A big sunflower canopy overhead with a swarm of bees hanging beneath it, mixed in with daisies, small sunflowers and leaves at every height. It is the largest thing in this collection and the one that gets the most reaction when people walk into the room.
The bees are the time cost. There are eight of them and each takes about half an hour. Everything else is quick.
What you’ll need
DK cotton in golden yellow, dark brown, black, white and sage green. You need a fair amount of yellow and brown for the canopy, roughly 60 g of each, and smaller amounts of the rest.
A 2.5 mm hook.
You’ll also want a 25 cm embroidery hoop or a metal craft ring for the canopy frame, polyester fibrefill, strong white cotton thread for the hanging strands, a ceiling hook, and a tapestry needle.
Finished drop is about 60 cm below the canopy, and the canopy itself is around 34 cm across.
Abbreviations are US terms. ch is chain, sl st is slip stitch, sc is single crochet, hdc is half double crochet, dc is double crochet, tr is treble crochet, inc is two stitches in one, dec is an invisible decrease, MR is magic ring, BLO is back loops only.
Part 1. The canopy centre
In dark brown, worked as a large shallow dome.
Round 1. 6 sc in MR (6) Round 2. Inc six times (12) Round 3. Sc, inc, repeated six times (18)
Continue in this pattern, adding six stitches per round with one more plain stitch between increases each time, until you reach 90 stitches. That is fifteen increase rounds in total.
Then work four rounds with no increases at all, which pulls the outer edge down into a shallow bowl rather than leaving it flat. Fasten off.
Working the whole thing in back loops only from round 5 onwards gives you the ridged spiral texture of real sunflower seeds. It is slower but it is the detail that makes the canopy look right.
Part 2. Petals
Make sixteen in golden yellow.
Ch 12. Row 1, sl st in the second ch from the hook, sc in the next 2, hdc in the next 3, dc in the next 3, then 5 dc into the last chain to turn the tip.
Work back along the other side of the chain with dc in the next 3, hdc in the next 3, sc in the next 2, sl st in the last. Fasten off with a long tail.
Sew the petals around the underside edge of the brown centre, overlapping them slightly and alternating which ones sit slightly higher, so the ring does not look mechanical.
Sit the whole canopy over the embroidery hoop and stitch the brown edge to the hoop all the way round. The hoop is what keeps it circular under the weight of eight strands.
Part 3. Bees, make eight
In golden yellow.
Round 1. 6 sc in MR (6) Round 2. Inc six times (12) Round 3. Sc, inc, repeated six times (18) Round 4. Sc twice, inc, repeated six times (24) Rounds 5 and 6. Sc around (24)
Change to black. Rounds 7 and 8. Sc around (24) Change to yellow. Rounds 9 and 10. Sc around (24) Change to black. Rounds 11 and 12. Sc around (24) Change to yellow. Round 13. Sc around (24)
Round 14. Sc twice, dec, repeated six times (18) Round 15. Sc, dec, repeated six times (12). Stuff firmly. Round 16. Dec six times (6). Close.
Wings, make two per bee. In white, ch 8, then work into the chain: sl st, sc, hdc, 3 dc in the last chain, then hdc, sc, sl st back along the other side. Fasten off and sew both to the top of the back, angled outwards.
Antennae. Two short lengths of black chain, 4 chains each, sewn to the top of the head with a French knot at each tip.
Face. Two black French knot eyes on the yellow front section, a small curved smile and pink cheeks. Give four of the bees closed sleeping eyes and four open ones, which makes the group look livelier than eight identical faces.
Part 4. Small sunflowers, make three
Centre. In dark brown, 6 sc in MR (6), inc six times (12), sc and inc repeated six times (18). Fasten off.
Petals. Join golden yellow and work into each stitch around: sl st, ch 3, 2 dc in the same stitch, ch 3, sl st in the same stitch. That gives eighteen small petals in one round. Fasten off.
For a fuller flower, work a second petal round in the back loops behind the first.
Part 5. Daisies, make eight
In white. 8 sc in MR (8). Then into each stitch work sl st, ch 3, 2 dc in the same stitch, ch 3, sl st in the same stitch, for eight petals. Fasten off.
Sew a golden yellow French knot cluster in the centre of each.
Part 6. Leaves, make ten
In sage green. Ch 9, then work along the chain: sl st, sc, hdc, dc, dc, hdc, sc, then 3 sc into the last chain, and work back along the other side in reverse. Fasten off.
Part 7. Yellow buds, make six
Small yellow bobbles. 5 sc in MR (5), inc five times (10), sc around, dec five times, stuff with a pinch of filling and close.
Putting it together
Cut eight lengths of strong white thread, each about 90 cm, and vary them so no two strands end at the same height. Uneven heights are what makes a mobile look alive rather than flat.
Build each strand from the bottom up. Knot on the lowest item first, then work upwards, adding a bee, a daisy, a leaf, a bud and so on, knotting each one in place so nothing slides. Aim for three or four items per strand.
Mix the item types across strands rather than putting all the bees on one side. Stand back every couple of strands and check the balance.
Tie the top of each strand to the hoop, spaced evenly around the circle, and stitch each knot down so it cannot travel.
Finally, make four hanging cords in white, each about 40 cm, and tie them to the hoop at north, south, east and west. Gather all four at the top, check the canopy hangs level, and knot them together into a loop.
Adjust before you trim anything. Getting a mobile to hang level is a matter of small tweaks and it is much easier with long cords still attached.
Safety
Mobiles belong well out of a baby’s reach, mounted so they cannot be pulled down, and they should come out of the cot entirely once a baby can push up on hands and knees. Use embroidered features only, no safety eyes, and check every knot at regular intervals.
Notes and variations
A butterfly and flower version works with the same canopy and different hanging items.
Make it smaller with a 20 cm hoop and six strands for a nursery corner rather than over a cot.
Skip the bees and hang only flowers and leaves for something that suits a hallway.
Questions I get asked
How long does it take? About fifteen hours. The bees are half of that.
Why does my canopy sag? It needs the hoop. Cotton this wide cannot hold a circle under load on its own.
Can I use acrylic? Yes, and it is lighter, which helps on a piece this size.