If you want to purchase an ad-free PDF version of this crochet bee pattern, you can find it HERE on etsy or HERE on ravelry. The PDF is a TWO-in-one, so it also has the directions to make this bee as a keychain using embroidery floss!
I just love this little crochet bee! At the time that I designed this I was trying to make my patterns much smaller than they’d been in the past.
But when making my bee at this scale I had a hard time getting crocheted wings to look right. They were too chunky or awkward looking, and I wanted something sleek and polished.
Then I thought – FELT!
Adding felt to amigurumi projects can make them look far more finished and clean. You can get finer details than you can with crochet, and on occasion it can save you some time!
Since then I’ve used felt in multiple crochet projects, such as my sweet sloth and my ragdoll astronaut bear. (The bear pattern is hopefully coming out next week!)
With this pattern you only need to crochet ONE piece and then cut and sew the felt wings on. It makes for a fast, fun amigurumi project that embodies springtime.
Now lets get on to the pattern!
NOTE: If you are wanting to sell finished products from this free crochet bee pattern you’re welcome to, just make sure you link back to my pattern here and credit me with the design. Thank you!
Abbreviations
- Sc – single crochet
- Inc – increase
- Dec – decrease
- FO – Finish off
- Rnd – round
- sts – stitches
Materials
- Size F 3.75mm crochet hook
- One skein of yellow worsted weight yarn (For example Red Heart Super Saver, Loops & Threads Impeccable, etc.)
- One skein of black worsted weight yarn
- One piece of white felt
- Bee felt wing template – get it HERE
- One skein of white embroidery floss
- 1 pair of 12mm safety eyes
- Scissors
- Yarn needle
- Embroidery/sewing needle
- Stuffing (I use polyester fiberfill)
Bee Body
Begin with yellow yarn
Rnd 1: 6 sc in a Magic Ring (6)
Rnd 2: inc in each sc around (12)
Rnd 3: *sc, inc* 6 times (18)
Rnd 4: *sc (2), inc* 6 times (24)
Rnds 5-6: sc 24 each round
If you are using safety eyes, place the pegs in now between rows 3 and 4 as shown in the pictures below. The photo may look like the eyes are between rows 1 and 2, but that’s just the angle the bee is at and I put the dotted line over too far in the photo, the pegs go between rows 3 and 4. Sorry for any confusion!
Make sure the stitch where you just ended rnd 6 is lined up directly above the bee’s right eye (see photos 1 and 3 below). This is important because every time you change colors of yarn to create a stripe on the bee’s back you’ll have a jagged edge where the stripes don’t quite meet up.
This placement of the eyes will keep those jagged edges covered up by the felt wings that you’ll sew onto the body, keeping the stripes on your bee looking smooth all the way around the rest of your crochet bumble bee.
Return to crocheting the bee and switch to using black yarn.
Rnd 7: sc 24 each round
Switch to yellow yarn
Rnds 8-9: sc 24 each round
Switch to black yarn
Rnd 10: sc 24 each round
Switch to yellow yarn
Rnds 11-12: sc 24 each round
Switch to black yarn
Rnd 13: sc 24 each round
Switch to yellow yarn
Rnd 14: sc 24 each round
Rnd 15: *sc (2), dec* 6 times (18)
Rnd 16: *sc (1), dec* 6 times (12)
Rnd 17: *dec* 6 times (6)
You should now have 6 sts left. Cut the yarn leaving a tail about 6 inches long. Use a yarn/embroidery needle to thread the tail through the remaining loops. Pull tight to close the hole, similar to closing a drawstring bag. Then weave the tail in back through the body.
Bee Felt Wings:
Print out the provided template for this pattern. Cut out the template pieces so that you have one bee wing stencil.
Using your white felt and paper stencil, cut out four wing pieces.
Grab two of the wing pieces and stack them one on top of the other. You’ll begin at the point indicated on the picture. Cut a 2 foot long piece of embroidery floss. Peel off two strands and thread the needle, but don’t tie a knot.
Begin to whip stitch around the curved edges of the wing. When you begin, don’t tie a knot but make sure you leave a 4 inch tail hanging off of where you begin. You’ll use it later when you sew the wing onto the bee.
Don’t sew across the straight edge. Leave that edge to sew onto the body of the bee.
Repeat with the other two pieces to make a second wing.
To sew the wings on, you’ll whip stitch them onto the top side of the bee.
Start with the right wing. Place the wing on the top of of the bee so that it starts just above the first black stripe and ends just after the last black stripe, and covers the jagged edges where you changed colors between rows (photos A and B).
Stitch along the straight edge, stitching to the top of the bee with small stitches fairly close together. You’ll want about 1-2 stitches for every crochet round (photo C).
Then poke into the body of the bee and come up back where you started sewing on the wing of the bee (photo D). Make one more stitch back where you began to help secure the wing down.
You’ll now have one tail at each end of straight edge of the wing of your bee. Thread one tail on your needle, poke back down into the body, and come back up into a hole somewhere between the two tails. Repeat with the other tail, coming up in the same hole (photo E).
Knot the two strings together and cut the tails to be about an inch long. Use scissors or another took to the push the knot and ends back into the bee (photo F). This keeps the wings INCREDIBLY secure.
I call this process “anchoring.” It helps keep threads from being pulled loose as an amigurumi toy is used. If you want to learn more about this technique you can read about it here.
Then sew the left wing on the same way. You’ll place it about 2.5 stitches over from the right wing (photo G). To make sure your wing is positioned well, look your bee right in the eyes and make sure that the wings appear balanced and parallel to the eyes. This will help you know if you need to shift it more to the left or to the right to get a balanced bee.
Photo H just shows how your bee will look from the bottom once the wings are sewn on properly.
And that’s it, your bee is done!
If you made a little guy from this crochet bee pattern, feel free to post a picture on social media with #lifewithbubbins or tag me on instagram @lifewithbubbins so I can see your lovely creations!
And if you liked this crochet bee pattern, check out some related free patterns of mine below.
Thanks for following along!
