Bumblebee

complicatedknots
This pattern is © 2020 Kylie Slee (complicatedknots).
For personal use only. You may not copy, alter, or sell this pattern in any way.
You may sell finished items made with this pattern provided you credit complicatedknots as the designer. No wholesale.
Need any help? Contact me on Instagram @complicatedknots
Info
Finished size: ~18cm
Difficulty Level

Supplies
o Hook size: 3.25mm
o Sewing/darning needle
o Sewing pins
o Scissors
o Yarn
o Polyester stuffing
o 21mm black safety eyes
o ~0.5mm craft wire (68cm) Stitch glossary
ch “Chain” - yarn over, pull through only loop.
Notes:
sc “Single crochet” - Insert hook, yarn over,
o Please read the notes
pull up loop, yarn over, pull through both
before each part carefully, loops on hook.
as construction techniques “Increase” - Complete two single crochets
2sc in 1
vary. into the same stitch, one after the other.
o Demonstration photos are Dec “Decrease over two stitches”- Insert hook
right-handed into stitch, yarn over, pull up loop. Insert
hook into next stitch, yarn over, pull up
o Finished size may vary
loop. Yarn over a third time, and pull
depending on your yarn – through all three loops on hook.
my bee was made in 8ply, “Back post single crochet” – work a single
BPsc
with 4ply for the wings. crochet around the post (not through the
o I used a hook size down loops) from the INSIDE of the piece.
from what's recommended
to get a nice tight gage.
This provides a strong Pattern notation
structure to the pieces and x[…] Repeat the instructions between
you won't see the stuffing. square brackets ‘x’ number of times
o Where things might get a (…) The total number of stitches in the
bit tricky and bump this round.
pattern from a medium to a
high difficulty, I have left
notes for easier alternatives. My yarn choices
The alternatives will change The body and legs of the bee is all in 8ply acrylic -
the final appearance a little nothing special, you can find it any discount craft
store. Try to pick a bright, sunshine yellow, a nice bright
bit, but I hate the idea of
orange, and I prefer to use dark grey instead of black.
someone not being able to
Black is harder to work with, and you won't be able to
finish their bee because the
see as much detail on your finished piece.
legs are too difficult
The wings I did swap to a 4ply cotton - specifically
Milford regency 4 ply 100% cotton in white.

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This little critter is going to feel like we are building him backwards. We
pretty much are. Starting with the abdomen (the stripy bit) gives you
something a bit more solid to hold onto while working on the thorax (the
fluffy bit).

We are going to work in stripes for the first part. That means at the end of each round,
slip stitch to the first stitch in the round, Chain 1, then start the next round.
Easy alternative: Or you can work in a continuous round, you will just end up with a slight
zig zag of colours tucked underneath. I personally like it for this particular pattern.

Making the body & head

1. Stripy Abdomen 2. “Fluffy” Thorax (Part 1)
Start with dark grey: From here we'll be working in just the dark grey, so
Row 1: Magic ring with 6 sc (6) you can swap to working in spirals (no slipstitch at
Row 2: 3[sc, 2sc in 1] (9) the end of each round, just continue stitching) if
Row 3: 9[2sc in 1] (18) you are more comfortable.
Row 4: 18sc (18)
Row 5: 6[2sc, 2sc in 1] (24) Working in grey, in the BACKLOOPS ONLY.
Row 6: 24sc (24)
“Back loops” = work the stitch in the loop
Row 7: ORANGE: 6[3sc,2sc in1] (30)
on the INSIDE of the piece.
Row 8: YELLOW: 30sc (30)
Row 9: YELLOW: 30sc (30)
Row 10: GREY: 6[4sc, 2sc in 1] (36) Row 26: 24sc (24)
Row 11: GREY: 36sc (36) Row 27: 24sc (24)
Row 12: GREY: 6[5sc, 2sc in 1] (42) Row 28: 24sc (24)
Row 13: GREY: 42sc (42) Row 29: 24sc (24)
Row 14: ORANGE: 42sc (42) Row 30: 24sc (24)
Row 15: YELLOW: 42sc (42) Row 31: 24sc (24)
Row 16: YELLOW: 42sc (42) Row 32: 24sc (24)
Row 17: YELLOW: 42sc (42) Row 33: 24sc (24)
Row 18: GREY: 42sc (42) Row 34: 24sc (24)
Row 19: GREY: 6[5sc, Dec] (36) Row 35: 24sc (24)
Row 20: ORANGE: 36sc (36)
Row 21: YELLOW: 6[4sc, Dec] (30)
Row 22: YELLOW: 30sc (30)
Row 23: YELLOW: 30sc (30)
Row 24: YELLOW: 6[3sc, Dec] (24)
Row 25: GREY: 24sc (24)
Continue into the thorax.

