Tiny Whale
© June Gilbank 2009
This little whale is the perfect size to sit in the palm of your hand! But even better than that: he’s crocheted all in one piece, so there’s no sewing involved to make him!
This pattern is Donationware – the pattern is available for free, but if you like it please consider sending me a donation to show your appreciation:
Send me a donation and receive the easy-to-print PDF version of the pattern as a thank you!
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The complete pattern and instructions are available below, regardless of whether or not you choose to pay for them 
This is a PlanetJune original crochet pattern. Feel free to use items made from this pattern however you wish, but I’d appreciate credit as the pattern designer. Please do not reproduce the pattern anywhere else; instead post a link to http://www.planetjune.com/tinywhale
Terminology
| ch | chain |
| sc | single crochet (double crochet for UK/Aus) |
| sl st | slip stitch (single crochet for UK/Aus) |
| st | stitch |
| sc2tog | single crochet decrease (or try an invisible decrease instead for a better finish) |
You will need…
- E US/3.5mm crochet hook
- Small quantity of worsted weight yarn in blue, grey or white
- Stitch marker
- Yarn needle to weave in end
- Polyester fibrefill stuffing
- Eyes, approx 8mm diameter
Notes
- Do not join at the end of each round; rounds are worked in continuous spirals.
- Use a stitch marker to mark the beginning of each round. Move the marker up each time you start a new round.
Pattern
Make a magic ring, ch 1.
Rnd 1: 6 sc in magic ring. (6 st)
Rnd 2: 2 sc in each st around. (12 st)
Rnd 3: (2 sc in next st, sc in next st) six times. (18 st)
Rnd 4: sc in each st around. (18 st)
Rnd 5: (2 sc in next st, sc in next 2 st) six times. (24 st)
Rnds 6-8: sc in each st around. (24 st)
Rnd 9: (sc2tog, sc in next 2 st) six times. (18 st)
Rnd 10: sc in each st around. (18 st)
Insert the first eye just below the stitch you just made, approximately 5 rounds down (as pictured below).
Insert the second eye in the same position on the other side of the whale.
Attach the backs of the eyes.
Rnd 11: (sc2tog, sc in next st) six times. (12 st)
Rnds 12-14: sc in each st around. (12 st). Stuff body firmly through hole.
Rnd 15: (sc2tog, sc in next 2 st) three times. (9 st)
Rnd 16: sc in each st around. (9 st). Add additional stuffing through hole.
Rnd 17: (sc2tog, sc in next st) three times. (6 st)
Rnd 18: sc in each st around. (6 st)
Rnd 19: 2 sc in each st around. (12 st)
Using the position of the eyes as a guide, flatten the open end horizontally.
If the hook is positioned at one corner, continue to the tail instructions. If not, sc in each st around until the hook is at one corner (see pictures below), and then continue to the tail instructions.
Hook is not at corner of flattened tail (marked by arrow)
Sc around until hook is at corner of flattened tail, as pictured
Beginning to sc through both layers of the tail
Tail
Crochet through both layers as follows:
3 sc in next st, sc in next st, sl st in next st, sc in next st, 3 sc in next st.
Cut the yarn, leaving a long end. Draw the end through the last loop on the hook, and pull tight to form a knot.
Using a yarn needle, weave the end down through the tail and part of the body. Draw the yarn tight, and snip the end close to the body. The yarn end should retract back inside the body after it is cut.
I hope you enjoy this pattern. Please leave me a comment below if you do, and consider leaving me a donation. Thanks!
34 Comments »
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Please note that I respond to comments here on the blog, so please return to this post to see my reply, or check the above box to subscribe to comments on this post by email. -June
Michelle said
Don’t be mad… I’m gonna make a few of these and stuff them with catnip. They look the perfect size for kitty toys.
I’ll just embroider the eyes. lol
Thanks again.
M
June said
I’m not mad, Michelle – in fact, I was thinking of doing the same thing! Yes, they are the perfect size for cat toys, and so quick to make it doesn’t even matter if the cats destroy them
Sarah said
this is the cutest thing ever!!!!!!!!!
Annelie said
Thank you dearly for this gorgeous pattern! And thanks for teaching me the lovliest way to invisible decrease!
Annelie said
And: now I’ve noticed that I started the”wrong” way. Now I’m very excited to learn the magic ring. I’ll start right away! Thank you thank you ?
kadusey said
Thanks for the cute and quick little pattern!
