If there is one sea creature that was simply born to be crocheted, it is the crochet whale. That round, friendly body, the swoop of a tail, the little fountain spout on top — every part of a whale translates into yarn beautifully, whether you want a two-inch keychain or a cushion-sized humpback for the sofa. I have a soft spot for whale makes because they suit absolutely everyone: babies, ocean-obsessed best friends, and those of us who just like a cheerful plush watching over the craft desk.
So here are twenty of my favourite whale designs for you, all genuinely free: pocket minis and no-sew quickies, a big sleepy chunk in velvet yarn, four narwhals (the unicorns of the sea had to come along), two handsome orcas, a baby lovey, appliqués, and a corner-to-corner square you can turn into a pillow. I have noted the yarn, the finished size and the honest little details for each one as we go. Pick your favourite, and let's make a splash.
1. A Pocket-Sized Mini in Soft Blue and White
We are starting small and sweet with Nicole Chase's Mini Whale, a pattern she designed for her Amigurumi for Beginners email course — so if you are new to plushies, this is a gentle first swim. It is worked in worsted yarn with a 4 mm hook and finishes at about two and a half inches tall and four inches long, just right for a palm or a desk corner. The clever bit is the construction: the side fins are crocheted straight into a body round, so there is only a little sewing at the tail, and the embroidered eyebrows give it the cutest expression. The full written pattern with step-by-step photos is free on her blog, and there is an optional paid ad-free PDF if you like to print.
Pattern: Mini Whale by Nicole Chase — Get the free pattern
2. The Big Sleepy Chunky Whale in Velvet Yarn
From tiny to gloriously huggable: Ana at Little Crochet Farm designed this Chunky Whale in soft velvet yarn for her best friend's first baby girl, and it shows — this is a nap-time whale. In chunky yarn with a 5 mm hook it grows to about twelve and a half inches, with embroidered sleepy eyes (baby-safe, no plastic) and a tail built from two joined flukes that the body grows out of. It belongs to her Sleeping Sea Creatures set, so there are matching sleepy friends if you fall for the style. The complete written pattern is free on her blog; the printable PDF is a download for her members, which I am noting here so there are no surprises.
Pattern: Chunky Crochet Whale by Ana at Little Crochet Farm — Get the free pattern
3. A Huggable Humpback Pillow, Nursery-Ready
ChiWei Ranck of One Dog Woof is famous for shapes that sit beautifully, and her Baby Humpback Whale is no exception: a flat belly and a big domed head make it a natural shelf-sitter, and at roughly thirteen inches wide and seventeen inches tall it works as a proper nursery pillow too. It is an intermediate pattern in worsted yarn, with neat colour changes for the white belly. The pattern is a $0.00 download on the Lion Brand site — you simply need a free Lion Brand account to grab it. In soft grey-blue it looks like something from a lovely children's boutique; in mustard or coral it becomes pure seaside-cottage charm.
Pattern: Baby Humpback Whale by ChiWei Ranck (One Dog Woof) at Lion Brand — Get the free pattern
4. Texture for Days: The Wheat Stitch Whale
Briana K took her signature wheat stitch — those pretty puff-stitch ribs — and wrapped it around a whale, and the texture is just gorgeous. This one is completely no-sew: the fins, the curved tail and even the little looped water spout (made with a simple i-cord trick) are all joined as you crochet the body, which finishes at about four inches square in worsted cotton or an acrylic blend. It is rated for advanced beginners, and the pattern is free to read on her blog with an email unlock; there is also an optional paid PDF in her Etsy and Ravelry shops. Make a whole pod in sea-glass colours and try not to smile.
Pattern: Wheat Stitch Whale by Briana K Designs — Get the free pattern
5. One Pattern, Two Friends: Wanda and Ned
Ashley Parker at The Loopy Lamb gives you two sea friends for the effort of one with Wanda the Whale and Ned the Narwhal. Both are worked from the same low-sew base — the body and tail are one piece, with just the pectoral fins sewn on — and Ned simply adds a spiralled tusk. In worsted yarn they finish at about seven and a half inches long; her Wanda is pink and her Ned is teal, but a variegated yarn looks wonderful too. The complete pattern is free on her blog, with an optional paid ad-free PDF if you prefer paper. They make the sweetest baby-shower pair, and she sensibly suggests embroidered eyes for little ones.
Pattern: Wanda the Whale & Ned the Narwhal by Ashley Parker at The Loopy Lamb — Get the free pattern
6. The Dapper Ragdoll Whale (Top Hat Optional!)
Spin a Yarn Crochet works in a distinctive ragdoll style — flat panels crocheted in rows and joined around the edge — and her whale is full of personality. You get two looks in one pattern: a blue "Dapper" whale wearing a top hat and moustache, or a pink whale with a robin's-egg water spout. The white belly is worked as tapestry colour changes across a few rows, which is a lovely gentle introduction to the technique, and the finished whale is about eight inches square. The full pattern is free on her blog; there is an optional inexpensive ad-free PDF on Etsy. As a nursery wall hanging or mobile star, this one is hard to beat.
