These adorable little fuzzy, white-tailed bumble bees cause such a buzz around the office of Tudor Rose Patchwork that I just had to have a go.
Alison Cremona of Felt and Dandy was the tutor for the day and she guided us through the process of creating our own unique bumble bees. We followed a guide that showed us the specific stripes of each bee, and taking big tufts of felt we began stabbing away. I had to be careful and keep my fingers far away from the special barbed felting needle, but when your stabbing away at a tiny little felt bee it’s inevitable that you stab yourself…. OUCH!
After a little while of stabbing away, my bumble bee started to take shape and shortly after it was time to trim around it and add the legs and wings. After the bees all had their legs and wings it was time to do some reverse felting. This involved a different needle that brought the felt back out of the shape you had just so well stabbed together, however by bringing the felt out it created the cute fuzzy appeal that made these bees so adorable in the first place. Once all 3 bumble bees were finished we got the frame and words and started to assemble our entomological display.
Alison brought along lots of little accessories that could be added if we wished. Some of the class decided to leave their bees simple; I however wanted to add some sparkles so I chose a crown and some flowers to add.
These adorable little fuzzy, white tailed bumble bees now take pride of place in my craft room.
There’s another Bumble Bee Family felting day coming up in September, although if bees aren’t your thing, Felt and Dandy will also be here running other felting workshops throughout the year, click here to see them all.