Kristina said
I really love your work! You have inspired me to make my own crochet patterns, thank you so much for the help and beautiful patterns to keep me motivated to practice!
Clare said
Thank you very much for this pattern, I’ve made it for a friend for his birthday! I had to add fins to the little guy though, sorry.
I halved my yarn to two strands and chained 6, turned then chained 6 back up, turned again, chained 5 down and then ch 5 back up again. I then sewed the fins on with the left over yarn (sorry for not using the right terminology – I’ve only just started crotcheting – BUT I’m HOOKED thanks to you!! – and your fantastic left handed instructions)
Sorry for adding to your fantastic pattern, but I just feel it has added to the little whale.
June said
Clare, I don’t mind if you want to modify my pattern! I purposely kept it very simple so it would all be crocheted in one piece, but I don’t mind at all if you added fins. In fact, I’m always happy to hear people have used my patterns as a jumping-off point and added their own special touches – I love the idea of that!
Shelly said
Hey June!
Um would you say this would be the easiest thing to make as a beginner?
June said
Shelly: this pattern is very simple for beginners because it’s all worked in one piece, so you don’t need to stitch it together after finishing the crocheting! Another very simple free pattern would be my Amigurumi Acorn, and then you might want to look at my PocketAmi patterns – Sets 1 and 2 are specifically designed for beginners
Inbaliya said
Thanks! here is my whale-
http://www.tapuz.co.il/blog/viewEntry.asp?EntryId=1615810
With a link to your pattern, too.
Erin said
Just starting row 8 and my whale looks a lot like a plate
I may have been a little optimistic trying this so soon..!
(adorable pattern though, thanks for sharing)
June said
Erin, it should look more like a bowl at Rnd 8… keep going, maybe it’s still going to work out! If not, are you using a stitch marker to check that you’ve made the right number of stitches in each round?
Place the stitch marker into the first stitch of the round when you’ve completed that stitch. When you’ve worked around to the stitch marker again, you should have completed all the stitches of that round, and you’ll make the first stitch of the following round into the stitch with the marker. If you finish before the stitch marker, or overshoot it, you’ll know you’ve made a mistake in that round
Erin said
Thank you! I’ll keep going and if it doesn’t improve, I can at least be thankful he doesn’t have any eyes so he’ll never know what an abomination he was…
I’ve only just Googled stitch markers so, erm, will be doing from now on! I know I’m rather jumping in the deep end, but I’d never get anywhere if I didn’t
This is the first time I’ve done anything that wasn’t a straight line. I had some difficulty at the beginning seeing where I should stitch (and was the magic circle supposed to be 4 or 6 stitches?!) but it’s a lot of fun, even if it is a mess 
Thanks again.
Kerryn said
The whale looks super-cool with an embroidered mouth starting three stitches from eye to eye on the same row. (I used half a skein of embroidery thread in brown or black.) Also, try setting the eyes slightly further back in the head for a real cool whale look. The eyes look awesome in brown or amber with black centre (6mm) too! Just for some variations.
Jessie said
i just started crochet, and i made an ami heart yesterday. i think i’m gonna make this whale next.
Emily said
i just made this whale and i absolutly LOVE this pattern!! thanks for posting it! i love it so much i think i might even make some for my little sisters!
Thanks again
-Emily
Ellie said
Done! I only started crochet this week, so he’s a little wonky, but I did it! Marvellous pattern – he’s awfully cute – and thank you very much!
Toni said
Thanks for the pattern. It will be my first amigurumi attempt.
I have a couple of questions.
When you say
Make a magic ring, ch 1
Do you begin with a magic ring with 6 sc stitches,
and then in Rnd 1 you work a sc stitch into each of those stitches, so it’s sort of like a Rnd 0 (the 6 sc stitches around the yarn loop you pull tight) and then the Rnd 1 with 6 sc stitches?
When you say
Attach the backs of the eyes
Does that mean you tie the backs of the eyes together or do you stitch them to the whale?
June said
Toni, I’m glad you thought to ask before trying to figure these out yourself!
1. No, the magic ring itself is JUST the loop that you work into. My magic ring tutorial shows making the magic ring, ch 1, AND the first Rnd of 6 stitches – I’m sorry for the confusion. Some patterns may work a different number of stitches into the loop (i.e. a different number of stitches in Rnd 1), so the magic ring itself doesn’t include a set number of stitches. So there is no Rnd 0!
