How to Crochet a Bee and Read Patterns

I first started to crochet about 4 years ago and I remember how confusing it was to try to understand what a pattern was saying. Crochet is an amazing art, but the wide variety of stitches can be daunting at first. Throughout this instructible I am going to be running through the basic stitches and then walking you through the pattern provided which will allow you to make a bee.

Now in this pattern we are going to be making a bee and as such we are going to be doing what is called amigurumi. This refers to crocheting things like animals and 3 dimensional shapes, as opposed to a blanket which lies flat. Now this type of crocheting is thought to be challenging but I find it more worthwhile than making a blanket and much more rewarding. (It is also faster than making a blanket so if you’re like me and have a short attention span, then this is perfect for you.) Don’t be scared of it, I believe in you.

Another thing with making amigurumi is that you must stuff it with something. I tend to use polyfill because it’s cheap and I can get it at most stores. If you don’t have any on hand, feel free to get creative. Using something other than stuffing can sometimes affect the shape of the amigurumi at the end of the project but it shouldn’t impact this too much. The first time I made an amigurumi I didn’t have any and ended up using a mixture of cotton balls, tissues, and toilet paper. For the first time making something, anything will work to stuff it.

For this pattern I am using Bernat Blanket yarn and an 8mm hook, but you can use whatever is handy. The 8mm hook is a standard crochet hook that is 8mm in diameter around the hook. I tend to prefer this hook or a 7mm when I am using larger weight yarn in the pattern. If you are using thinner yarn, I’d recommend going down to a 3mm or a 4 mm. I tend to like using thicker blanket yarn because of how soft it is. For the yarn colors I will be using black, white, and yellow. Whatever type of yarn you use, just make sure they are the same thickness.

I first started to crochet about 4 years ago and I remember how confusing it was to try to understand what a pattern was saying. Crochet is an amazing art, but the wide variety of stitches can be daunting at first. Throughout this instructible I am going to be running through the basic stitches and then walking you through the pattern provided which will allow you to make a bee.

1. Yarn Over
2. In short, this means exactly what is says. You are moving the yarn over the hook. In this scenario, you have a hook with a loop on it, and now you are going to move the yarn over the hook so that you have an additional loop laying across your hook.
3. Single Crochet
4. In most patterns this stitch is abbreviated as SC. This type of stitch is the most basic and fundamental in the world of crochet. In this stitch, the hook is inserted under an existing stitch, grabs the yarn string, and pulls it through. Once you’ve pulled the hook through, you will grab the yarn again and pull it through both loops.
5. Half Double Crochet
6. This stitch is abbreviated as HDC. Start by yarn over, and then insert the hook in the stitch you want to make the HDC. Pull the yarn through the stitch. You should have 3 loops on your hook. Yarn over and pull through all 3 loops.
7. Double Crochet
8. This stitch is abbreviated at DC. Start by yarn over, and insert the hook into the stitch where you want to put a DC. Yarn over and pull through, you should have 3 loops on your hook. Now yarn over and pull through the first two loops, you should have 2 loops remaining on your hook. Yarn over and pull through the remaining 2 loops, you should now have 1 loop left.
9. Triple Crochet or Treble Crochet
10. This stitch is abbreviated as TC, it is referred to as either a triple crochet, or a treble crochet. Yarn over twice and insert the hook where you would like the stitch to go. Yarn over and pull through, you should have 4 loops on your hook. Yarn over and pull through the first two loops on the hook, you should have 3 loops remaining. Yarn over again and pull through the first 2 loops. Now yarn over again and pull through the final 2 loops, leaving you with one loop.

1. Magic Ring or Magic Circle
2. This particular aspect is in my opinion the hardest part about crocheting. Like so many other things in life, the hardest part is the beginning, so don’t get discouraged if it takes you a few tries. This is how I do my magic ring. Start with your palm facing up, now lay the yarn across your palm and finger so that the end of the yarn is laying by the bottom left of your hand, and the skein is to the upper right. Now loop the part of the yarn connected to the skein under your hand so that it is now under your hand coming out the bottom right. Now move the yarn connected to the skein across your palm so that is laid off the upper left of your hand, this should be above the end piece.
3. Now using my thumb to hold the end piece of yarn in place, I turn my hand so that my palm is facing downward. You should have two parallel lines of yarn running on the back of your hand. Take your hook and insert it under the first line and grab the second line, pulling it back under the first. Make sure your thumb is holding the yarn on the palm side of your hand in place. Now that the second line is pulled under and in front of the first line, use your hook to grab the tailings of the second line and pull it through the loop you created by moving the second line.
4. Now pull your hook under the circle you have created and yarn over. Pull the hook out from under the circle with the yarn in the hook. You should have two loops on your hook, yarn over and pull through the two loops.

