Crochet Queen Bee Project

This crochet queen bee is a project I would recommend for beginner crocheters and amigurumi-makers. For me, this project was a commission for my friend’s son, Vincent – and I will say, the result is an adorable cuddly bee. There are of course a plethora of amigurumi bee free crochet patterns out there, but if you are looking for a beginner-friendly project, I highly recommend using this pattern from Sarah Zimmerman’s crochet pattern book, Crochet Cute Critters.

In this blog post, I share the materials I used to crochet this little bee (not necessarily what the pattern suggests), along with some top tips to help you out along the way if you do decide to use Sarah Zimmerman’s Quinn the Queen Bee pattern. I hope it helps you crochet an adorable Queen Bee! Let’s get started.

Details for crocheters

Keep reading to find out everything you need to know to make this adorable queen bee for yourself.

What you need:

• Pattern: Crochet Cute Critters: 26 Easy Amigurumi Patterns by Sarah Zimmerman. The pattern from the book is Quinn the queen bee on pages 88 to 90. Click here to purchase your copy.
• Yarn: I used Rainbow 8\8 100% Cotton from Hobbii in 01 White, 54 Yellow, 09 Black, and 37 Purple. Click here to check it out.
• Hook: I used a 4mm crochet hook, like this one here.
• Stuffing: I have a sustainable bag of poly-fill that I used for stuffing this gorgeous critter. It’s called Recycled Polyester Craft Filling and I bought it from Amazon here.
• Tapestry Needle: I used a slightly thicker tapestry needle for all of my sewing, exactly like the middle-sized one in this pack on Amazon here.
• 1 Stitch Marker: I only ever needed one stitch marker while making Quinn. I used one I bought from KraftiaraMarkers on Etsy here. They have a gorgeous collection.
• Safety Eyes: I have my go-to pack of safety eyes that I purchased from Amazon here, however you do only need two eyes. 
• Red thread for embroidery: For Quinn’s mouth, I used a red thread like Sarah Zimmerman does in her pattern. It’s a lot thinner than the yarn used for crocheting. I’ve found something similar to the one I used on Amazon here.

Crochet tips and tricks

This was such a straight-forward Queen Bee crochet pattern to follow, but I do have a couple of tips to help. I did also try one thing out that you may also want to do, which I will explain below.

Keep counting your stitches when making this Queen Bee’s body

Obviously it’s always important to count your stitches, but I did find it a little more challenging when it came to Quinn’s body due to the number of stitches. If you need to, use more than one stitch marker here to help you keep track and keep count. Just don’t forget which stitch marker is which. I’d recommend using different stitch markers (colours, types etc), and making a note of which one you’re using for your beginning stitch and which one has been placed half way through your row. It will make counting easier, will keep you on track with the pattern, and will create a smoother crocheting experience for you overall.

Want a squishy bee? Don’t overstuff.

This is something that has taken me a little while to get the hang of. How much stuffing should you use? When I first started crocheting, I did look this up and was greeted with many internet answers saying “stuff it way more than you think you should”, which I often did. However, sometimes my amigurumi would turn out quite stiff rather than being a squishy, soft toy like I wanted them to be. Although, you always do need more stuffing than you think, if you squeeze your amigurumi part as you stuff while keeping the stuffing from escaping from the body part, it will help give you an idea of how squishy or hard the amigurumi is going to be once it’s sewn together. You want it to look ‘full’ and complete without any of your crocheting buckling, but you don’t want it to be stuffed so much that your soft toy is so rock solid you can’t cuddle it.

Time yourself

Why have I added this here? With Quinn, I did a little experiment. I’ve never known how long it actually takes me to make an amigurumi. Since Quinn was quite a simple pattern, I decided to set a timer every time I picked up my craft so I could learn how long it takes me. The trick here is to not think too much about the fact that you are timing yourself, and just crochet at your natural pace. This includes stitching, and stuffing time too. For me, it took me roughly 670 minutes, a little over 11 hours, to crochet Quinn the Queen Bee. Why did I do it? The honest reason is, I was curious about selling amigurumi to the public by potentially opening an Etsy store. I wanted to work out how much each amigurumi should be sold for considering the amount of time that goes into making them. Then you’ve got material costs to consider as well. I’m still unsure of whether I’ll go down this route, but for now, it’s just an experiment that I’m going to keep going with for my next few makes so I can get an average time. What I’ve discovered so far though is that I think many amigurumi makers are under-pricing themselves, and this is something that really interests me. I know we crochet for fun and relaxation, but I am curious about how many crocheters make money from selling handmade amigurumi when their prices are so low in comparison to the time that goes into making them. Also, from the buyers perspective, is this not sending a message to buyers that crocheted amigurumi aren’t worth a lot? Just a thought. I’d love to know what you think if you have any thoughts on this! Let me know in the comments below.

Final thoughts

Overall, I’m delighted with how Quinn the Queen Bee turned out, and I love that she’s a squishy big bee. She’s great!

I hope this information has helped you on your crocheting journey. If you have any questions, need any help, or have any comments or feedback to add, I’d love to hear from you. Feel free to comment below, or get in touch with me here.

Until next time, happy crocheting,

Cilla x