2. ‘Attach the backs of the eyes’ assumes you are using 2-part safety eyes (with locking washer backs) – in this case you have to attach the backs before you close up the whale! If you’re using a different type of eyes (beads or buttons, or embroidering the eyes on), you can attach the eyes at the very end instead, after you’ve finished all the crocheting.
Hope that helps, and good luck with your first amigurumi!
Toni said
Thanks for the detailed response. It helps, but just to confirm:
1. The magic ring is just the loop of string, and then you pull the little loop on your hook through from the back of the magic ring (that is the Ch 1), and then in your magic ring tutorial you go on to do 6 sc in the magic ring loop, followed by a second round of 2 sc in each of those 6 giving 12 stitches in total in the second round (the description in the magic ring photo caption). Is it correct to say that the example in the magic ring tutorial is actually equivalent to Rnds 1 and 2 of the tiny whale?
That was actually what I did. I made the magic ring (my first magic ring ever) following your magic ring tutorial with a Rnd 1 with 6 sc and a Rnd 2 with 12 sc (following the description in the magic ring photo caption). Then I thought that sounded exactly like the Rnds 1 and 2 of the tiny whale pattern so then I continued directly with Rnd 3 in the whale pattern.
I got as far as Rnd 8 when I had the sudden alarming thought that I misunderstood the bit about the magic ring. Hence my convoluted reasoning about the Rnd 0. But from your explanation I think I may have done it correctly by accident after all. That’s a relief. Anyway, at Rnd 8, it looks like a little bowl and I think that’s on the right track from one of your earlier comments.
2. Thanks for you explanation about the safety eyes. I’ve never come across safety eyes before so I was thinking of something like a button with a small loop at the back for sewing the eye on. Safety eyes sound much more convenient and easy to use.
Thank you for all your tutorials. They are very good and very helpful. I came across the magic ring in a crochet book in a bookshop, and then I looked on the internet for a how-to and yours was the first tutorial that I understood and could actually follow and make a magic ring from.
I have one more question about the tiny whale pattern. When you start the decreases in Rnd 9, do you use the invisible decrease?
June said
Yes, my magic ring tutorial shows Rnd 1 (6 st) and Rnd 2 (12 st) – if you use a different pattern, those numbers may vary, but the concept is still the same. When you draw up a loop from the middle of the ring (step 2 in the tutorial), that’s NOT the ch 1: you then ch 1 over the top of the ring (step 3 in the tutorial) – this locks the ring together and is the ch 1 I refer to in the pattern.
As for the invisible decrease, it’s optional, but I do recommend you use it! It’s much neater than a sc2tog. I use the invdec for all amigurumi patterns (except those worked in fuzzy yarn or into front or back loops only) – you can substitute an invdec for an sc2tog in any ami pattern!
Toni said
Ok, yes I see about the Ch 1. I think I did it correctly.
Thanks for the tip about the invdec. I was wondering if I could also use it with other patterns I find, it’s good to know I can.
PlanetJune by June Gilbank » mega whale said
[...] Whale is made following the Tiny Whale pattern exactly, but instead of using worsted weight yarn and an E hook, I used two strands of a bulky [...]
Yvonne said
Hi June! Thanks so much for providing the whale pattern! This is the first pattern I’ve picked up since my one attempt last summer and it came out so well! I used white yarn, so he’s now dubbed Moby Dick.
Thanks again!
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[...] It can be found here: http://www.planetjune.com/blog/free-crochet-patterns/tiny-whale/ [...]
RavensLane said
Thank you for the brilliant pattern. This was my first proper amigurumi, and made a lovely present for my girlfriend! I have since made a dragon, and am starting to design my own patterns.
The whale is here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ravenslane/4668731402/
Thanks!
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Crystal said
These are adorable. I had not yet read the comments when I decided to make these into kitty toys! They made perfect catnip toys. I am donating them to an animal shelter in Washington DC – WARL. Thank you for the pattern, I am sure they will be loved. I left off the eyes entirely, I know from my own kitties the eyes, even embroidered just don’t last past the first play time.
Sue said
My first amigurumi toy ever. I have named him wart as he grew on me
Sue Victoria, Australia.
Nickie said
Hey June-
I am doing this pattern and am not sure how many stiches are in the magic ring. Would you mind telling me?
Thanks-Nickie
June said
Nickie, sorry if my instructions have confused you. The stitches that you work into the ring are the stitches of Rnd 1 – you pull the ring closed after completing Rnd 1. So, in this case, you’ll be making 6 stitches into the ring
Nickie said
Thank you June! i LOVE YOUR SITE!