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Yarn punk Vincent Green-Hithe shares a free amigurumi pattern from his new book Knot Bad Amigurumi

Amigurumi crochet is the cutest craft around! A type of Japanese crochet used to make dolls you can use it to transform animals and everyday items into cute characters like amigurumi bees.

Amigurumi is the favourite craft of Yarn Punk Vincent Green-Hite, an American amigurumi artist based in the Pacific North-West who uses social media to share his passion for this special form of crochet. His debut book Knot Bad Amigurumi: Learn Crochet Stitches and Techniques to Create Cute Creatures with 25 Easy Patterns features some great projects to get you started with amigurumi if you would like to try this fun, trending craft.

The amigurumi projects in Knot Bad Amigurumi are inspired by Vincent's hometown and his amigurumi bumble bee celebrates the local forests near him. The chapter also has amigurumi projects like a cute acorn and mushroom. Here Vincent shares his amigurumi bee project from his book for Prima readers.

If you're new to crochet or would like a recap on how to do crochet stitches see our guide to crochet for beginners which features step-by-step tutorials.

In this project, you’ll learn how to use the front loops techniques to create a body that doesn’t require sewing.

about 6.75" high × 6" wide (17 × 15 cm) using worsted weight yarn and a 4 mm hook; may vary slightly due to tension

Worsted eight / #4 (medium) yarn in:

• Yellow (45 yards [41 m]) (approx 1 ball)

• White (12 yards [11 m]) (approx 1/4 ball)

• Black (25 yards [23 m]) (approx 1/2 a ball)

• Pink (15 inches [38 cm]) (small piece for the face embroidery)

( ): Stitch count at the end of the

Begin in yellow; you’ll start from the head and work downward.

Rnd 15: *Sc 5, Inv dec* around. (36)

Rnd 16: *Sc 4, Inv dec* around. (30)

Rnd 17: *Sc 3, Inv dec* around. (24)

Rnd 18: In FLO, *Inc* around. (48)

At this stage, your sts will start to protrude out more.

Flip your work so the right side is facing outward. Insert your safety eyes into

Rnd 12 with 9 sts in between. Begin stuffing the head of your bee with fiberfill.

Rnd 24: *Sc 6, Inv dec* around. (42)

Rnd 25: *Sc 5, Inv dec* around. (36)

Rnd 26: *Sc 4, Inv dec* around. (30)

Begin stuffing the body firmly with fiberfill and continue doing so as you work downward.

Rnd 27: *Sc 3, Inv dec* around. (24)

Rnd 29: *Sc 2, Inv dec* around. (18)

Rnd 31: *Sc, Inv dec* around. (12)

Finish off. Weave the tail in and knot off.

Flip your work so the right side is facing outward.

Rnd 7: *Sc, Inv dec* around. (12)

Finish off. Leave the tail for sewing on both wings. These pieces will not be stuffed.

Row 1: Starting in the second ch from the hook, Sc. Sc across. (2)

Ch 1. Sc into the side of your work in all 26 sts except the last one. This is the corner st. Sc 2 into the corner. (40)

Sc across until the next corner st; Sc 2 into the corner. (41) Sc across on the bottom side until the final st.

Sl st into the final corner st. (42)

Finish off. Leave the tail for sewing.

Flip your work so the right side is facing outward. Beginning stuffing firmly with fiberfill.

Finish off. Leave the tail for sewing

1. Wrap the black waistband around the body. This should cover Rnds 22–24. Rnds 19–21 should still be visible.

2. With a darning needle, sew both ends of the belt together. Once sewn, insert into the body for extra security and pull out through the black stinger to knot off.

3. With the three rnds still visible, sew the wings into Rnds 20 and 21 with a darning needle

4. Attach the antennae to the head above the eyes. Sew into Rnds 6 and 7 on both sides.

5. Embroider the face with lashes, blush, and smile using black and pink yarn. Insert the center smile stitch into Rnd 13, and both ends into Rnd 12, making the smile 7 sts wide.

This free crochet pattern is taken from Knot Bad Amigurumi: Learn Crochet Stitches and Techniques to Create Cute Creatures with 25 Easy Patterns by Vincent Green-Hite. Published November 8, 2022 (Quarry/Quarto Books)

If you enjoyed this project why not check out our recommendations for other great crochet books to buy.