This is another ideal beginner’s project – a variation on the Roly-poly Robin, with the option of turning it into a dangle or a clip.
10g yellow merino roving
2 × size 40 triangular needles, for shaping
1–2 × size 42 triangular needles, for surface finishing
Small amount of brown merino roving
Scraps of white or cream flat felt
Gold, brown or yellow thread (optional)
Awl or similar pointy tool
10cm length of 1mm gauge gold or brass wire
2 × 4–5mm black seed beads
Thin-nosed pliers
Wire clippers
4cm crocodile clip or invisible thread (optional)
Finished size: 6cm long
1 Make a fat teardrop shape from yellow roving using steps 1 to 3 of the Roly-poly Robin pattern.
2 Add the brown stripes by wrapping thin strands of wool around the body and fixing them down neatly with one size 40 or 42 needle.
3 Cut two small oval wings from the flat felt measuring roughly 3.5cm long by 2.5cm wide. Add some decorative stitching if you like: I’ve edged these wings with blanket stitch.
4 Drill holes in the back of the bee with the awl or similar tool and poke the pointed bottoms of the wings into them. Secure them with a few invisible stitches inside the felt, bringing the thread up into the body and through each wing, and then taking the thread out at the bottom of the body.
5 For the bee’s eyes, bend the wire into a shallow curve and then insert it through the front of the head. Add a seed bead to each end and use pliers to bend a little loop so that they won’t fall off, or slide down the wire. Snip off any excess wire. To finish, you can use invisible thread to make a flying dangle or add a clip so the bee becomes a cute decoration (see here).