One of the biggest trends in crochet recently has been amigurumi versions of our favourite insect - the humble bee! This makes us incredibly happy, as bees are one of our favourite signs of spring-time (with at least one member of team Gathered aspiring to become a proper apiarist one day).
Nothing is quite a satisfying as seeing a sweet bee hovering around the garden, investigating flowers and plants - but if you're not lucky enough to have a garden full of blooms, you can always hook up this super-easy free crochet bee pattern designed by our own Matt Spiers! You can find more of Matt's amigurumi patterns in our free crochet projects section!
This free bee crochet pattern has deliberately been designed as a quick and easy make, which both crochet newbies and beginners can enjoy! If you're new to crochet, it's a great introduction to how to crochet amiguruimi, but even if you're more experienced we've also included a few extra tips in the notes to help you experiment with getting perfect amigurumi stripes on your crochet bee.
You will need
A 3mm (UK 10, US D/3) crochet hook
DMC Natura Just Cotton (100% cotton, 50g/155m) or alternative 4ply yarn, one ball of each:
- Black (Noir – N11)
- Yellow (Giroflee N85)
- Cream (Nacar N35)
6m safety eyes - two for each bee
Measurements
Finished crochet bee measures approx. 6cm long
Tension
Tension is not critical for this project
Abbreviations
You can find a full list of all abbreviations we use in our abbreviations and conversions guide. This free bee crochet pattern is written in UK terminology but you can easily convert it to US terms using the guide.
Notes
Crochet bee is made using the amigurumi spiral method. You can choose to keep it simple and change colour as usual (i.e. changing colour on the last yarn over on the last stitch of the round) but there are a few techniques to give you neater amigurumi stripes.
When changing colour we chose to end the round with an invisible join in the next stitch. Then join the next yarn with a (ss, ch1, dc) in any stitch and work the following stripe rounds as joined rounds (ending with a ss).
When using the invisible join make sure that you are keeping the stitch count correct – one technique is to really tighten the invisible join so that you can just skip over it. If you are choosing to do this method, when you come to round 15 return to using the amigurumi spiral method so that your decreases look neat.
You can also use invisible decreases instead of dc2tog to get a neater result. If you want to ensure your stripes are super neat, you can find some handy tips and tricks here.
Free bee crochet pattern
Body
Using yellow, make a crochet magic loop
Round 1 6dc into loop [6dc]
Round 2 2dc in each st around [12dc]
Round 3 (Dc in next st, 2dc in next st) rep 6 times [18dc]
Round 4 (Dc in next 2 sts, 2dc in next st) rep 6 times [24dc]
Rounds 5-7 Dc in each st around
Insert eyes in round 3 – approx. 8 sts apart
Change to black
Rounds 8-9 Dc in each st around
Change to yellow
Rounds 10-11 Dc in each st around
Change to black
Rounds 12-13 Dc in each st around
Change to yellow
Rounds 14-16 Dc in each st around
Round 17 (Dc in next 2 sts, dc2tog) rep 6 times [18dc]
Firmly stuff now
Round 18 (Dc in next st, dc2tog) rep 6 times [12dc]
Round 19 dc2tog 6 times.
Fasten off. Poke in a bit more stuffing with the end of your hook to fill out the bees back end. Weave tail through each of the remaining 6 stitches and pull tight to close hole.
Matt's Bee Facts
I love watching bee's exploring my garden, and if you'd like to encourage more bee's into your garden, I'd highly recommend growing one plant in particular - comfrey! Bees love it and it attracts many different species, plus you can use the leaves to make your own comfrey tea plant food too! Also, don't forget that the vast majority of bee species in the UK are solitary bees, with many living underground or in crevices - so make sure to leave a few 'natural' areas in your garden.
Wings (make 2)
Make a crochet magic loop
Round 1 6dc into loop, ss into first dc to join [6dc]
Round 2 Ch1, dc in next 2sts, turn
Round 3 Ch1, dc2tog
Fasten off, weave in magic loop tail but leave end tail for assembly
Assembly
Pin and sew wings in place on the middle yellow stripe at the top of the bees body. You can use a strand of the black yarn to sew on a small mouth, but we think it looks super-cute without!
Fancy some more bee-utiful craft projects? Then why not try our free Bee cross stitch pattern or our DIY honey bee banner, or go for some real fancy stitching with our free bee embroidery patterns.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this free bee crochet pattern, why not make your bee some amigurumi friends by checking out the Top 40 amigurumi crochet patterns. Don’t forget if you need any help with your crochet stitches you can always check out our crochet for beginners guide. And if you’re looking to treat yourself, check out our list of the best crochet hooks and the best crochet kits for beginners.
