:

• Work 1 sc into the first stitch, then 1 inc into the next stitch
• Repeat this combination — 1 sc followed by 1 inc — all the way around the round
• Keep the increases evenly spaced — bunched increases create corners rather than a smooth circle

Round 4:

• Work 1 sc into the first stitch, then 1 sc into the next stitch, then 1 inc into the following stitch
• Repeat this combination — 2 sc followed by 1 inc — all the way around the round
• After this round the piece should be a flat circle; check that it remains round rather than hexagonal before continuing

Rounds 5, 6, 7, and 8:

• Work 1 sc into every stitch around with no increases or decreases
• Repeat this same even round a total of 4 times
• These straight rounds lift the flat circle into the rounded body shape of the whale

Tail

The tail is worked directly onto the body at this point — do not cut the blue yarn yet.

Tail section 1:

• Chain 5
• Starting in the 2nd chain from the hook, working back down the chain toward the body: work 1 sc into the first chain, 1 dc into the next chain, 1 hdc into the following chain, 1 sc into the last chain
• Slip stitch into the body to anchor the end of the tail section
• The different stitch heights — sc, dc, hdc, sc — create the gentle curved shape of one tail lobe

Tail section 2:

• Repeat the exact same steps as Tail 1 to create the second side of the tail
• Before fastening off, hold both tail sections next to each other and compare their size — adjust the tension on the second piece if it reads larger or smaller than the first
• Position both sections evenly so they sit symmetrically when the whale is viewed from behind
• Fasten off and weave in the blue yarn tail

Belly

Join white yarn at Round 9. The BLO round creates the visible color separation line between blue and white.

Round 9 — BLO color join:

• Join white yarn
• Work 1 sc into the back loop only of every stitch around — do not work into the front loop at any point in this round
• Working BLO leaves the front loops of Round 8 exposed as a visible ridge, which reads as the clean boundary between the blue body and the white belly

Round 10:

• Work 1 sc into the first stitch, then 1 sc into the next stitch, then 1 dec over the following 2 stitches — for the invisible decrease, insert your hook through the front loop only of the next stitch, then through the front loop only of the stitch after it, yarn over and pull through both, yarn over and pull through remaining loops
• Repeat this combination — 2 sc followed by 1 dec — all the way around the round

Round 11:

• Work 1 sc into the first stitch, then 1 dec over the next 2 stitches
• Repeat this combination — 1 sc followed by 1 dec — all the way around the round

Add stuffing now, before the opening narrows further — tear the fiberfill into small pieces and push them in gradually, packing the front of the whale firmly to maintain the rounded body shape. Stop before the stitches begin to stretch.

 

Round 12:

• Work 1 dec over every pair of stitches around — 6 decreases total, worked one after the other

Closing:

• Fasten off, leaving a tail of approximately 15 cm
• Thread the tail onto your yarn needle and weave it through the front loops of the remaining 6 stitches
• Pull firmly and steadily to draw the hole completely closed
• Knot the tail, push the needle through the body, and snip so the end disappears inside

Fins

The fins are worked directly onto the body — no sewing needed.

First fin:

• Identify the 5th loop on one side of the body
• Attach yarn at that stitch
• Chain 1
• Work 5 sc all into that same single stitch — the cluster of stitches fans outward to form the fin shape
• Slip stitch to secure
• Fasten off and weave in the tail

Second fin:

• Find the matching stitch on the opposite side of the body — use a stitch marker on both sides before working either fin to confirm the placement is symmetrical
• Repeat the exact same steps as the first fin
• Compare both fins before fastening off and adjust the tension if one reads larger

Eyes

• Count 3 stitches from the starting point of the white belly section to locate the eye position on each side
• Mark both positions with scrap yarn and check that both eyes sit at the same height before inserting any hardware
• Slightly wider spacing between the eyes gives a softer, friendlier expression
• For safety eyes: push the post through from the right side, press the washer all the way down the post from the inside, and lock before adding more stuffing
• For embroidered eyes: use black yarn in a tight satin stitch circle — safer for any age and fully secure

Notes on Stuffing and Symmetry

The stuffing window is Round 11 — the opening is still accessible and the body shape is nearly complete. Stuff the front of the whale more firmly than the back to help it sit or display facing slightly upward, which reads as a more natural whale posture. After closing, check the full assembly: both fins at the same height, both tail sections matching in size, belly centered on the underside, and eyes level with each other. A minute of checking before any glue or extra stitching sets is always worth it.

FAQ

Q: How do I scale this whale up or down? Yarn weight and hook size together determine the finished size. A fine yarn on a 2.5 mm hook produces a miniature keychain-scale whale. A chunky yarn on a 6.0 mm hook gives a large, palm-filling plush. All round counts stay identical — the only thing that changes is scale. Keep both the blue and white yarn in the same weight so the body and belly sit flush with no puckering at the color join.

Q: Can I use buttons instead of safety eyes? Buttons in black or very dark brown work well visually and are easy to source in small sizes. Sew them through multiple layers of the body fabric rather than just the surface stitches. For a toy going to a very young child, embroider the eyes with black yarn in a tight satin stitch instead — no hardware at all, fully secure, and the result reads clearly even at this small scale.

Q: My tail sections came out different sizes. Can I fix it without unraveling? If the difference is small, a gentle block — dampening both sections and pinning them to matching dimensions while they dry — brings them into alignment. For a more significant size difference, the tail sections are short enough that unraveling the larger one back to its foundation chain and re-working it to match is a five-minute fix. Making both tail sections in the same sitting, with the same hook grip and yarn tension, prevents the problem from the start.