Hi everyone!
I’m starting off 2020 with a classic animal that’s been on my list for a little while — a cute duck! But this time the twist is there’s a Turtle Duck option too! If you’ve seen Avatar: The Last Airbender or Legend of Korra you might have seen this cute animal hybrid of a sweet duck with the shell of a turtle. I wanted to tackle one ever since I did a turtle back in September of 2019, so I had the idea ready for when I tried out the duck.
This duckling has the classic rubber duck style pose that makes it perfect for adding a shell to the back. It’s got a big head, chubby body, and tiny little wings and feet. The turtle duck variation needed a stripe down the head, so you’ll find that has a gusset to make it work. It’s a little tricky, so if you’ve done a few gussets you should be okay. But if you’re new to gussets you could use the basic duck head instead.
The body also has a gusset, but that one isn’t as tricky since it doesn’t involve y-seams. Because of those tricky parts, I rated it a 4/10 in difficulty. As always, there are applique templates in the main pattern to make the eyes out of felt, flannel, or another applique fabric, and there are embroidery files included separately. Both the classic duck and turtle duck options fit within a 4″ x 4″ hoop.
I hope you all like it! And here’s to possibly having more Avatar creatures in the future! Let me know your favorite!
32 thoughts on “Free Pattern Friday! Duck & Turtle Duck Plush”
Aaah, these are so cute, thank you for making this pattern! I can’t wait to make a bunch of turtle ducks lol
cant wait to make them
Adorable! Thank you!
These are so cute! Thank you!
Turtleducks!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so exited to make a bunch of them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you so much for this pattern!
As for other Avatar creatures, I would looove to see Appa and Momo. 😀
Sooo cute
These are so cute! Also, I saw your Instagram post, and I would like to add that Appa is definitely one of my favorites. Just a suggestion. 😉
Yes! I love Avatar. Thank you so much for this pattern, I’m so glad you made it. You’re the best.
belle année créative pour 2020 et merci pour ces jolis modèles
I absolutely love this pattern! Can’t wait to get to work on one. I do have a question though:
I saw a while ago that you made a lot of cute food-themed animals, including a dragon fruit dragon. I saw they are no longer in your shop, so are they now unobtainable?
Thank you for the kind words about the duck pattern! I’m glad you like it!
Regarding the older patterns, they’re no longer for sale since I’ve retired them, but I’m happy to share them with you here 🙂
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/87vsq48q3j8u0cs/AACFNnLXiSKRpSA6dpwaK2Oca?dl=0
Oh my goodness thank you so much! That’s amazing! I think I may be delaying my duck for a few days XD
You didn’t put the beary ice cream or the racoon looking one on the link. was that on purpose or did you mean to because they aren’t on you etsy page anymore…
Those two were revamped and are still for sale on my Etsy 🙂
https://www.etsy.com/listing/238942922
https://www.etsy.com/listing/246273055
Absolutely adorable pattern! I do have a question though: I wanted to use the dragon fruit and the root bear stoat pattern( I only recently found your blog) , and I saw they are no longer for sale. Will they ever come back or is there another way to obtain them now?
Thank you, these look like fun to make
They’re supposed to have 2 paws not 4 hahaha
Oups theyre turtle ducks!!!! Sorry xD
Will you do free pattern Friday anymore or have you stopped because I noticed that you have not done them for two weeks in a row. I just really like your free patterns and have been checking regularly but not seeing them.
Thank you for the kind words about my work! I actually release free patterns about once a month and have been for the past 6 years 🙂 On some months I try to do a few more as a bonus, but once a month is the pace I’ve been keeping.
I’m sorry I thought because it said Free Pattern Friday it was a weekly thing. I understand : )
Is there a way to sew on the head by machine instead of hand? I’m just really bad at hand sewing heads on. All the plushies that I’ve sewed using that method always end up with wobbly heads no matter what I try. I’m familiar with sewing the head on by machine because I’ve tried your Hogwarts mascots plushies. If you could just point me in the right direction, I would be very grateful. If it’s not possible, do you have any tips to sew on the head by hand to make it not wobbly? Sorry for all that, I hope that makes sense. Thank you so much for your help.
Hello! Sewing the head by machine is certainly an option, though it would take some adjustment of the pattern. Since you’re familiar with the Hogwarts mascots that helps a lot. You’d need to cut a hole for the neck at the bottom of the head, then leave the back of the head and the body open like with mascots. The snake would probably be the most similar, body-wise, to give you a visual idea. Then from there you could sew the neck to the body.
When sewing by hand though, a common problem is to not give the body enough stuffing, since it needs to be firm to support the head. You can also sew the head in a wider circle around the neck for more stability.
I hope some of that information helps take you down the right path!
is there fabric other minky that dosent make as much of a mess that you know?
I usually recommend fleece as a minky alternative 🙂 Velboa also has a nice texture that isn’t quite as fluffy as minky so it leaves less fur around.
Hi! Just wanna start off by saying that I loooveeee your plushie patterns!! I think there’s an error in this one, cuz the ‘stretch’ labeled on the body side’s template does not match up with the stretch on the cutting layout. Can you tell me which one I should follow? Thank you!!
Thank you so much for the kind words! I’m so sorry about the error though! That must have slipped past me. For this project I would suggest following the stretch line on the template, and not the one on the cutting layout. In tests I found the stretch going in the other direction doesn’t cause major issues, but doesn’t look quite as nice. Thank you for your understanding!
I wonder, has there ever been a 10/10 difficulty sewing pattern or plushy? Or if not whats the most difficult free plush pattern?
Hello! I don’t have any 10/10 difficulty patterns yet. My highest difficulty so far are most likely the backpack plushies at 8/10 🙂 https://www.etsy.com/shop/CholyKnight?ref=seller-platform-mcnav&search_query=backpack Especially the dragon which has an (optional) invisible zipper in the tail.
It’s the same idea with the free patterns ♥ The free backpack plush is the most difficult at 5/10: https://cholyknight.com/2019/05/10/night-fury-plush-backpack/
I try not to use any techniques that are incredibly difficult (especially if there are easier alternatives). So the high difficulty usually comes from the sheer amount of work put in. The backpacks not only have you building a (very large) plush, but you’ve got to install straps and zippers to boot.
I hope that answers your question!
These are SOOOO cute! My daughter wants a Niffler and this is the closest pattern online that I’ve found <3
Love these they are so adorable
Hope I am on your mailing list. monicabenade@gmail.com
Love the little ducks.
Thanks for sharing. Stay safe and enjoy your day