Butterfly & Bee Baby Rattle – Free Crochet Pattern

This crochet butterfly or bee baby rattle makes the cutest gift for a newborn or a baby shower!

By simply playing around with the colors, you can make the same crochet pattern into a colorful butterfly for a baby girl, or a buzzing bee for a baby boy or a gender-neutral gift.

If you take a close look at the picture, you’ll see that my bee is a bit smaller than the butterfly, and that’s because I used Sport weight yarn for the bee and DK yarn for the butterfly.

While both yarns work perfectly, I think that the Sport weight gives the best size for a baby rattle. The DK yarn will still make a super cute toy but maybe it’s best for 6-month-olds and older.

As a final note before moving on to the pattern, since this is a stuffed toy for a baby, it’s always recommended to use 100% cotton yarn.

I did use acrylic for my bee rattle but cotton would definitely be better!

Find more Amigurumi patterns here on the blog…

• Bee Amigurumi
• Unicorn Baby Lovey
• Weather Baby Cube

Add this pattern to your Ravelry queue HERE and favorite it (– thank you!). Or save it for later by pinning it to your favorite crochet board on Pinterest using this pin!

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2024 Softie Crochet Along

The pattern of the butterfly baby rattle is featured in the 2024 Softie CAL hosted by CAL Central.

How the 2024 Softie CAL Works

Every Monday from March 18 to June 24, 2024, you’ll find a new free crochet pattern for a softie. You can make these softies to keep, for gifts, or to donate to charity while chatting with other crocheters in our groups and sharing your projects to win giveaway prizes!

For all the info about giveaway prizes, check Marie’s blog HERE.

How To Join the 2023 Softie CAL

• Sign up for Crochet Along updates and the Underground Crafter newsletter to get regular updates, including an email as each CAL pattern is released.
• You can join in by crocheting the patterns as you have time.
• Share your progress and post pictures of your finished projects. Tag your projects and posts #CALCentralCrochet on all social media. 
• If you’d like to chat with other crocheters, join the CAL Central Facebook group or visit this thread in the CAL Central Ravelry group.
• By the end of the CAL, you’ll have up to 15 awesome softies to cuddle with!

Visit Underground Crafter to learn more about the prizes, enter the end-of-CAL giveaway, and get links to each Softie CAL post as it is released.

PRINTABLE CROCHET PATTERN

The printable pattern of the butterfly & bee baby rattles is available in all my online shops. Get your copy on Ravelry HERE, Lovecrafts HERE, or Etsy HERE.

Materials

• Sport (2, Fine) and 2.5 mm (12 UK) Crochet Hook or DK (3, Light) Yarn and 3.0 mm (11 UK) Crochet Hook
• Tapestry Needle
• Cotton Stuffing for Amigurumi
• Black Embroidery Floss
• Rattle Ball, diameter ~ 24 mm

Yarn

For the butterfly baby rattle, I used Hobbii Rainbow Cotton 8/6 (50 g, 115 yds / 105 m) in the following colors:

• A – Antique Rose (061)
• B & F – Light Coral (050)
• C – Pastel Mint (025)
• D – Baby Purple (067)
• E – Pastel Purple (041)

For the bee baby rattle, I used Durable Comfy (291 yds / 266 m per 100 g) in the following colors:

• A & C – Sunflower (2178)
• B – Black (325)
• D & E – Ivory (326)
• F – Light Pink (203)

Size & Gauge

The gauge and size of the two rattles are as follows:

• With Sport yarn: 8 rounds in sc in 2″ (5 cm)
• With DK yarn: 7 rounds in sc in 2″ (5 cm)

Yarn	Hook	Rattle Size
Sport (2, Fine)	2.5 mm (12 UK)	4.7” (12 cm) by 4” (10 cm)*
DK (3, Light)	3.0 mm (11 UK)	6” (15 cm) by 5” (12.5 cm)*

Abbreviations (US Terms)

• Ch – Chain
• Dc – Double Crochet
• Inc – Increase
• Inv Dec – Invisible Decrease
• MC – Magic Circle
• Popcorn – Popcorn Stitch
• RS – Right Side
• Sc – Single Crochet
• Sl St – Slip Stitch
• St – Stitch
• Yo – Yarn Over

Special Stitches

Increase (Inc)
One increase consists of 2 sts worked in the same indicated st.

Invisible Decrease (Inv Dec) See the tutorial HERE.

Magic Circle (MC) See the tutorial HERE.

Popcorn Stitch (Popcorn) See the tutorial HERE.

Pattern Notes

• If the pattern says “sc 2”, you need to sc 1 in each of the next 2 sts.
• (…) – Repeat the instructions within parenthesis for the indicated number of times.
• *… – Repeat the instructions from * for the indicated number of times.
• […] – Crochet the instructions within brackets all in the same indicated stitch.
• Crochet in the round in a continuous spiral.

Butterfly or Bee Baby Rattle – Free Crochet Pattern

Head

With A, make a MC.

Round 1. Sc 6 in MC. (6 sts)

Round 2. Sc inc 6. (12 sts)

Round 3. (Sc inc 1, sc 1) 6 times. (18 sts)

Round 4. Sc 1, (sc inc 1, sc 2) 5 times, sc inc 1, sc 1. (24 sts)

Round 5. (Sc inc 1, sc 3) 6 times. (30 sts)

Round 6. Sc 2, (sc inc 1, sc 4) 5 times, sc inc 1, sc 2. (36 sts)

Round 7. (Sc inc 1, sc 5) 6 times. (42 sts)

Round 8. Sc 3, (sc inc 1, sc 6) 5 times, sc inc 1, sc 3. (48 sts)

Round 9. (Sc inc 1, sc 7) 6 times. (54 sts)

Round 10. Sc 4, (sc inc 1, sc 8) 5 times, sc inc 1, sc 4. (60 sts)

Round 11. (Sc inc 1, sc 9) 6 times. (66 sts)

Round 12. Sc 5, (sc inc 1, sc 10) 5 times, sc inc 1, sc 5. (72 sts)

Rounds 13-25 (13 rounds). Sc around. (72 sts)

Switch to B.

