Last Updated on March 23, 2022

Anytime I get to design something nautical, I’m a happy girl. And this DIY felt beluga makes me smile every time I see him! I made 3 of them for the sake of these pictures, and I haven’t quite decided what to do with them. I’ll probably gift them as ornaments at Christmas. For now, this sleepy little whale family sits on my desk, keeping me company while I work. 🙂

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I’m so glad to finally have found the time to write up this freebie pattern for you guys! My summer has been crazy busy, and tasks that should only take 1 week to complete are taking 4-6 weeks.

I think I fell into the trap of trying to overcompensate for last summer. My boys had all their activities cancelled last summer and the last 18 months have been really hard.

So now that covid restrictions have finally eased up a bit, I scheduled in a lot of sports, activities and playdates. It’s been a lot. Too much even. But I think they had a great summer. School starts back up in just over a week, and I know I’ll have time again to work and create some great content to share!

For now, I actually managed to get this beluga pattern done! It did take me about 6 weeks start to finish. Haha! 😛

This DIY felt beluga has been designed to accompany a whole set of adorable little arctic animals. You can see them all together here, it’s a cuteness overload, especially the sea otter!. I love that with an arctic theme you get a great mix of ocean and land animals!

Edit: I just put the finishing touches on more ocean animal patterns! Click here for a cute 6 piece set, and here for a 15 piece set!

If you’re looking for more free felt animals, I have this little bunny available, this charming shark, and this squirrel plush too! And you can find a whole list of free animal patterns in this post.

Ok, let’s get started on this beluga!

How to Make a DIY Felt Beluga

Gather Materials

To make 1 DIY felt beluga you will need:

Felt – 6″ x 6″ piece
(I made 3 different belugas, one in an off-white, a very pale purple and a pale teal. Belugas are white, but it’s fun to try different colours. This is my favourite shop for purchasing lovely wool felt!)

Matching embroidery thread plus a dark grey and a contrasting colour for the embroidered detailing.
Polyfil or wool stuffing
Embroidery scissors & needle
Tweezers (for stuffing)
8″ piece of twine (optional, for hanging)
Printed Pattern – grab it below – It’s available as a printable PDF and as an SVG!

Cutting Out the Beluga

Make extra sure you print the pattern at 100%.

Cut out 2 each of the beluga body and the fin.

(Unless you want to create a double-sided beluga, in which case cut out 4 fin pieces.)

You can simply pin the paper patterns to the felt and cut around them with embroidery snips.

Embroider the Details

Use 2 strands of blue or purple (or whatever contrasting colour you prefer) to embroider the spots. Each spot is 3 straight stitches side by side, with the middle stitch worked a little longer than the outer two.

Use 2 strands of dark grey and a back stitch to embroider the eye.

Make the Fin

Use 2 strands of matching thread and a blanket stitch to sew the front and the back of the fin together, stuffing it gently before closing. Attach the fin to the beluga body with a big X stitch where marked.

Sewing the Beluga

Use 2 strands of matching thread and a blanket stitch to sew the front and back of the beluga together. Start under the fin and work your way around, stuffing as you go.

When you get to the face, work around the ‘lips’, stuff them a little and then add a long straight stitch through both layers of felt and the stuffing to create a mouth.

Make an Ornament

At this point you can thread a length of twine or thread through 2-3 stitches in the top of the beluga to create an ornament.

These would make a wonderful stocking stuffer, gift topper or teacher gift.

Belugas are the perfect coastal decor for a nautical Christmas. 🙂

That’s it, you’re done! This project can easily be completed in a couple of hours.

Here are all the arctic animals together. Aren’t they the cutest?! They’d be wonderful done up as a mobile or garland for a nursery. You can find all the patterns here in the shop. Including the beluga, there are 13 pieces in this bundle! (I know I’m not supposed to have favourites, but that sea otter gives me all the heart eyes!)