FREE PATTERN: Bumble Bee Rattle

This chubby little bumble bee is is crocheted around a rattle made of a plastic egg from a Kinder Surprise chocolate egg filled with small glass beads. But you can always use fiberfill to stuff the body.

Crocheted bee rattle

Size

About 5,5 cm (2 1/5") long, with fingering weight cotton yarn and a 1,75 mm crochet hook.

Tip! You can use the same pattern to make larger or smaller toys by using finer or bulkier yarn. Pick a crochet hook at least a size smaller than suggested on yarn label and crochet tightly enough to achieve a tight gauge that will not allow the stuffing to show through the fabric.

Skills required

• Crocheting in spiral
• Crocheting in rounds (optional, see below)
• Magic ring
• Single crochet stitch (double crochet stitch in UK and Australia)
• Increasing
• Decreasing
• Finishing an open piece
• Finishing a closed piece
• Sewing an open piece to a closed piece
• Sewing a flat piece to a closed piece

You will need

• Yarn. I used Madame Tricote Paris 'Camilla', a fingering weight cotton yarn, 50g =125m (50g =135yd) / 4 ply / 14 wpi / 1: super fine. You will need about 10 g of yellow, 5 g of black and 7 g of white yarn.
• 1,75 - 2,25 mm crochet hook or according to the yarn.
• Plastic egg from a Kinder Surprise chocolate egg and glass beads, rice etc to make a rattle.
• Or polyester fiberfill, wool etc. for stuffing, if you do not plan to make a rattle.
• Small piece of batting / wadding.
• Cotton embroidery floss.
• Yarn needle, scissors, stitch marker.

Abbreviations

• mr, sc n = magic ring – crochet n single crochet stitches into the adjustable loop.
• sc = single crochet stitch (double crochet stitch in UK and Australia).
• sc n = crochet n single crochet stitches, one in each stitch.
• inc = increase – crochet two single crochet stitches in the same stitch.
• dec = decrease – crochet two stitches together using the invisible decrease method.
• (sc 4, inc) x n = repeat the pattern between parentheses n times.
• [36] = number of stitches in a round after finishing round.

Notes

• All stitches are worked into both loops, unless instructed otherwise in the pattern.
• Use a stitch marker or a piece of yarn to mark the end or the beginning of a round. Move the marker up after completing each round.

• If you are using a Kinder Surprise egg for the rattle, crochet the body in spiral - joining rounds would leave a row of knots, which would show through the fabric.
• If you plan to stuff the body with fiberfill, join all rounds using the invisible join method to get perfect stripes.

Head & Body

With yellow yarn:

1: mr, sc 6 = [6]
2: inc x 6 = [12]
3: (sc 1, inc) x 6 = [18]
4: (inc, sc 2) x 6 = [24]
5: (sc 5, inc) x 4 = [28]
6-8: sc in each stitch = [28]

Insert the rattle inside the body and make sure it is a snug fit. You may need to increase or decrease the number of increases on round 5. Make the same number of decreases on round 17.

Add a thin piece of batting/wadding inside the body and embroider the face (Tutorial: Embroidering a smile). Knot the yarn ends together inside the body.

Change yarn, leaving both yarns attached to the body, this way you can just pick up the "new" yarn whenever you need to change colors. Crochet rounds 9, 12, 15 and 18 with black yarn.

9-16: sc in each stitch = [28]

Insert the plastic egg inside the body and make sure it fits perfectly. You may need to add or skip a row single crochet stitches.

17: (sc 5, dec) x 4 = [24]

Make the last stripe on round 18, cut the yarn and knot the yarns together.

18: (dec, sc 2) x 6 = [18]
19: (sc 1, dec) x 6 = [12]
20: dec x 6 = [6]

Cut the yarn, leaving a long tail, and fasten off. Pick up all the remaining stitches and close the opening.

Wings (make 2)

1: mr, sc 6 = [6]
2: inc x 6 = [12]
3: (sc 1, inc) x 6 = [18]
4-7: sc in each stitch = [18]
8: (sc 1, dec) x 6 = [12]
9: (sc 1, dec) x 4 = [8]

Cut the yarn, leaving a long yarn tail for sewing, and fasten off. Do not stuff the wings. Flatten the wings and sew them to the body.

Antennae (make 2)

1: mr, sc 6 = [6]
2: (inc, sc 1) x 3 = [9]
3: sc in each stitch = [9]
4: (sc 1, dec) x 3 = [6]

Stuff the tips of the antennae firmly with batting. Do not stuff the stems.

5: dec, sc 4 = [5]
6-8: sc in each stitch = [5]

Cut the yarn, leaving a long yarn tail for sewing, and fasten off. Sew the antennae to the head.

Fasten and hide all yarn tails. And done!

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact me or leave a comment below, I am always happy to help.

I would love to see how your little bees turn out, so do post a photo to my Facebook page or tag me in your social media posts, I'm @kristitullus on Instagram and Facebook.

Please do not post this pattern to your website or blog, instead post a link to https://kristitullus.com/blogs/blog/free-pattern-bumble-bee-rattle. You MAY use this pattern as a teaching aid in any free class or e-course, or as part of a free crochet pattern, provided you credit me as the designer (Kristi Tullus, http://kristitullus.com).

Feel free to sell items made with this pattern.

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