Project introduction
This is a pattern overview, not a full tutorial. The Bumble Bee gnome is a cheerful amigurumi project: a striped, hat topped friend for a shelf, a gift, or a spring display. The free written pattern comes from the designer behind Passionate Crafter. For the complete instructions, visit the Original designer’s pattern and instructions page. Related reading: Crochet Bee Gnome Ornament: Pattern Overview and Crochet Soccer Gnome: Pattern Overview.
Bumble bee gnome crochet pattern free
This Bumble Bee gnome is the newest addition to a gnome collection that also includes honey bee gnomes. The designer keeps a beehive at home and made these gnomes as a handmade gift idea for a beekeeper spouse, so they suit anyone who loves bees and gardens.
Why you will love the Bumble bee gnome?
The pattern uses easy stitches such as single crochet and double crochet, so it feels relaxing rather than fussy. Every piece is simple to recolor, and it works as a scrap yarn buster for leftover worsted skeins.
How to crochet a gnome?
A crochet gnome is a small stuffed toy that uses the same basic stitch as other amigurumi: the single crochet. That simple foundation is why many crocheters pick a gnome as their first three dimensional project.
Simple steps to crochet a Bumble bee gnome
First, crochet the body from the base upward, continuing through the long striped hat. Next, make the hands, nose, and beard. Then join everything in an assembly step, and finish by sewing on the flowers and mini bees.
Crochet gnome along (CAL)
CAL stands for crochet along, a shared project where people around the world work on the same pattern at the same time. It is a friendly way to meet fellow crocheters, swap tips, and ask for help. The designer hosts an ongoing gnome along with a new free gnome pattern each month, plus surprise bonus patterns in some months.
Can a beginner crochet the Bumble bee gnome?
Yes. The designs are created with newer toy makers in mind. If this will be your very first toy, the source suggests starting with the January snowflake gnome, whose body and hat are worked separately. Members of the designer’s Facebook group have recolored that snowflake pattern into a Bumble Bee gnome simply by changing yarn colors.
Tips for beginners
Use worsted weight yarn, preferably acrylic, with a suitable hook, since thicker yarn is easier to see and handle. Keep stitch markers handy, because amigurumi is worked in continuous rounds without joining. Read each instruction carefully, and use safety pins to secure the hands, nose, and add-ons so you can check placement before sewing.
Print this pattern for later
The written pattern is free to follow on the designer’s page, and an ad-free, print-friendly PDF is available as a paid download. That printable version gathers the instructions and photo tutorials without ads, which many crocheters like for working away from a screen.
How to crochet a Bumble bee gnome step by step
The full step by step pattern lives with the designer. You can get the ad-free PDF as a paid download, save the pattern to your Ravelry queue, or pin it to a Pinterest board for later.
Bumble bee gnome pattern overview
The Bumble Bee gnome is crocheted in one piece, from the base up to the tip of the hat, in continuous rounds that are never joined, so mark your first stitch as you go. A cardboard base is optional, but the designer did not use one here. The instructions cover the striped bee with a flower on top of the hat, plus a table with rounds and colors for a second gnome version.
How to customize your Bumble bee gnome?
Change the yarn colors to invent your own bee, such as a black body with a striped hat, or sew on extra flowers and more mini bees. You can also make a she gnome with braids or curls: the designer’s Butterfly gnome shows curls, while the Valentine’s day gnome offers braids.
Materials you’ll need
The yarn called for is Yarn Bee Soft and Sleek, a 100 percent acrylic worsted weight in solid colors. You also need a 3.5 mm crochet hook (US size E), poly fiberfill for stuffing, and a tapestry needle.