Round 26. Sc around. (72 sts)

Do not fasten off but move on to the handle.

Handle

Continue with B.

Round 27. Sc 10. Sk 52, sc 10. (20 sts)

See photos 1 and 2 for how to sk 52 sts and continue to crochet the handle.

Rounds 28-29 (2 rounds). Sc around. (20 sts)

Switch to C for the butterfly or A for the bee.

Rounds 30-33 (4 rounds). Sc around. (20 sts)

Switch back to B.

Note

You do not need to cut the yarn at each color change. Instead, carry the non-working yarn inside the first st of each round!

Rounds 34-37 (4 rounds). Sc around. (20 sts)

Switch to C for the butterfly or A for the bee.

Rounds 38-81 (44 rounds). Sc all around switching colors every 4 rounds. (20 sts)

Switch back to B.

Rounds 82-84 (3 rounds). Sc around. (20 sts)

Fasten off leaving a long tail for sewing (photo 3).

Assembly

With a length of B, use the whip stitch to sew the bottom of the head (part of the skipped 52 sts on round 27) starting from the sts closer to the handle and moving on to the other side until you have 20 sts left in total (photo 4).

While sewing, stuff your Amigurumi and insert the rattle ball in the center. Stuff the handle too. Use a pencil or hook to push the stuffing through the entire length of the handle.

Now, fold the handle and bring its open end near the 20-stitch opening at the bottom of your Amigurumi (photo 5).

Using the long tail of yarn B attached to the last round of the handle, sew the handle to the open sts of the head (photo 6).

Weave in all your ends.

Large Wing

(Make 2)

With D, ch 4.

Round 1 (RS). [Sc 3] in second ch from hook, sc 1, [sc 3] in last ch. Working on the other side of initial ch, sc 1. (8 sts)

Round 2. (Sc inc 3, sc 1) twice. (14 sts)

Round 3. *(Sc inc 1, sc 1) 3 times, sc 1. Repeat from * twice. (20 sts)

Round 4. *(Sc 2, sc inc 1) 3 times, sc 1. Repeat from * twice. (26 sts)

Round 5. Sc 3, sc inc 1, sc 4, sc inc 1, sc 7, (sc inc 1, sc 4) twice. (30 sts)

Rounds 6-9 (4 rounds). Sc around. (30 sts)

Round 10. (Inv dec 1, sc 3) 6 times. (24 sts)

Round 11. Sc around. (24 sts)

Round 12. Sc 1, (inv dec 1, sc 2) 5 times, inv dec 1, sc 1. (18 sts)

Rounds 13-14 (2 rounds). Sc around. (18 sts)

Fasten off leaving a long tail for sewing.

Small Wing

(Make 2)

With E, ch 4.

Round 1 (RS). [Sc 3] in second ch from hook, sc 1, [sc 3] in last ch. Working on the other side of initial ch, sc 1. (8 sts)

Round 2. (Sc inc 3, sc 1) twice. (14 sts)

Round 3. *(Sc inc 1, sc 1) 3 times, sc 1. Repeat from * twice. (20 sts)

Round 4. Sc 2, (sc inc 1, sc 4) 3 times, sc inc 1, sc 2. (24 sts)

Rounds 5-7 (3 rounds). Sc around. (24 sts)

Round 8. Sc 1, (inv dec 1, sc 2) 5 times, inv dec 1, sc 1. (18 sts)

Round 9. Sc around. (18 sts)

Round 10. (Inv dec 1, sc 1) 6 times. (12 sts)

Rounds 11. Sc around. (12 sts)

Fasten off leaving a long tail for sewing.

Antlers

(Make 2)

With C for the butterfly or B for the bee, ch 8.

Row 1 (RS). Popcorn 1 in the third ch from hook, ch 1, sl st in each remaining ch. (6 sts, 1 ch)

Fasten off leaving a long tail for sewing.

Cheeks

(Make 2)

With B for the butterfly or F for the bee, make a MC.

Round 1. Sc 6 in MC. (6 sts)

Fasten off leaving a long tail for sewing.

Finishing

RS facing (the RS is the one where the color changes of the handle are not visible), sew the cheeks at half the height of the head leaving enough space between the cheeks to embroider the face.

With a length of black embroidery floss, embroider the eyes and the mouth.

Sew the antlers on top of the head between rounds 3 and 4.

Flatten the wings (no need to add stuffing!), and attach them to the sides of the butterfly or bee.

Start by sewing the two large wings with the top edge slightly above round 26.

Then, place each of the small wings in front of the large one with the top edge overlapping with the bottom of the large wing.

Weave in all your ends.

YOUR CROCHET Butterfly or Bee Baby Rattle IS READY!

I hope you enjoyed this free crochet pattern, and I’d love to see your baby rattles! Please, share a pic of your work on Facebook and Instagram using the hashtag #raffamusadesigns!

Find more Amigurumi patterns here on the blog…

• Strawberry Pacifier Clip
• Beehive Baby Rattle
• Pentagon Ball