A Whale of a Pattern! Try this Free Crochet Pattern Today!

by strommercrafts / July 2, 2021

Learn to crochet this free whale pattern in a day! This post contains: materials needed, the free whale pattern, and pictures to help guide you.

***Please note that this post may contain affiliate links. This means that I may receive a commission if you purchase something through these links (at no cost to you!). Thank you for your support!***

Summer is finally here! Can you believe it? I feel like this year has flown by so quickly and it’s more than halfway over!

Why not celebrate by crocheting this cute little whale? I had a lot of fun coming up with another crochet stuffed animal, and having it be nautical themed just seemed appropriate for the season.

This crochet whale toy is made very similarly to my frog toy. I will admit, that I’ve been in the groove for making these flatter stuffed animals. They are kind of like amigurimi, but you have to sew two sides of the project together.

When completed, the whale is about 7″ x 5,” but depends on your tension.

I use Red Heart Super Saver, medium 4 worsted weight yarn for this project. You can use a different type of yarn if you prefer. If it’s not medium 4 worsted weight, then it might come out bigger or smaller than expected!

This project took me less than a day to complete, so it’s a super quick crochet pattern. Perfect for a last minute crochet gift!

Alright let’s dive in!

Materials Needed:

5 mm crochet hook
<1 skein of Dusty Gray Yarn by Red Heart Super Saver
<1 skein of Soft White Yarn by Red Heart Super Saver
<1 skein of Black Yarn by Red Heart Super Saver
Poly-fil for stuffing
Stitch marker
Tapestry Needle
Scissors

Abbreviations Used:

(Please note that these are in US terms, not UK)

Ch – chain
Mc – magic circle
St – stitch
Sl st – slip stitch
Sc – single crochet
Hdc – half double crochet

Special Instructions:

When working on the body of the crochet whale, do not join to your first stitch with a slip stitch. Continue to single crochet around. Your stitch marker will come in handy to mark the beginning of your rounds. That way, you won’t get lost.
When working the tail of the whale (haha), you will notice that some of the rows do not require chain 1’s. This is intentional.
I sew both the whale panels together using slip stitches with the crochet hook. Instead of cutting my yarn and pulling through for the second side of the whale, I keep my hook on so I can do this. This step is up to you, you can sew with the tapestry needle instead if you would like.
Sew the facial features onto the front panel before joining the two panels together. This is so you can tie your strands of yarn securely inside of the whale.
The rounds end with a (x), where x represents the number of stitches you should have.

Crochet Whale Body (Front Panel)

With 5 mm crochet hook and Dusty Gray yarn:

Main Body:

6 sc in mc (if you don’t like the mc, you can ch 2 and start in the second from the hook, but the center “hole” tends to be a little bigger)
Round 1: 2 sc in each st around (12 sts)
Round 2: 2 sc in first st, 1 sc in next st. Repeat around (18 sts)
Round 3: 2 sc in first st, 1 sc in next 2 sts. Repeat around (24 sts)
Round 4: 2 sc in first st, 1 sc in next 3 sts. Repeat around (30 sts)
Round 5: 2 sc in first st, 1 sc in next 4 sts. Repeat around (36 sts)
Round 6: 2 sc in first st, 1 sc in next 5 sts. Repeat around (42 sts)
Round 7: 2 sc in first st, 1 sc in next 6 sts. Repeat around, sl st into the first st (48 sts)

Tail:

Round 8: Ch 1, turn, 1 sc in next 5 sts, sl st into next 5 sts (10 sts)
Round 9: Turn, sl st into next 3 sts (do not sl st into the first st after you turn…sl st into the next, you’ll lose a st here), 1 hdc into next 2 sts, 1 sc in next 4 sts (9 sts)
Round 10: Ch 1, turn, 1 sc into next 3 sts, sl st into next 2 sts (5 sts)
Round 11: Turn, sl st into next st (again, not the first st, but the next). 1 hdc in next st, 1 sc in next 2 sts (4 sts)
Round 12: Ch 1, turn, 1 sc in next sts (2 sts)
Round 13: Ch 4, turn, (from second ch from hook), 1 sc into next 5 sts (see pic below) (5 sts)
Round 14: Ch 4, turn, (from second ch from hook), 1 sc into next 3 sts, sl st into next 2 sts, 1 sc into next 3 sts (8 sts)
Round 15: Turn, sl st into next 4 sts, 1 sc in last 3 sts (7 sts)
Cut yarn with scissors and pull through.