R1: 6SC in MR

1. The R1 means either row 1 or round 1 depending on the project. In this case, we are making an amigurumi and working in a circle so the R will refer to round. So, the pattern will now be telling you what to do in round 1.

1. The 6SC in MR means that you will be creating a magic ring and stitching 6 single crochet stitches into the circle. You’ll notice how when you made a magic ring you have a circle and then a long tail, you want to be placing your hook through the middle of the circle and having the tail on top of your hook, then yarning over and pulling through like a typical single crochet. Since the pattern calls out 6 single crochets, you will be doing a single crochet through the middle 6 times. You should now have a ring with 6 single crochets along the rim with the tail trailing out one end of the stitches. Use one hand to hold the stitches in place and the other to pull the tail so that you can see how the ring contracts. The stitches should be closely wound together now.

Like before the R2 is indicating round 2. So, in round 2 you will be doing 6 increases. In order to do an increase, you have to place 2 single crochets in the same stitch. So, in each stitch, you will be placing two single crochets.

The (12) refers to the number of stitches you should have after the end of row 2.

The R3 will be indicating that this is round 3. The 1 SC, 1INC is the primary pattern you will be repeating for this row. You will be doing 1 single crochet in the first stitch, and then performing an increase in the next stitch. So, you will be doing 1 single crochet in the first stitch and then place two single crochets in the next stitch.

For R4-R6 you will be doing nearly the exact same thing, the only difference being how many single crochets you do before increasing.

For R7 and R8 we are going to be doing 36 SC around the circle.

Like before R9 will be indicating you are working in round 9. You are going to start this round by doing 34 single crochets across the round. Now in the next two stitches we are going to be performing a color change, this is how we are going to create the stripes of the bee.

BLO stands for back loop only, meaning when you loop at a stitch you will see what looks like two lines, these two lines make up the stitch. The stitch closer to the middle of the circle is the back loop, while the one on the outside of the circle is the front loop. To do a color we are going to insert the hook into the back loop of the stitch and instead of doing a yarn over with the same color we are going to use the new color. Pull the new color through the stitch so that you have two different color loops on the hook. Now yarn over with the new color and pull through. Perform a normal single crochet in the next stitch.

After you've done the last Single Crochet in your new color, cut the stand of the old color that connects your project to your skein. Then tie the end of the old color to the end of the new color.

We will do this same process every time we need to do a color switch.

For Rounds 10 - 11, do 36 Single Crochet around.

You are going to start this round by doing 34 single crochets across the round. Now in the next two stitches we are going to be performing a color change, this is how we are going to create the stripes of the bee.

BLO stands for back loop only, meaning when you loop at a stitch you will see what looks like two lines, these two lines make up the stitch. The stitch closer to the middle of the circle is the back loop, while the one on the outside of the circle is the front loop. To do a color we are going to insert the hook into the back loop of the stitch and instead of doing a yarn over with the same color we are going to use the new color. Pull the new color through the stitch so that you have two different color loops on the hook. Now yarn over with the new color and pull through. Perform a normal single crochet in the next stitch.

After you've done the last Single Crochet in your new color, cut the stand of the old color that connects your project to your skein. Then tie the end of the old color to the end of the new color.

We will do this same process every time we need to do a color switch.

For Rounds 13 - 14, do 36 Single Crochet around.

You are going to start this round by doing 34 single crochets across the round. Now in the next two stitches we are going to be performing a color change, this is how we are going to create the stripes of the bee.

BLO stands for back loop only, meaning when you loop at a stitch you will see what looks like two lines, these two lines make up the stitch. The stitch closer to the middle of the circle is the back loop, while the one on the outside of the circle is the front loop. To do a color we are going to insert the hook into the back loop of the stitch and instead of doing a yarn over with the same color we are going to use the new color. Pull the new color through the stitch so that you have two different color loops on the hook. Now yarn over with the new color and pull through. Perform a normal single crochet in the next stitch.

