Mini Bee Keychain
"This small mini bee keychain comes in many varieties so you can choose your favorite or make them all! It can be anything from the simple black and yellow amigurumi bee to the Halloween bees I now I have! These bees are made from Size 1 yarn and #10 Crochet Thread. Plus, you'll need a 2.75 mm hook and some stuffing, since it is an amigurumi project. With very minimal sewing, you'll be surprised how quickly you can make these bees! If you would like to gift them or need craft fair supplies, this quick and easy project is perfect!"
Crochet HookC/2 or 2.75 mm hook
Yarn Weight(1) Super Fine (27-32 stitches to 4 inches)
Crochet GaugeSize/Gauge: About 2 inches wide (from the head of the bee to the end) and almost 2 inches long (from the top of the wings to the bottom of the bee, excluding the keychain)
Finished Size2 inches wide and 2 inches long
Body of the Bee
Round 1: In yellow yarn, make a MR, and work 6 sc into the circle. Remember to attach a stitch marker on the last stitch of each round (6)
Round 2: Inc x 6 (12)
Round 3: (Sc, inc) x 6 (18)
Round 4: (Sc, sc, inc) x 6 (24)
Round 5-6: Sc in each st around, FO, and weave in yellow tail (24)
**If you want to use safety eyes, put them in between Rounds 3 and 4. Change to Black #10 Crochet Thread (cut two lengths of 84-96 inch thread, create a slip knot and join)**
Round 7-8: Sc in each st around. FO and weave in tail (24)
**Change to Yellow #1 Crochet Yarn**
Round 9-10: Sc in each st around, FO, and weave in yellow tail (24)
**Change to Black #10 Crochet Thread (cut two lengths of 84-96 inch thread, create a slip knot and join)**
Round 11-12: Sc in each st around. FO and weave in black tail (24)
**Change to Yellow #1 Crochet Yarn**
Round 13-14: Sc in each st around (24)
Round 15: (Sc, sc, dec) x 6 (18)
**Start Stuffing bee, and then stuff more in each round**
Round 16: (Sc, dec) x 6 (12)
Round 17: Dec x 6 (6)
Fasten off, leaving a tail to weave the remaining hole close. Make sure your bee is fully stuffed before closing.
Bee Wings (Make 2)
Round 1: In White #1 Yarn, make a MR, and work 6 sc (6). Place your stitch marker on the last stitch. DO NOT tighten your magic circle all the way, leave it slightly open. Also, don’t weave in your magic ring tail after this point.
Round 2: 2 sc in each st, FO. Leave a medium length tail (12)
Assembly: Attaching Wings
1.) Your wing will have two strings, tie these two together. Insert both the tails into the eye of your tapestry needle
2.) Place your wing in between the two black stripes of your bee (you should be working in the yellow part in the middle).
3.) Pick a yellow stripe stitch and pull your needle and tails through the stitch. Take one of the tails out of your tapestry needle
4.) Weave one of these tails back and forth along the wing to secure it to the bee body. You can use the other tail to fully secure the wing
5.) After you secure the wing, weave in the remaining tail so the wing can’t be pulled out. Cut off excess
6.) With the other wing, make sure there’s about 2-3 columns of stitches in between each wing. Attach the wing to the body of the bee as you did before. Refer to the instructions above if you get stuck.
Assembly: Embroidering eyes, attaching keychain
Using 25-35 inches of one piece of crochet thread and a tapestry needle, embroider your eyes if you didn’t use safety eyes. The color thread you use will depend on the bee you want (refer to the above pictures and instructions). You can use the same thread color you used for the stripes to embroider the eyes, or you can use a different thread if you’d like.
With each eye, I worked 5 rounds of simple embroidering over 2 rounds of the bee body. I had about 3 stitches in between each eye. With the excess remaining tail, work the tail to the first stripe of the bee and into the last ring of the keychain. Pull the thread through the second stripe before coming back to where you started. Continue to work the thread this way until the bee is secured to the keychain. Weave in the remaining tail.