Turn a tiny sea friend into something extra sweet with this Free Crochet Strawberry Whale Pattern, perfect for adding charm to your space or gifting with love.
Combining the sweet charm of strawberries with the playful nature of a whale, this amigurumi design is simply irresistible. The project features a rounded whale body, topped with a green leafy "stem" to mimic a strawberry’s look, tiny fins, a split tail, and embroidered seeds for that extra touch of detail. The texture is soft and plump, perfect for displaying on a shelf, gifting as a keychain, or simply adding to your collection of handcrocheted goodies.
Sweet and Simple Strawberry Whale Crochet Pattern—For Free
The finished piece is small and compact, but you can easily adjust the size by working with thicker yarn and a larger hook. It’s a great way to explore personalization—experiment with pastel yarn for a unique twist, or add fun embroidery details to make your whale even more special.
This strawberry whale is a delightful gift idea for birthdays, baby showers, or spring celebrations. Don’t hesitate to get creative with colors or add other embellishments to make it truly one of a kind. It’s a charming pattern that’s bound to make people smile.
The pattern starts with a classic magic ring and is worked in spirals, which is one of my favorite methods for achieving a seamless design. You’ll use simple stitches like single crochet, increases, decreases, and slip stitches to form the body, tail, and fins, while chains and double crochets are perfect for creating the leafy topper.
Strawberry Whale Amigurumi Crochet Pattern
Today, I’m sharing the step-by-step process for crocheting this adorable little whale with the shape and charm of a strawberry. We’ll use cotton yarn and a 2 mm crochet hook. The pattern follows every detail from the process shown in the original video, so you can confidently create your own strawberry-inspired mini whale.
Quick Overview Of Pattern
- Worked in the round: Start with a magic ring and work in a spiral without joining rounds.
- Shaping with increases and decreases creates a rounded, whale-like body.
- Fins and tail: Formed seamlessly as you go, no sewing required.
- Color change: For the strawberry body effect.
- Seeds: Embroidered on using yarn from the closing round.
- Leaf: Crocheted separately and sewn or glued on.
- Face: Embroidered eyes for added cuteness.
- Perfect size for keychains or small gifts.
Notes
- The rounds are worked in a continuous spiral; use a stitch marker to note the beginning of each round.
- When increasing or decreasing, always keep track of stitch count for accuracy.
- Exact placement of fins, tail, and seeds creates character—refer to each step for positions.
- Adjust yarn type and hook size as needed for slight variations in finished size.
- Embroidery for seeds and eyes is best done before final assembly.
Skill Level
- Adventurous Beginner to Intermediate
- Must be comfortable working in the round, making increases and decreases, changing colors, and simple embroidery for features.
Materials
- Yarn: Cotton yarn in red (for main body), green (for leaf), black (for eyes), and white (for eye detail if desired).
- Hook: 2 mm crochet hook.
- Notions: Yarn needle (for assembly, sewing, and embroidery), scissors, stuffing (fiberfill).
- Optional: Craft glue (to attach leaf if you do not sew it).
Measurements / Sizing
- Finished whale: Approximately 6–7 cm (2.5–3 inches) in length, suitable as a keychain.
Gauge
- Gauge is not critical for amigurumi, but work with a tight enough tension to avoid stuffing showing through.
- Example: After Round 5, work should measure approximately 3–3.5 cm across.
Stitch Abbreviations
- ch: chain
- sc: single crochet
- dc: double crochet
- inc: increase (2 single crochets in the same stitch)
- dec: decrease (single crochet two together, using front loop only)
- sl st: slip stitch
- st(s): stitch(es)
- MR: magic ring
Special Stitches
- Magic Ring (MR): Wrap yarn into a loop and crochet the specified number of stitches into it before pulling the loop tight.
- Decrease (dec, front-loop-only): Insert hook into the front loop of next st, then into front loop of next st, yarn over, pull through 2 loops, yarn over, pull through both loops on hook.
The Crochet Pattern
Body
Round 1:
- In red: Work 6 sc into a magic ring. (6)
Round 2:
- Work 2 sc in each st around (inc in each st). (12)
Round 3:
- (1 sc, inc) around, 6 times. (18)
Round 4:
- (2 sc, inc) around, 6 times. (24)
Round 5:
- (3 sc, inc) around, 6 times. (30)
Rounds 6–9:
- Sc in each st around. (30 each round, 4 rounds total)
Your fabric should resemble a rounded cylinder—the start of the whale body.
Tail
Round 10:
Continue from where you are:
- Sc in next st.
- Tail, Side 1: Ch 5. Starting in the second ch from hook:
- 1 dc in 3rd ch,
- 1 dc in next ch,
- 1 dc in last ch,
- Sl st into the original st at the base of the tail.
- Tail, Side 2: Ch 5,
- 1 dc in 3rd ch,
- 1 dc in next ch,
- 1 dc in last ch,
- Sl st into same base st.
- Continue with 6 sc (moving along round, this positions you for the fin).
Fin (First Fin)
- Ch 3, sl st to first ch made (forms a tiny picot/fin shape).
- Body: Continue with 16 sc (this brings you to the other side of the whale).
Fin (Second Fin)
- Ch 3, sl st to first ch made (identically to first fin).
- Continue with 6 sc to finish the round. (30)
Round 11 (Color Change: Green or white/cream for strawberry effect)
- Insert hook in next st, pull through new color.
- Continue sc around in BLO (helps prevent color jog), 30 sts.
Decreases for Shaping
Round 12:
- 3 sc, 1 dec (front loop only) around. (24)
Round 13:
- 2 sc, 1 dec (front loop only) around. (18)
Pause here. Stuff the whale well, shaping as needed.
Round 14:
- 1 sc, 1 dec (front loop only) around. (12)
Closing
Round 15:
- Dec around, or simply fasten off with a long tail. (6 or 12 sts remaining)
With needle and yarn end, thread through the front loop of every stitch, pull tight to close the hole. Do not cut yarn—leave some for embroidery of seeds.
Adding the “Strawberry Seeds”
- Using your remaining yarn tail and tapestry needle, make small embroideries (straight little stitches or knots) spaced over the whale’s body to imitate strawberry seeds.
- Secure and trim the yarn tail when finished.
Leaf
- In green:
- MR, 5 sc into MR, sl st to first st.
- Ch 3, 2 dc in same st, ch 3, sl st in same st (first petal).
- Sl st to next sc, repeat petal sequence (ch 3, 2 dc in same st, ch 3, sl st in same st).
- Repeat for total of 5 petals.
- At end, sl st, fasten off, and weave yarn (leave a tail if sewing).
- Attach leaf to “forehead” of whale using glue or a few stitches with yarn needle.
Eyes
- With black yarn and tapestry needle, embroider two eyes about 1 round down from the color change on each side, spacing them about 6 sc apart.
- Optionally, add a tiny white dot for a highlight.
Assembly & Finished Size
- Attach the green leaf at the top or near the color change.
- Place the eyes and securely stitch or glue them.
- All yarn tails should be woven inside.
- Finished whale is about 6–7 cm long, perfect for a keychain or desk buddy.
Conclusion and Ending Words
Your adorable strawberry whale is finished! This whimsical, fruity friend is perfect as a keychain or small gift. Have fun experimenting with different colors, and share your creation with others. Don’t forget to try alternate fruit and sea creature color combinations! Thank you for following along with this lesson, enjoy your new amigurumi.