Crochet Whale Body (Back Panel)

With 5 mm crochet hook and Dusty Gray yarn:

Body:

6 sc in mc
Repeat Rounds 1-6 from front panel (above).
Round 7: 2 sc in first st, 1 sc in next 6 sts, Repeat around (48 sts)

Tail (Back Panel):

Round 8: 1 sc in next 5 sts (5 sts)
Round 9: Ch 1, turn, 1 sc in next 5 sts, sl st into next 5 sts (10 sts)
Round 10: Turn, sl st into next 3 sts (do not sl st into the first st after you turn…sl st into the next, you’ll lose a st here), 1 hdc into next 2 sts, 1 sc in next 4 sts (9 sts)
Round 11: Ch 1, turn, 1 sc into next 3 sts, sl st into next 2 sts (5 sts)
Round 12: Turn, sl st into next st (again, not the first st, but the next). 1 hdc in next st, 1 sc in next 2 sts (4 sts)
Round 13: Ch 1, turn, 1 sc in next sts (2 sts)
Round 14: Ch 4, turn, (from second ch from hook), 1 sc into next 5 sts (see pic below) (5 sts)
Round 15: Ch 4, turn, (from second ch from hook), 1 sc into next 3 sts, sl st into next 2 sts, 1 sc into next 3 sts (8 sts)
Round 16: Turn, sl st into next 4 sts, 1 sc in last 3 sts (7 sts)
Do not cut yarn yet.

Belly

With 5 mm crochet hook and Soft White Yarn:

Ch 10
Row 1: From second ch from hook, 1 sc into the next 6 chs across, sl st into last 3 chs (9 sts)
Row 2: Ch 1, turn, sl st into the next 3 sts, make 1 hdc in next 6 sts (9 sts)
Row 3: Ch 1, turn, 1 hdc in next 3 sts, 1 sc in next 2 sts, sl st into the next 4 sts (9 sts)
Cut a long piece of yarn of for sewing later and pull through.

Facial Features:

With your tapestry needle, sew the belly of the whale onto the front panel. Place the belly in the bottom middle of the crochet whale body.
Tie off excess yarn in the back of the panel (this will be hidden inside the whale when completed)
With Black yarn, cute 3 long strands off with scissors.
Sew on the left and right closed eyes, as well as the smile. I like to make a line straight across and then “catch” it a row or so below in the middle. This helps create the “U” shape. See picture below to use as a reference. Tie off excess yarn in the back.

Arms (make 2):

With 5 mm crochet hook and Dusty Gray yarn:

Ch 4
Row 1: From second ch from hook, make 1 hdc in next 2 chs, sl st in last ch (3 sts)
Cut a length of yarn for sewing and pull through.

Sew both crochet whale arms onto front panel. The whale’s right arm (your left) will be sewn right on the edge of the front panel. See picture above for reference. Tie off excess yarn in the back.
Pick up the back panel of the whale body. Line up the front and the back panels so that they match up evenly. Make sure that the correct sides are facing out.
With your 5 mm crochet hook and the back panel, sl st into both the front and back panels of the crochet whale to sew them together. Do not completely sew shut.
Leave an open space large enough to stuff the body with poly-fil. Continue to sl st sew along after stuffing.
Cut yarn and pull through.
Weave in any extra yarn ends with tapestry needle.

And that’s it! I think this little crochet stuffed whale turned out pretty cute. What do you think?

As always, thank you for checking out my crochet patterns! Until next time!