For my sister’s birthday, she wanted a baby tortoise. Her husband ended up getting her two and they came up with the names of Princess Peach and Bowser. Of course, I had to try to make each of them a cozy, to match their names. I don’t know much about tortoises, so I started searching around online and found an Etsy store that sells turtle cozies. The shop is currently on break, but there are links to other Etsy shops that sell them. You can see them here. Taking a look though her sold orders, you can see some adorable outfits. Although, I had the problem of my sister’s tortoises being babies and since she lives in Texas and I live in Washington, I can’t just go try them on. I was clueless on sizing and measurements, so I went off of measurements in the photos she sent over.
As you can see, they are tiny! I looked around online for a pattern, so that I could have an idea of where to start. I did find a pattern for a cozy, but it was for an adult tortoise, that was much bigger. Therefore, I had to create my own. This is what I ended up with
They don’t fit perfectly, but for my first try, I thought they turned out pretty well. Next time, I will try to make them fit around the sides of the shell better. Let’s just say I am better at creating my crochet newborn photo prop patterns. In the background you can see my sister created a gingerbread castle. 🙂 Perfect background for their costumes. The Peach cozy is a little larger than the Bowser cozy. You can adjust for your tortoise by simply adding additional rounds.
Materials Needed:
Size E/3.5mm Crochet Hook
Tapestry Needle
Scissors
For Peach I used:
Red Heart Soft in Pink and Caron Simply Soft in Watermelon
For Bowser I used:
Red Heart Soft in Guacamole, Vanna’s Choice in Beige, and Caron Simply Soft in Sunshine
Any worsted weight yarn will work though.
Notes for Both:
- Start the round in the first st, the same one you joined to.
- Ch 1 does not count as a stitch
Both Shells Start The Same:
Round 1: With pink yarn for Peach or green yarn for Bowser, Create magic ring, Ch 1, 6 sc into the ring, join with a sl st to the first sc. (6)
Round 2: Ch 1, 2 hdc in the first st, 2 sc in the next 2 sts, 2 hdc in the next st, 2 sc in the next 2 sts, join with a sl st to the first hdc. (12)
Round 3: Ch 1, 2 hdc in the next 2 sts, 1 sc in the next 3 sts, 2 hdc in the next 3 sts, 1 sc in the next 3 sts, 2 hdc in the last st, join with a sl st to the first hdc. (18) Continue with pink below for Peach or fasten off and continue with Bowser below.
Peach:
Round 1-3 above.
Round 4: Ch 1, *2 hdc in the next st, 1 hdc in the next st*, repeat from * to * around, join with a sl st to the first hdc. (27) Fasten off, and weave in ends.
Peach Skirt:
Round 1: With watermelon pink, fsc (foundation single crochet) 25 – the reason I use fsc is because it has more stretch than chaining and I wanted to give room for the tortoise to grow – Being careful not to twist, sl st into the first fsc, to create a circle, fasten off, leaving a long tail to sew onto the base of the cozy. (25)
Round 2: Attaching pink with a sl st anywhere on round 1, you will only be working into 12 of the sts. Ch 1, *2 sc in the next st, 1 sc in the next st*, repeat from * to * 5 more times. (18) You will leave the remaining sts unworked, this is so that the skirt is only going to be on top of the tortoise cozy.
Round 3: Ch 1, turn, 1 sc in each st across. (18)
Round 4: Ch 1, turn, *2 sc in the next st, 1 sc in the next 2 sts*, repeat from * to * across. (24)
Round 5-6: Ch 1, turn, 1 sc in each st across. (24) (2 Rows) Fasten off.
Round 7: Join watermelon pink, with a sl st, Ch 1, 1 sc in each st across. (24) Fasten off and weave in ends.
Placing the skirt over the base of the shell cozy, sew the skirt on right behind the magic ring. 
Bowser:
Round 1-3 above.
Round 4: With beige yarn, join with a sl st, Ch 1, *sc in the next st, 2 sc in the next st*, repeat from * to * around. (27), Fasten off and weave in ends.
Band Around the Belly: With sunshine yellow yarn, join with a sl st to either side of the shell (at the middle, in line with the magic ring, Ch 12, join to the other side of the shell with a sl st. Fasten off and weave in ends.
Spikes: With beige yarn, Ch 3, sl st in the 2nd chain from the hook, sc in the last chain, fasten off, leaving a tail for sewing. Choose to create as many spikes as you would like, I have 7 for mine. Using a tapestry needle, sew the spikes on, around the shell. Once all of the spikes are securely sewn on, weave in all ends. 
As my sister’s tortoises grow, I will be making more cozies and will improve on the shape!
Abbreviations:
Ch – Chain
St(s) – stitch(es)
sl st- Slip Stitch
sc- Single Crochet
fsc – Foundation Single Crochet
hdc- Half Double Crochet
You can sell any items you make from using my patterns, but you are responsible for your finished items. I would appreciate you linking to this post, if you choose to sell finished items. Please keep in mind that Princess Peach and Bowser are copyrighted characters, which means you will need to get permission to sell as such. Please do not copy, sell, rewrite or redistribute this pattern or any of the pictures, as your own. Feel free to share and link to this pattern.
I would love to see what you make and your little tortoise, if you have one! 🙂
Thank you!