After you've done the last Single Crochet in your new color, cut the stand of the old color that connects your project to your skein. Then tie the end of the old color to the end of the new color.

We will do this same process every time we need to do a color switch.

For Rounds 16 - 17, do 36 Single Crochet around.

You are going to start this round by doing 34 single crochets across the round. Now in the next two stitches we are going to be performing a color change, this is how we are going to create the stripes of the bee.

BLO stands for back loop only, meaning when you loop at a stitch you will see what looks like two lines, these two lines make up the stitch. The stitch closer to the middle of the circle is the back loop, while the one on the outside of the circle is the front loop. To do a color we are going to insert the hook into the back loop of the stitch and instead of doing a yarn over with the same color we are going to use the new color. Pull the new color through the stitch so that you have two different color loops on the hook. Now yarn over with the new color and pull through. Perform a normal single crochet in the next stitch.

After you've done the last Single Crochet in your new color, cut the stand of the old color that connects your project to your skein. Then tie the end of the old color to the end of the new color.

Do 36 SC for R 19- R20

R24 will refer to round 24. To start off we will be doing 4 single crochets across the round. To perform the decrease, we are going to work only in the front loops of the stitches. This is the loop that is on the outside of the circle. You are going to hook the front loops of the next two stitches at the same time. So, you should have two loops on your hook. Now yarn over and pull through the two loops.

You will repeat this pattern all around the circle

Doing a decrease in this way lets you do a more gradual close to the project and makes it more rounded.

To start off we will be doing 3 single crochets across the round. To perform the decrease, we are going to work only in the front loops of the stitches. This is the loop that is on the outside of the circle. You are going to hook the front loops of the next two stitches at the same time. So, you should have two loops on your hook. Now yarn over and pull through the two loops.

You will repeat this pattern all around the circle

Doing a decrease in this way lets you do a more gradual close to the project and makes it more rounded.

After this round begin stuffing the bee with polyfill or whatever stuffing you are using.

To start off we will be doing 2 single crochets across the round. To perform the decrease, we are going to work only in the front loops of the stitches. This is the loop that is on the outside of the circle. You are going to hook the front loops of the next two stitches at the same time. So, you should have two loops on your hook. Now yarn over and pull through the two loops.

You will repeat this pattern all around the circle

To start off we will be doing 1 single crochets across the round. To perform the decrease, we are going to work only in the front loops of the stitches. This is the loop that is on the outside of the circle. You are going to hook the front loops of the next two stitches at the same time. So, you should have two loops on your hook. Now yarn over and pull through the two loops.

You will repeat this pattern all around the circle

To perform the decrease, we are going to work only in the front loops of the stitches. This is the loop that is on the outside of the circle. You are going to hook the front loops of the next two stitches at the same time. So, you should have two loops on your hook. Now yarn over and pull through the two loops.

You will repeat this pattern all around the circle

When you fasten off at the end of a project you are trying to get a long tail of yarn that is attached to the project so that you can stitch it close. The way I do this is use my hook to pull the loop attached to it so that it becomes a long oval loop. Then I cut the yarn that is attached to the skein and pull the hook so that the loop pulls itself free and becomes a long tail.

Now insert one end of this tail into a tapestry needle. Looking at your project you should see 6 stitches aligned in a circle. Insert the needle under the next stitch as you would a hook. Now instead of yarning over, pull the needle all the way through so that the tail goes taut. Repeat this for each of the stitches in the circle, pulling the string tightly so that it closes fully. Once the stitches have been drawn closed, insert the needle through the middle of the circle and push out anywhere on the body. Draw the needle out until the string is taut and you can see the body deforming where the needle went in. Cut off the string where it is protruding from wherever the needle came out.

R1: 4SC in a MR

R2: (1 SC, 1 INC) x 2 (6)

R3: (2SC, 1INC) x 2 (8)

R4: (3SC, 1INC) x 2 (10)

R5:10 SC

Fasten off

Notice we are not closing this stinger, we are leaving it open to stitch onto the body.

R1: 5SC in a MR

R2: 5 INC (10)

R3: (1SC, 1INC) x 5 (15)

Fasten Off

Stitch the wings onto the back of the wing, and the stinger on to one end. I also use an embroidery needle to stitch a smile onto the front of the bee.