I was attempting to make a gender non-specific gift for a friend who is having a baby….don’t know if she is expecting a boy or girl, so went with a turtle doll to go with the ‘Ocean Swirl’ baby stroller blanket that I made OR the little turtle that I made too - can’t decide which one I like better!

I used a 3.5mm hook to make the doll.

I used a 4.0mm hook for the octagon and made up an octagon in a plain colour for the underside of the shell. . To keep the stuffing from poking out of any holes, I wrapped it in a thin fabric before stuffing the body.
The octagon pattern I used was found on Pinterest here;
https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/460352393144556746/?lp=true
Centre is cream, then light grey, turquoise, charcoal grey, then the ‘Ocean Swirl’ yarn for the outer round….I then worked a round of reverse sc around the edge of the top shell octagon.
I made an octagon in ‘Ocean Swirl’ for the belly and worked a round of rev sc around that, stitched it in place on the front of the doll. In dark grey I made 9ch, then worked 2 rows of sc (make 2) to join the back shell to the front.

To avoid increase lines on the bottom of the head, I ‘split’ or stagger the increases like this;
Up to Rnd 34: As per pattern.
Rnd 35: 2sc, inc, * (4sc, inc) * repeat from * to * to last 2sts - finish the round with 2sc.
Rnd 36: As per pattern.
Rnd 37: 3sc, inc, * (6sc, inc) * repeat from * to * to last 3sts - finish the round with 3sc.
Rnd 38: As per pattern.
Rnd 39: 4sc, inc, * (8sc, inc) * repeat from * to * to last 4sts - finish the round with 4sc.
Rnd 40 and beyond: As per pattern.
So - the pattern hasn’t been altered at all!
You’ve simply moved the increases on all of the ‘even’ rounds and all ‘odd’ rounds remain the same.