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Make this adorable stuffed sea turtle with my free sewing pattern. This plush sea turtle sewing pattern was created from my son’s Baby Sea Turtle Halloween Costume and turned into a huggable new friend for him.
I always knew that I would convert his sea turtle costume into a stuffed animal. For the past couple of years, he would still wear the costume around the house until he finally outgrew it. That’s when I knew it was time to make it into a plush softie to add to his ever-growing collection.
So I’ve not only created a free sewing pattern to use this stuffed sea turtle but also for the baby sea turtle costume (keep scrolling to see how to convert the costume).
Stuffed Sea Turtle Sewing Pattern
This stuffed sea turtle is a great sewing project for a beginner or advanced sewists. The stuffed sea turtle pattern works best with fleece fabric and is intended to have exposed seams. The pattern could be adapted for other fabrics and may need additional seam allowance added.
Materials
- Stuffed Sea Turtle Sewing Pattern (download below)
- 1 yard green fleece fabric for base
- 12″ x 28″ (or 1/4 yard) fleece fabric for scales (I used tie-dye fleece from JoAnn)
- black felt scrap
- white felt scrap
- poly-fil
- basic sewing supplies
Sea Turtle Sewing Pattern
Download includes printable .PDF pattern file and .SVG file for cutting machines.
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Print, assemble and cut out the pattern pieces. *The body portion is for the baby sea turtle costume and not needed for the softie.
Trace the pattern pieces onto the fabric and cut them out. If your fleece fabric has a front/back, cut 2 layers at a time with the wrong sides facing.
You will have the following pieces:
- 2 shell pieces (1 reverse)
- 4 front fin pieces (2 reverse)
- 4 back fin pieces (2 reverse)
- 2 tail pieces (1 reverse)
- 2 head pieces (1 reverse)
- 2 sets front fin scales (1 reverse)
- 2 sets back fin scales (1 reverse)
- 2 sets head scales (1 reverse)
- 1 set of shell scales
- 2 sets of eye pieces (felt fabric)
Hungry Fish Plush Toy Sewing Pattern
Make this adorable plush fish that has an open mouth and colorful shaped “fish food” shapes.
Make the Sea Turtle Fins
On one piece of each of the fins, layout and sew the fin scales into place. I’ve included a diagram on the pattern pieces to help with the placement.
Then with the wrong sides facing, sew 2 fin pieces together leaving the straight edge open. Lightly stuff the fin and sew the open edge closed. Repeat for the 2 front fins and 2 back fins. Set aside.
Make The Sea Turtle Tail
With wrong sides facing sew along the long edges of the tailpieces leaving the short edge open. Lightly stuff the tail then sew the short edge closed. Set aside.
Make the Sea Turtle Head
On both pieces of the head, layout and sew the eye pieces and scales in place. Then with the wrong sides facing, sew the head pieces together around the perimeter leaving the straight edge open for stuffing. Fill the head with poly-fil. Fold the straight edge of the head flat in the opposite direction of the first seam. The neck will then sit flat against the bottom of the shell.
Make the Top Turtle Shell
On one piece of the shell base, layout and sew the shell scales into place. This is now the upper shell.
Attach the Fins, Head, and Tail
Pin the tail in place onto the shell belly piece. Sew across the short end of the tail twice for extra hold. Repeat with the fins and then head.
Finish the Sea Turtle Shell
With the wrong sides of the shell facing, pin and sew around the perimeter of the shell making sure to leave an opening for stuffing. Stuff the shell with poly-fil. Sew the opening closed.
Finish the Turtle Head
Hand stitch the top edge of the turtle neck and head to the shell to keep the head from flopping down.
Changing the Baby Sea Turtle Costume into a Stuffed Sea Turtle
Here are the steps to convert the Baby Sea Turtle Costume into a stuffed sea turtle softie.
- Remove the velcro from the turtle shell and the elastic bands from the front fins.
- Open the shell and add additional stuffing to the shell.
- Carefully remove the fins from the shell and open the straight edges. Lightly stuff the fins with stuffing, they should still be flimsy but have some dimension to them. Hand stitch the fins back onto the shell.
- My original sea turtle costume did not have a tail, if you didn’t have one on your costume either, add one now.
- Download the stuffed sea turtle pattern above and print the turtle head pattern (page 8 only). Follow the instructions above to make the head. Hand stitch the head onto the shell.
Ladybug Plush Sewing Pattern
This cuddle bug is a quick sew that kids love!
I hope you have a little one that can enjoy this stuffed sea turtle as much as mine does. :)
Send me links or pics of your final sea turtle, I’d love to see them and feature them here!
Hey Cathi , This is really to cute & I love it but haven`t made it yet. You are so talented. I saw a picture of the Love Bot & it is also adorable. Hope to make them soon & Thank you so much for the free patterns.
Hi Glenda – Thank you for the kind words :) I love getting to make and share my patterns. Send me pics when you make them, I love seeing them.
Hi Cathi, my daughter has asked me to make her infant baby girl a sea turtle for Halloween. I love the pattern you’ve created. I would like to make her this costume. I am having issues printing the pattern. I click on download, I am sent to a page that says I need to enter my email, however, there is not a place for me to enter my email address. Please help!!
This is my first grandchild and I am so looking forward to making this for her.
Thanking you in advance.
Lola
Hi Lola – I sent an email to you directly about the pattern. Please let me know if you did not get it. :)
I just finished making the sea turtle for my great grandson for Christmas. When I downloaded the pattern, I believe I decreased the size. It was time consuming doing the scales in the smaller size but I think it turned out well. I took pictures of it but they are on my phone at present.
The sea turtle is one of my favorites! I would love to see pictures of the smaller size. I’m sure the extra time was worth it, and your great-grandson will love it.
This is super cute. Have it in my pattern collection. :) ;)
Thanks Michelle :)
Thanks for your email asking for pics of the turtle I had made but .. Sorry I have not made one yet as I can’t find the camouflage fleece fabric locally .. so will keep trying.. I’m in no rush .. but I am very grateful for the pattern thanks again..
A friend asked me to make a sea turtle stuffed animal. I was surprised at how hard it was to find a pattern. Thank you very much for posting yours. I posted pictures on instagram. Made a few alterations but was very happy and very grateful for the pattern you have here!
Hi Vinessa –
I saw your post and commented. How very creative. Thank you for sharing. :)
Hi, thank you for this awesome turtle stuffie pattern! I can’t wait to make it! What would be your estimated time to make this? Thanks so much!
Hi Michelle – Great question! I think the turtle could be cut and sewn in 3-4 hours using a machine and at a leisurely pace.
Thank you! I can’t wait to make it.
Hi Cathy,
I made this turtle for my grandson’s 2nd birthday, he loves it!
The pattern is detailed and easy to print. It was my first time making a stuffed animal and I found that this instructions were easy to understand :-)
I have sent you the picture by email.
Deborah from France
Hello Deborah – Thank you for the kinds comments, this means a lot to me. :) It also means a lot to know that the turtle is being loved by someone else too.
Do you think it would be okay to glue the scales on vs sewing?
Absolutely! I’ve sen it done. Make sure to use a fabric glue. :)
I want to make the costume for my daughter but I only see the instructions for making the stuffy from the costume or from the very beginning not the costume itself.
Hi! Thanks for the comment. The pattern pieces are the same for the shell and fins. The base of the costume is a pair of fleece PJs and you create the belly piece using the PJs as a template to get the size right. Here is a link to the tutorial for making the costume: Sea Turtle Costume. Feel free to comment again or email me with questions. :)