Free crochet bumblebee pattern

I’m ever so excited to present to you this little gift pattern. Just look at these crochet bumblebee species!

Last week I had a Spring holiday and suddenly got the idea of making a free crochet bumblebee pattern. The first bumblebee turned out so lovely that I decided to make more kinds of bumblebees. And when they where finished, I wanted to create a classic-looking image with the bees on a white background and their species name written next to them. In short, I had a lot of fun with my sweet little pattern and hope you will too! Bumblebees and insects are so important but their numbers are declining dramatically. Make these bees to show the world we must not forget about them! 🐝

Crochet bumblebees

Before you start

This pattern is written in standard American crochet terms. It’s useful to read it before you start. If you use the recommended yarn, your bumblebees will be 3 inch / 5 cm long. Because the size of the bee is dependent on the yarn you use and how tight you crochet, it’s useful to experiment with the eye size, despite my recommendations. I would strongly recommend a fuzzy yarn for the bumblebees. The yarn I’ve used is Istex Lètt lopi, a 100% wool. Use a stitch marker to mark the beginning of a round, move it up each time you start a new round. The colour changes are written after the description of the round, so read the whole line before you start. Always change colour in the last loop of a stitch, so the loop on the hook you end with is the new colour. That means the next stitch is in the new colour, not the one you changed in. At Son’s Popkes is a tips & tricks category. Here you can find useful info regarding my patterns.

Materials

For these bumblebees you’ll need worsted weight yarn and an E US/3.5 mm crochet hook. You’ll also need some lace weight yarn (Lopi Einband) for the wings: beige heather (0886). You need four colours of worsted weight yarn (left-over bits are enough): sheep or mixed black (0052 or 0005), yellow (1703), orange (1704) and light grey (0054). For the eyes I’ve used 7 mm animal eyes. You will also need fibrefill to stuff the bees.

Accessories

Hook E US / 3.5 mm, scissors, embroidery needle, stitch markers or paper clips.

Abbreviations: ch = chain, sc = single crochet, st = stitch, sl st = slip stitch, hdc = half double crochet stitch, dc = double crochet stitch, s2tog = invisible decrease.

 

White-tailed bumblebee (bombus terrestris)

Body

Start in black, change colour when indicated. To get neater colour changes, you aren’t working in a spiral but closing each round with a sl st. At the end of each round, sl st in the first sc of the next round, then ch 1 and sc in that same stitch. This is the 1^st stitch of the next round. At the end of each round you will skip over the sl st and ch and crochet a sl st, ch, sc in the following stitch. Don’t cut the yarn  between the colour changes but carry it along.

1. magic ring of 4 = 4

2. (sc in next, 2 sc in next) x 2 = 6

Mark the stitches of round 3 in which you’ll make the 2nd and the 6th stitch with a coloured strand. (Insert the strand into the gap of the stitch you normally put your hook in.) When the strand is placed, just do the stitch like you always do. You’ve now marked where you later attach the eyes.

3. (sc in next 2, 2 sc in next) x 2 = 8, change colour to yellow in last st, sl st in 1st

4. ch 1, sc in same, [2 sc in next, (sc in next, 2 sc in next) x 3] in BLO = 12, change colour to black in last, sl st in 1st 

5. ch 1, sc in same, [sc in next 11] in BLO = 12, sl st in 1st

Attach the eyes permanently in the marked spots. It helps turning the piece inside-out when you attach the caps. After I attached the eyes, I inserted a little bit of stuffing between them, as shown in the images below. 

6. ch 1, sc in same, sc in next 11 = 12, change colour to yellow in last st, sl st in 1st 

7. ch 1, sc in same, [sc in next 11] in BLO = 12, change colour to black in last and cut yellow, sl st in 1st 

8. ch 1, sc in same, [sc in next 11] in BLO = 12, change colour to light grey in last and cut black, sl st in 1st 

9. ch 1, sc in same,  [sc in next 11] in BLO = 12, sl in 1st

10. ch 1, sc in same, s2tog, (sc in next, s2tog) x 3 = 8, sl st in 1st

Stuff the bumblebee.

11. ch 1, sc in same, sc in next, s2tog, sc in next 2, s2tog = 6, sl st in 1st

Add a little bit of stuffing if needed and then sew the hole closed by putting the needle from the inside out through all the outside loops of the 6 st, clockwise. If you do it correctly, you can now pull the end and it will close the gap. Make sure your bombus has a nice oval bottom.

 

Red-tailed bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius)

1-3. Follow the instructions for the white-tailed bee but skip the sl st and ch 1 and don’t change colour to yellow in round 3.

4. In BLO: (sc in next, 2 sc in next) x 4 = 12

5. sc in each around = 12

Attach the eyes in the marked spots.

6-7. sc in each around = 12

8. sc in each around = 12, change colour to orange in last and cut black, sl st in 1st

9. ch 1, sc in same, sc in next 11  = 12, sl st in 1st

10-11. follow the instructions for the white-tailed bumblebee.

 

Tree bumblebee (Bombus hypnorum)

1-3. Follow the instructions from the white-tailed bumblebee, change colour to orange instead of yellow.

4. ch 1, sc in same, [2 sc in next, (sc in next, 2 sc in next) x 3] in BLO = 12, sl st in 1st

5. ch 1, sc in same, sc in next 11 = 12, change colour to black in last st and cut orange, sl st in 1st

Attach the eyes in the marked spots.

6. ch 1, sc in same, [sc in next 11] in BLO = 12, sl st in 1st

7. ch 1, sc in same, sc in next 11 = 12, sl st in 1st

8. ch 1, sc in same, sc in next 11 = 12, change colour to light grey in last and cut black, sl st in 1st

9. ch 1, sc in same, [sc in next 11]  = 12, sl st in 1st

10-11. follow the instructions for the white-tailed bumblebee. 

Early bumblebee (Bombus pratorum)

To make this bee, follow the instructions for the white-tailed, but make the bottom in orange instead of light grey. That’s all.

Wings

Make two for each bumblebee, use the thinner yarn with the same hook. If you use Lopi yarn but don’t have the Einband weight, split a lopi strand in half. Make the starting chain as long as the end, so you can use both ends together to attach the wings.

1. ch of 6, in 3rd ch from hook dc, dc in same, hdc in next, sc in next, sl st in next and leave yarn ends for sewing.

Use both yarn ends to sew the wings to the body. Sew them on top of the third round behind the head, as shown in the images. The head ends at the first round you do in BLO.

 

Wow, how cute is this? Have fun with your bumblebee collection. You now have the ability to make even more kinds! 

Copyright © 2019 by Sonja van der Wijk.