Pattern: Whale Amigurumi by Spin a Yarn Crochet — Get the free pattern
7. Twenty Minutes, Zero Sewing: The Tiny Whale
Maggie's No-Sew Tiny Whale at Zamiguz is the fastest whale in this whole collection — she timed herself at under twenty minutes. The fins are made first and crocheted into the body on round six, and the tail is worked afterwards into a little chain opening, so there is genuinely nothing to stitch together at the end. In bulky chenille yarn with a 3.5 mm hook it comes out at about four and a half inches long, and it eats yarn scraps for breakfast: roughly six yards of white and thirty-one of blue. The pattern is free on her blog, with an optional inexpensive PDF download. Last-minute gift emergencies, sorted.
Pattern: No-Sew Tiny Whale by Maggie at Zamiguz — Get the free pattern
8. The Teeniest Baby Whale, Just Two and a Half Inches
Ana at Little Crochet Farm appears twice in this list because her whale patterns are that good, and this No-Sew Baby Whale is the miniature of the family. Worked in DK cotton with a 2 mm hook, it finishes at just two and a half inches, with the fins and tail formed by little chains in one clever round — no sewing at all, and the eyes are embroidered, so it is soft from top to tail. It is part of a tiny sea trio with a baby octopus and jellyfish, which is dangerously collectable. The full pattern is free on her blog; as with her chunky whale, the PDF version is a member download.
Pattern: No-Sew Baby Whale by Ana at Little Crochet Farm — Get the free pattern
9. Lashes and Lids: The Glam Little Whale
Here is the whale with the prettiest face in the pod. Crochetto's easy whale is worked from the head down to the tail tip in one piece, then finished with separate tail fins, side fins and tiny crocheted eyelids — and the finishing touch is a pair of miniature craft eyelashes glued above the safety eyes. It sounds like a small detail, but the result is pure cartoon glamour. The pattern is written for worsted or DK yarn, she suggests self-striping or variegated yarn for easy colour interest, and the complete step-by-step pattern is free on the page. One of these on a dressing table would make me happy every single morning.
Pattern: Easy Whale Amigurumi by Crochetto — Get the free pattern
10. Top-and-Bottom Construction in Fine Cotton
This elegant two-tone whale from Amigurumi Book is built in an unusual, satisfying way: you crochet a white bottom half and a turquoise top half, then join them with a round of single crochet, lightly stuffing as you go. It is worked in fine Alize Cotton Gold with a 2.5 mm hook, so the stitches are small and neat, and it has properly shaped tail fins, pectoral fins and a little chain-loop fountain spout on top. The pattern even counts out exactly where to embroider the eyes, mouth and fins, which takes all the guesswork out of the face. The complete pattern is free on the page, and the designer simply asks for a credit when you share your make.
Pattern: Whale Amigurumi by Amigurumi Book — Get the free pattern
11. Narwhal Time: Ned and Norah in Two Poses
Now for the unicorns of the sea. The Friendly Red Fox designed Ned and Norah the Narwhals as the letter N in her Amigurumi from A to Z series, and she gives you two poses from one pattern: a swimming horizontal version and an upright vertical one with a very teddy-bear charm. In the recommended bulky yarn they finish at about ten inches from head to tail; swap to worsted and they shrink adorably. There is even an option to sew little flowers around the horn. One honest note: this pattern is for personal use only, though gifts are of course fine. The full pattern is free on her blog, with an optional ad-free PDF.
Pattern: Ned and Norah the Narwhals by The Friendly Red Fox — Get the free pattern
12. Go Jumbo: The Giant Velvet Narwhal
If you like your plushies huggable, Little World of Whimsy's Jumbo Narwhal is your whale. It is worked in jumbo velvet yarn with a 5 mm hook and finishes at about ten inches long and six inches tall, horn not included — a proper cushion-sized friend. The clever construction creates the flippers and tail in the middle of a body round, so the whole thing is almost entirely no-sew; only the horn is attached at the end. Leave the horn off entirely and you have a jumbo whale instead, which makes this a true two-for-one. The complete pattern is free on her blog, with an optional ad-free PDF on Etsy.
Pattern: Jumbo Narwhal by Little World of Whimsy — Get the free pattern
13. The Chubby Four-Inch Narwhal, Completely Sew-Free
This Chubby Narwhal is the jumbo's little sibling, resized for super bulky chenille yarn (she uses Hobbii Baby Snuggle) and a dinky four inches square. Like its big sister it is fully no-sew — fins and tail appear mid-round as if by magic — and even the horn is attached with just a crochet hook, a trick she shows in her video tutorial. Because it uses only simple stitches, it is a friendly first chenille project, though her tips on closing a magic ring in plush yarn are worth reading first. The full pattern is free on her blog, with an optional ad-free PDF available on Etsy.
Pattern: Chubby No-Sew Narwhal by Little World of Whimsy — Get the free pattern
14. A Fluffy Blanket-Yarn Narwhal with a Swirled Horn
Riley at Crochet Critters made her narwhal in Bernat Blanket yarn, so it is all soft, squishy fluff. The shaping is clever: decreases run along the top of the body so the head dips sweetly, and the tail is grown straight out of the body, folded and crocheted together rather than sewn on. She finishes hers with pink blushing cheeks and a swirl stitched up the horn — that swirl is optional, but honestly, why would you skip it? The complete pattern is free on her page, written in a chatty, friendly style that is easy to follow even where the shaping gets busy.
