A cute little shaped bumblebee ideal for novice knitters and suitable for the beeline map.
MATERIALS:
Pair of size 10 (3.25mm) knitting needles
Small quantities of black, yellow and white wool
Wool needle
Small quantity of toy stuffing
Small crochet hook
ABBREVIATIONS:
KFB: Knit into the front and back of stitch
K2 tog: Knit two stitches together
The bee is knitted from its head.
BEE
Using Black, cast on 3 stitches
Row 1: Knit into front and back (KFB) of each stitch (6 stitches)
Row 2: Purl
Row 3: Knit into front and back of each stitch (12 stitches)
Row 4: Purl
Row 5: Knit
Row 6: Change to Yellow. Purl
Row 7: Knit
Row 8: Change to Black. Purl
Row 9: (K1, K2 tog) twice, (K2tog, K1) twice (8 stitches)
Row 10: Purl
Row 11: KFB across the row (16 stitches)
Rows 12 – 16: Repeat rows 4-8
Row 17: K1 (K1, K2 tog) twice, K2 (K2 tog, K1) twice, K1 (12 stitches)
Row 18: Purl 2 tog across row (6 stitches)
Row 19: Change to White. Knit
Cut white yarn to about 8 inches. Thread needle with yarn and pass through the remaining stitches on the needle. Pass needle through first stitch again and secure. Pull tightly and secure. Trim end.
Cut the yellow yarn and pull tight, tying off ends. Cut ends short and tuck inside the bee along with the white yarn ends when sewing up.
Cut black yarn leaving a long enough length (12 in) to sew up the bee. Sew up until you reach the second yellow stripe. Stuff bee and complete sewing the head ending with a double stitch but do not cut the yarn. Pass the needle down to the bottom of the bee. Pull slightly to shorten the bee and tie off and secure.
WINGS (Make 2)
Cast on 20 stitches in white.
Cut yarn long enough to draw through remaining stitches and sew wing to bee. Thread yarn needle and draw the cut yarn through the remaining stitches on the needle. Pull tight and stitch to bee just behind the first stripe from the head.