The Honeybee Stitch

I have a new design coming soon! It’s called the Beekeeper Shawl, and here’s why…

This pretty stitch is called the Honeybee Stitch. It is worked over 6 rows and 12 stitches, although the stitch count varies on each row. I will post some more pictures soon but in the meantime here is a tutorial for the lovely little Honeybee.

The Honeybee Stitch

Cast on 12 sts

Row 1: K4, k2tog, yo, ssk, k4 (11 sts)

Row 2:  p3, p2tog-tbl, Drop YO, yo twice, p2tog, p3 (10 sts)

Row 3: k2, k2tog, Drop YO twice, yo 3 times, ssk, k2 (9 sts)

Row 4: P1, p2tog-tbl, Drop YO 3 times, yo 4 times, p2tog, p1 (8 sts)

Row 5 – STEP 1 – K2tog, drop YO 4 times…

Row 5 – STEP 2 – Turn work and cast on 4 sts…

Row 5 – STEP 3 – Turn work back to RS facing and insert RH needle under the 4 loose strands…

Row 5 – STEP 4 – wrap the yarn around the RH needle and pull a loop through the strands…

Row 5 – STEP 5 – bring the yarn in front of the RH needle and insert the needle back under the loose strands…

Row 5 – STEP 6 – wrap the yarn around the RH needle and pull a loop through the strands once more…

Row 5 – STEP 7 – Turn work and cast on 4 sts…

Row 5 – STEP 8 – Turn work back to RS facing and ssk the remaining 2 sts (13 sts)

Row 6 – P5, p2tog (1 st and the yo from the previous row), p6 (12 sts)

And voila! Here is the little honeybee!

An alternative way to work Row 5 of the stitch is to use the Backwards Loop Cast on method. This means that you don’t have to keep turning your work, however you do need to ensure that the cast on stitches are kept as tight as possible to avoid them sagging, and this may make working row 6 a bit tricky when trying to insert the needle back through the stitches.

Abbreviations

K – knit
P – purl
Yo – yarn over
K2tog – knit 2 sts together
Ssk – slip 2 sts to RH needle, knit them together (1 st decreased)
P2tog – purl 2 together
P2tog-tbl – purl 2 stitches together through the back loops
CO4 – cast on 4 sts

Happy Knitting! x