Pattern: Fluffy Narwhal by Riley at Crochet Critters — Get the free pattern
15. A Mini Orca with a Proper Dorsal Fin
Orcas are whales too — the largest dolphins, in fact, but proudly part of the whale family — and Momina Stitch's Mini Killer Whale captures those famous markings perfectly. At about three and a half to four and three-quarter inches long, it has a black torpedo body, a crisp white belly patch sewn on afterwards (no fiddly colourwork), little side fins and a curved dorsal fin worked in rows. Every round comes with a stitch count, which makes it a relaxing, no-guesswork make, and there are instructions for a crocheted loop if you want to hang it from your keys. The complete pattern is free on her page.
Pattern: Mini Killer Whale Amigurumi by Momina Stitch — Get the free pattern
16. An Orca Worked Flat — Rows Only, No Rounds
Rhondda Mol designed her Amigurumi Orca for the 2025 Toy Box Crochet Along, and it is a lovely change of pace: instead of working in the round, you crochet two flat body panels — a black top and a white underside — then whipstitch them together, stuffing as you go. Add folded flippers, a dorsal fin and the orca's signature white face spots, and you have an eight-inch orca with real character. Everything is simple single crochet, so beginners can absolutely manage it, and the full pattern with assembly photos is free on her blog at Oombawka Design. A great first flat-amigurumi project.
Pattern: Amigurumi Orca by Rhondda Mol at Oombawka Design — Get the free pattern
17. The Whale Lovey Babies Actually Cuddle
Ashleigh Kiser at Heart Hook Home designed this Whale of a Lovey for her own grandbaby, which is exactly the kind of pattern testing I trust. The blanket is a fourteen-inch corner-to-corner square worked in the round in two colours, and perched on it is a miniature amigurumi whale, just over two inches wide, with a sweet embroidered kawaii mouth. The post includes the complete pattern for both the blanket and the whale, plus her assembly order so the whale sits securely near his tail fin. It works up quickly in worsted yarn and makes a beautiful handmade shower gift that looks far more complicated than it is.
Pattern: Whale of a Lovey by Ashleigh Kiser at Heart Hook Home — Get the free pattern
18. A Plush Keychain Whale, Fins and All — No Sewing
Claire Abelle's Baby Whale Keychain is worked entirely in the front loops of each stitch, which gives the plush yarn an extra-fluffy finish — and in one very clever round, the tail flukes and both side fins are formed right on the body, so there is no sewing whatsoever. Use a bulky chenille and a 6.5 mm hook and it finishes at about three and a half to four and a half inches long, with a white underbelly worked in at the close. The keychain hardware threads through the top of the head, so it dangles face-first from your keys or bag. The complete pattern is free on her blog.
Pattern: Baby Whale Keychain by Claire Abelle Makes — Get the free pattern
19. Two Little Appliqué Whales for Cards and Blankets
Sometimes you do not need a whole whale — just a flat one to sew onto something else. Sara at Raffamusa Designs gives you two sizes of whale appliqué, a big one at about two and a half inches and a little one at two inches, both in sport-weight cotton. Each has a contrasting belly section, a tiny knotted water splash on top, and an embroidered eye and smile. They are perfect for baby blankets, greeting cards, garlands and tote bags, and they take minutes each. The patterns for both sizes are free on her blog; there is an optional paid printable PDF in her shops if you collect them.
Pattern: Whale Appliqué by Sara at Raffamusa Designs — Get the free pattern
20. A C2C Whale Square for Pillows and Blankets
We are finishing with a whale of a different shape entirely: Melissa Hassler's corner-to-corner whale square at Lovable Loops. Worked in worsted yarn, the finished square measures twenty-two inches, and the page gives you both the colour graph and the full row-by-row written block counts, so you can follow whichever style you prefer. The whale is one of her six sea-creature squares — back this one with fabric for a nursery cushion, or make the whole set into an ocean blanket. The written pattern and graph are free on the page; a printable PDF is available in her Etsy shop if you want one.
Pattern: C2C Whale Square by Melissa Hassler at Lovable Loops — Get the free pattern
Conclusion
And that is twenty whales, my friend — palm-sized minis and no-sew quickies, a sleepy chunk in velvet, a humpback pillow, narwhals in three sizes, two striking orcas, a lovey, appliqués and a C2C square, every single one free. If you are new to amigurumi, start with Nicole's mini, Maggie's tiny no-sew whale or Ana's baby whale; if you want a weekend showpiece, the chunky sleeper or the jumbo narwhal are calling. One little tip from me: for anything heading to a baby, swap the safety eyes for embroidered ones, and lean into chenille yarn whenever maximum squish is the goal.
Now tell me — are you team tiny keychain whale or team giant narwhal, and which of these twenty is going on your hook first? I read every comment, and I cannot wait to see your pod!
