i made a few crochet turtles, and managed to remember what i had done while making them. under the cut is the pattern.
two pictures to show you what you can make with the pattern under the cut:


Materials you will need:
Yarn, in light brown or beige, dark brown, and green.
Crochet hook that fits the yarn you use.
Felt, a brown strip for the belt, a small piece of white, and a strip in the color you want the bandana/mask to be.
Some needles to sow the felt on, and a yarn needle to attach arms, legs, and shell to the turtle.


Sc= single crochet
2 sc tog = one single crochet in two single crochet of the previous row [link to how-to]
* 1sc, 2 sc tog* 5x = repeat instructions in between 8 5 times.

I always start with a magic loop, you can read how to do that here: [link] Also, I did not close the rows, but went in a spiral from begin until the end. Do not forget to stuff the body when you start the head, and head before row 23-24.

Body
Start with light brown or beige.

1: 5 sc in loop
2: *2 sc in next sc *, 5x
3: *1 sc, 2 sc in next sc * 5x
4: *2 sc, 2 sc in next sc * 5x
5: *3 sc, 2 sc in next sc * 5x
6,7,8,9, 10 sc the whole round.
11: *3 sc, 2 sc tog * 5x
12: *2 sc, 2 sc tog * 5x
13: *1 sc, 2 sc tog * 5 x
14: sc all around

You should have 10 stitches now.
This is also where we change colors, change to green here. Also, do not forget to fill the body and head before the last round!

15 *1 sc, 2 sc in next sc * 5x
16: *2 sc, 2 sc in next sc * 5x
17: *3 sc, 2 sc in next sc * 5x
18, 19, 20: sc all around
21: *3 sc, 2 sc tog * 5X
22: *2 sc, 2 sc tog * 5X
23: *1 sc, 2 sc tog * 5x
24:*2 sc tog * 5x

Cut the yarn and pull it through last loop, then use the tail to close the small hole that is left.

Legs: (( you need two, so you need to do this twice))
Use the same green as you used for the head

1: 5 sc in loop
2: *2 sc in next sc * 5x

Then 8 rows of sc, round.

11: *2 sc tog * 5x
Cut the yarn and pull it through last loop, leave a long tail to use to attach legs to body later.

Arms: ((again, you need 2))
Use the same green as you used for the head

1: 5 sc in loop
2: *2 sc in next sc * 5x

Then 6 rounds of sc.

10: *2 sc tog * 5x.
Cut the yarn and pull it through last loop, leave a long tail to use to attach arms to body later.

Shell/carapace:
Use dark brown

The shell is a basic oval shape, based on a chain of 4.

Start with a chain of 5. skip the first one, and then one sc in each chain stitch. Do two more sc in the last chain, and turn, so you will continue on the other side of the chain. 3 sc in the other three sc, and then increase two more in the last chain stitch. (in short, we are making an oval shape. Use your own intuition if needed to change things to fit what you have in mind)

Continue with sc, and Over the next 4 rounds, increase 3 times at both corners/sides. If you want the shell bigger, do one round more, if you prefer a smaller shell, do one less.

Then go round two times with sc, not increasing at all. This will make the shell take the right shape a bit.

Putting the turtle together:

Fill the legs a little, I use the backside of my crochet needle to do that. Attach arms and legs to the body.

Attach the shell to the body using the yarn end in the middle to attach the 4 chains you started with to the back of the turtle. I did not attach the edges, but if you want to attach them, feel free to do so.

Wrap belt ((brown felt strip)) around body, sow it together, and attach it to the body.

Cut two small eye-holes in the strip of felt you want to use for the mask, to make two eye-holes. Put a small strip of white felt behind the two holes, and attach the small piece of white onto the mask. Wrap mask around head, make a knot in the back. Attach mask to head, so it stays put.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask me.

if you make a turtle, and want to, would you mind taking a photo and showing it to me? only if you want to, of course!