I am fortunate to be visiting Hawaii with my husband and parents this December. It’s always a treat to see the green sea turtles (honu), so as a way to commemorate this special trip, I wanted to make a sea turtle Christmas tree ornament.

The shell pieces are worked flat and seamed together, while the head, tail, and flippers are worked in the round and sewn to the body. Slipped stitches create a hex-like pattern on the top shell. A small amount of fiberfill is needed for stuffing the shell and head.

Finished body is approximately 3” (7.5 cm) long and 2.25” (5.7 cm) wide. Exact gauge is not critical, but it is better if the top shell is a little bigger than the bottom shell. Probably any worsted and/or DK weight yarn would be OK; I just used leftover bits of stash. You’ll likely need about 7-8 yards (6.5-7.5 meters) worsted/aran for the top shell and 15-18 yards (14-16.5 meters) DK for everything else.

Low Vision Accessibility: This pattern is available in a low vision accessible format as a separate PDF with the pattern file name in ALL CAPS LVA. It is written in 24 point Arial font in all black text on a white background. All text is left-justified and has no italics. All of the directions are fully written out. This pattern is also screen reader accessible and has been reviewed and tested to work with a screen reader. It does not contain any parentheses. Special thanks to momcook for her guidance and testing.

Offered free for personal use or charity.