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3. Head
Continue working in the dark grey.
Row 36: 6sc, 3sc in 1, 8sc, 3sc in 1, 6sc, 2[2sc in 1] (30)
Row 37: 4[sc, 2sc in 1], 10sc, 2sc in 1, 4[sc, 2sc in 1], 3[2sc in 1] (42)
Row 38: 42sc (42)
Row 39: 5sc, 10[Back post sc], 4sc, 10[Back post sc], 13sc (42)

“Back post” = Work the stitch around the post from the inside of the piece.

Row 40: 8[2sc, dec], 10sc (34)

Row 41: 2sc, 4[dec], 4sc, 4[dec], 2sc, dec, 6sc, dec (24)

Stuff firmly up to the base of the head.

Row 42: 24sc (24)

Row 43: 6[2sc, Dec] (18)
Row 44: 6[sc, Dec] (12)

Attach the eyes. The bottom edge of them should align with the lowest back-
post sc from Row 39, and there should be 1 row of visible stitches between the
edge of the eye and the line of back post sc.
Stuff the head.

Row 45: 6[Dec] (6)

Finish off. Weave the tail through each of the final 6 loops, and pull
tight to close the gap. Tuck any remaining tail inside the head.

4. “Fluffy” Thorax (Part 2)

Join your yellow yarn to the first available back-loop with a slipstitch.

Row 1-8: Following the back loops around,12[CH10, skip next

back-loop, slipstitch in next back loop], CH10 then slipstitch in the
next stitch without skipping one.
This makes the bobbles alternate instead of line up.

Repeat that row 7 times for a total of 8 rounds of bobbles.

Row 9: In the final row of back loops, [CH5, skip next back-loop,
slipstitch in next back loop]. This gives a smaller ruff around the
neck.

Finish off the yellow, and hide the ends.

Final row of
back loops

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 Making the legs & antenna
5. All the legs
For any of the legs - There are a lot of stitches going into a tight space. If
you run into trouble, swap to a smaller hook.

Easier alternative: If your yarn still won't let you do what the instructions say, you can
substitute back-loop sc for back-post sc, you just won't get quite the same level of
definition in the segments.

FRONT LEGS (MAKE 2)

Row 1: Magic ring with 6sc (6)
Row 2-6: 6sc (6) for 5 rows.
Row 7: 3[sc, 2sc in 1] (9)
Row 8: 9 Back-post sc (9)
Row 9-13: 9sc (9) for 5 rows.
Finish off with a tail for sewing.

MIDDLE LEGS (MAKE 2)

Row 1: Magic ring with 6sc (6)
Row 2-6: 6sc (6) for 5 rows.
Row 7: 3[sc, 2sc in 1] (9)
Row 8 (In the back loops) 9sc (9)
Row 9-13: 9sc (9) for 5 rows.
Finish off with a tail for sewing.

BACK LEGS (MAKE 2)

Row 1: Magic ring with 6sc (6)
Row 2-5: 6sc (6) for 4 rows.
Row 6: 3[sc, 2sc in 1] (9)
Row 7: 4 back-post sc, 5sc (9)
Row 8-11: 9sc (9) for 4 rows.
Row 12: 3[2sc, 2sc in 1] (12)
Row 13: 12 back-post sc (12)
Row 14 (In the back loops): 12sc (12) for 5 rows.
Finish off with a tail for sewing.

