Free Pattern: Burt the Baby Honey Bee

Hey, all! Valentine’s Day is coming up and I’ve decided to give my baby bee pattern a makeover and write it up for FREE here on my blog!

I think these little bees look perfect paired with a bee pun Valentine’s Day card, so I’ve gone ahead and made up three different cards that you can download and print out below. Using yarn, tie your bee to the front of the card and give your Valentine something extra special this year! 

Download the FREE Valentines Day Printables HERE. Print them out on a regular sized sheet of paper and they’ll be the perfect size for your honey bee.

You could also modify these bees to be ladybugs or butterflies! Use your imagination!

Dimensions: 3 in. (7.5 cm.)

Difficulty: Easy! This pattern is perfect for beginners.

Materials:

– Size E (3.50mm) crochet hook (I use Susan Bates HERE)

– Worsted weight (4 ply) yarn in yellow, black, and white (for the yellow I used Loops & Threads Impeccable yarn in the color Butterscotch that can be found HERE. For the black and white I used Hobby Lobby’s brand, “I Love This Yarn”.)

– 7.5mm safety eyes (I buy mine online HERE or HERE)

– Polyfil (or your stuffing or choice)

– Tapestry/yarn needle

– Small amount of black embroidery floss (for mouth)

– Stitch marker (I highly recommend these HERE)

The Pattern

Head (Using yellow yarn)

R1: Ch 2, 6 sc in 2nd ch from hook (you can use the magic circle if you prefer as it won’t make a difference in the end.)

R2: *Inc 1* rep 6 times (12 sts)

R3: *Sc 1, inc 1* rep 6 times (18 sts)

R4: *Sc 2, inc 1* rep 6 times (24 sts)

R5: *Sc 3, inc 1* rep 6 times (30 sts)

R6-11:  Sc all 30 sts (30 sts – 6 rounds total)

R12: *Sc 3, dec 1* rep 6 times (24 sts)

Insert eyes between R10 & 11, 7 sts apart. (Hint: insert the 1st eye. Count 7 sts from the hole where you inserted the 1st eye and insert the 2nd eye.) Embroider small smile right between the eyes, about 2 sts wide.

R13: *Sc 2, dec 1* rep 6 times (18 sts)

R14: *Sc 1, dec 1* rep 6 times (12 sts)

Stop and begin stuffing

R15: *Dec 1* rep 6 times (6 sts)

Finish off. Finish stuffing head firmly and use tail to sew up hole, then weave in your end.

Antennae (Using black yarn)

Join your black yarn to the side of the head on R6, then ch 5  to create the first antenna. Finish off. Repeat on the other side of the head for 2^nd antenna. With the tail left from finishing off, tie a knot right up against the finishing chain. This will make it extra secure and keep it from unraveling. Weave the starting tail into the head.

Body (Start in black yarn)

R1: Ch 2, 5 sc in 2^nd ch from hook

R2: *Inc 1* rep 5 times (10 sts)

Change to yellow yarn (For help changing colors, check out this helpful video HERE.) 

R3: *Sc 1, inc 1* rep 5 times (15 sts)

R4: Sc in all 15 sts (15 sts)

Change to black yarn

R5-6: Sc in all 15 sts (15 sts – 2 rounds total)

Change to yellow yarn

R7: Sc in all 15 sts (15 sts)

R8: *Sc 3, dec 1* rep 3 times (12 sts)

Finish off leaving long tail for sewing. Stuff firmly and sew it to the head using the long tail we made and your tapestry needle.

Arms (Make 2 using black yarn)

Start with a long tail for sewing later

Ch 3, starting in 2^nd ch from hook, sl st 1, sl st in last ch

Finish off leaving long tail for sewing.

Sew the arms onto either side of the body, right up against the neck (that would be R7 of the body).

When there’s more than one yarn tail on any given piece, usually when working in rows, I like to weave both ends into the body or head. That way there aren’t any ends popping out or fraying like they do when you just cut them.

Wings (Make 2 using white yarn)

R1: Ch 2, 5 sc in 2^nd ch from hook

R2: *Inc 1* rep 5 times (10 sts)

R3: *Sc 4, inc 1* rep 2 times (12 sts)

Finish off leaving long tail for sewing. For finishing off on parts like this that need to be perfectly round, I like to use the “seamless join” for a cleaner finish. Check out this video HERE to see how to finish off neatly.

Tack the wings to the middle of the back of the body using straight pins so that the sides of the wings are touching each other. Sew in place making sure that the body doesn’t peek through the middle of the wings. To achieve this you may want to have the second wing overlapping over the first one just slightly.

Almost done!

Now we’re just going to add a little bit of blush to our bee’s cheeks to make him look extra cute! For my bee, I actually used real blush! You could also use a Waldorf rouge crayon especially designed for doll cheeks or a red or pink Sharpie.

You can find the blush that I used HERE. I find it’s just the right shade for ami cheeks. Not too obnoxious, but not too subtle either.

Not too much, just a dab.

One cheek . . .

Two cheek . . .

All done!

And you’re done! I hope you had fun making him! Please share pictures of your project with me through Instagram, Facebook, or email (storylandamis@gmail.com). I love seeing what you create!

This pattern is an original design by Storyland Amis. This written pattern is for personal use only. Please do NOT sell or redistribute this pattern in part or in whole. If you wish to share this pattern you may link to this post, but please do not claim it as your own. 

You MAY sell the finished product, but please credit Storyland Amis as the designer. If you sell your finished items online I would appreciate it if you’d link back to my blog! You may not mass-produce items made from this pattern. Thank you for your understanding and respect.

~Holly :)

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