- Yarn Bee Soft and Sleek 100% acrylic worsted weight (5.0 oz / 142 g, 232 yds / 213 m per skein)
- Yellow: 30 to 40 grams
- White: 10 grams
- Black: 20 grams
- Mustard: 15 grams (optional)
- A small amount of beige for the nose
- 3.5 mm / US size E crochet hook
- Poly fiberfill stuffing
- Tapestry needle
Stitch abbreviation
The pattern uses US crochet terms, and the finished gnome measures 22 cm or 8.5 inches tall. Keep this abbreviation key handy:
| Abbreviation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| SC | single crochet |
| DC | double crochet |
| SS | slip stitch |
| CH | chain |
| Rep | repeat |
| Inc | increase |
| Dec | decrease |
| MR | magic ring |
| HDC | half double crochet |
| ** | repeat the stitches in the ** the indicated times |
| FO | fasten off |
| BLO | back loop only |
Bumble bee gnome’s body
The body begins with black yarn worked from a magic ring, increasing outward to build a wide base. One round is worked in the back loop only for a clean edge, then the sides grow upward with alternating mustard and black stripes. After the stripes, the color changes to yellow, and a second back loop round marks where the hat brim will be joined.
Steady decrease rounds then taper the long yellow section from the neck through the tall hat to a slim tip, all as one continuous piece with no seam. The pattern includes a color variation chart for a second gnome, listing which rounds are yellow and which are black, so you can make a companion with a different stripe layout.
Bumble gnome’s hat brim
The hat brim is worked in yellow yarn. Join into any stitch of round 26, pull up a loop, and work single crochet rounds with increases that flare the brim outward, framing the face in the gnome’s classic silhouette.
The edging on the bottom of the gnome (optional)
The optional bottom edging is worked in yellow and black. Join into the front loop of round 8, then repeat a chain one, slip stitch in next pattern all the way around for a neat scalloped frame.
Bumble Bee Gnome’s nose
The nose is crocheted in beige yarn from a magic ring. Increase rounds widen it, even rounds build its roundness, and a decrease round shapes it. It is sewn onto the center of the beard during assembly.
Bumble Bee gnome’s hands
Each hand begins in black or beige yarn with a magic ring and a few rounds of single crochet. Partway through, the color changes to mustard or yellow, and the hand continues in even rounds until it is fastened off. Make two.
Bumble Bee Gnome’s Beard
The beard is worked in white yarn from a magic ring, with increase rounds widening it outward, even rounds for fullness, and a decrease round near the end to shape it. It sits below the hat brim as the gnome’s fluffy face.
Small flower applique
The small flower starts with a yellow center from a magic ring and single crochet, joined with a slip stitch. In white, a petal round of double crochet and chain loops makes six petals before the flower is fastened off and sewn onto the hat.
Daisy flower applique
The daisy has the same yellow center. White yarn then forms nine longer petals using chain loops filled with half double crochet and single crochet, each anchored into the center round with a slip stitch.
Mini bumble bee applique
The mini bee applique is a flat piece worked in yellow from a starting chain. Stitches are worked along both sides of the chain, with half double crochet shaping the rounded end, then it is fastened off before the wings are added.
Mini Bumble bee applique’s Wings
The wings are worked in white directly into the bee’s body. Insert the hook into the fourth stitch, and two chain loops anchored with slip stitches form a pair of small, delicate wings.
Mini Bumble Bee
The pattern also includes a three dimensional mini bumble bee: a tiny amigurumi started with yellow yarn from a magic ring, with a rounded body of alternating yellow and black stripes, closed at the end and ready to hang from the hat tip.
Bumble bee wings
A separate pair of wings is worked in white from a chain start, forming two connected wing shapes with double crochet and chain loops. Sew them onto the mini bee, then stitch the eyes with black yarn on a needle.
How to assembly the Bumble Bee gnome
Pin every piece first so you can audition the placement before sewing. Sew the beard onto the body just below the hat brim, then stitch the nose onto the center of the beard. Place the hands on either side, leaving three to four stitches between each hand and the beard. Sew the flower appliques onto the hat or hat tip, and hang a mini bumble bee from the top, or sew a bee applique onto the daisy and attach it to the hat end.
Invitation to our Facebook group
Share your finished gnome with the community: the designer welcomes projects on the Facebook page, in the Facebook group, and on Instagram with the hashtag #passionatecrafterr. Following on Pinterest and Instagram keeps you in touch with new patterns.