6. Antenna (make 2)
These stitches need to be worked tightly. I do not have wire for support in them, the stitches
maintain their position. However, you can use the same wire as for the wings if you want more
security.
Leaving a tail 15cm long, pull up your starting loop/slipknot. Yarn over with the tail, pull a loop of
your main yarn through both loops on hook. Pull on the line of stitches itself to pull each stitch
tight. Continue this for a total of 12 stitches. Pull both the yarn and the tail through the loop to
finish off.

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Making the wings
6. Create the wire frames

1 2 3 4

7. Crochet the wings

1. Slipstitch around the twisted wire where it bends to attach.

2. Sc around the wire, which takes 43sc stitches if you are using the same cotton as
me. Do not worry too much if your number comes out a little bit different, just be
sure you have enough stitches so that they stretch along the whole loop, and there
isn't any loose bunching.
3. When you get back to the start, ss around the stem again. Put a single crochet
through the loops of the first sc you did, and the last one you did. This consolidates
the shoulder joint.
4. Depending on the curve of your wing loop, you may need a different number of
stitches per chain than mine from this point onwards.
5. Create a tight chain from "Start" to "A"
6. Slipstitch along the border crochet for 4 stitches until you reach "B"
7. Do a tight chain of 5-6 stitches, and slip stitch over the middle chain ("C"). You will
be able to slide this up and down a little bit for positioning.
8. Do a tight chain of 5-6 stitches, and slip stitch into the stitch that's roughly even with
B, but on the other side ("D").
9. If your chain is loose, gently grab the slipstitch at point c, and slide it down the
middle chain towards the narrowest point of the wing.

Repeat these steps for the rest of

the letters. You will have to
eyeball the spacing, but a little
bit personality/difference is to be
expected here.

When you arrive back at the

shoulder join, slipstitch through
that original shoulder sc, and
finish off.

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Assembly Instructions
All language for assembly is referring to the head as the front, and the stripy bit as the
back. Definitely leave the wings until last - if you attach them earlier, you risk bending
them out of shape!

1. Lay out your pieces in front of you, and make sure they are all there. You will need
pins, your sewing/yarn needle, and I like to use the same colour yarn as the pieces I
am attaching for the sewing.

Middle legs Antenna

Front legs

Body
Back legs

Wings

2. When attaching the legs, the fluffiness of the section is both a blessing and a curse.
The fluffiness will hide any mistakes you make, but it can make it difficult to sew on.
The front legs are attached between the first two layers of chain loops, so there is one
layer of the smaller chain loops in front of it.

3. The middle legs are attached one row in from the back row of loops. They are
probably the hardest to attach. There should be one layer of loops behind them.

Front legs Middle legs Back legs

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4. The back legs are attached on an angle behind the last layer of loops, very close to
the middle legs. They should be attached no further back than the first two yellow rows
of the stripy bit - all six legs are supposed to be joined to the fluffy middle section.

5. The antenna should be centred in between the eyes both

vertically and horizontally. A couple of stitches at the base
should do it, and then tuck any loose ends back into the
head.

6. Finally, we attach the wings.

Identify the front 3 layers of chain loops in the abdomen, and gently move them so you
can see the darker yarn base. To position, imagine if there was a line from the inside
edge of the eye down the back of the bee. Each wing should roughly align with that.

Using the extra leg of wire (and this is going to feel violent) push that into the body
base of the bee until the wing is sitting just on top of the chain loops (so NOT as far in
as you could push it).
We then use a little bit of
the white cotton we used
for the wings, and stitch in
a holding stitch midway
Secret fastening
down the wing. This just
stitches go here
helps the wings stay where
you want them.

Weave in all your ends, and the only thing left to do is to take a photo and send it to
me so I can see how far around the world this beehive goes!
If you need help with anything, please reach out to me on Etsy or
Instagram (@complicatedknots)

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