Crochet Nifflebee

 In a KNUTshell

• Each Nifflerbee is approximately 18cm tall
• Their body, legs, arms and tail are crocheted in Scheepjes 'Furry Tales ' yarn.
• Their snout and paws are crocheted in Deramores 'Studio' yarn. 
• Their eyes are hand-painted in the sparkly gold nail polish (cruelty-free).
• They are stuffed with recycled polyester filling. 
• Each Nifflebee comes with a beespoke "beastie book badge" and adoption card, which will certify that they are a FREE BEASTIE.
• Each beastie is made-to-order, so please allow 4-6 weeks from the point of adoption before they are ready to fly home to you! 

The Beastie Backstory

In case my small bees-ness name wasn’t a giveaway… I am rather beesotted with bees! This affinity began when I was very young, in part thanks to two of my favourite fictional characters: Dumbledore & Miss Honey. In my headcanon, bees subsequently came to embody imagination and compassion - two traits that those characters both encapsulate in a  KNUTshell! 

Yet it was many years later, while receiving mental health treatment, that the significance of the bee took on a whole new meaning in my life. A fellow patient was also a huge fan of Matilda, and was also one of my biggest cheerleaders when I decided to pursue a career in Primary Education (in her words, I could be “someone’s Miss Honey”).

Yet like me, she was a chronic people pleaser and we both had a habit of saying “sorry” for the smallest thing. Together, we decided that - every time the other person went to say sorry - we would say “bumblebee” instead to try and break the habit! Through this, I was inspired to read more about the bee and realised just how much they resonated with my own life experience.

The bee is most commonly associated with hard-work and community (in my headcanon, are the unofficial Hufflepuff mascot, right down to the house colours!) Yet a less widely known symbol of the bee is POSSIBILITY. Why? Aerodynamically, bees shouldn’t be able to fly. Their body and wings are built all wrong, yet they do. 

Throughout my mental health journey, possibility has been my (yes, pun intended) buzzword. One of my favourite poems is Emily Dickinson’s “I dwell in posssibility”, becasue  it reminds me that where there is light and love there is also LIFE. A life worth living and dream worth chasing -  which includes the dream of creating Bumble & Be! 

On that note, last year I wanted to put this personal stamp on the fandom world with my own range of BEEasties, starting with the Pygbee Puff and Fwoopbee. Then, this Spring, I decided to make it a GOLDEN TRIO and create the Nifflebee! In my headcanon, the Nifflebee is even more determined than the normal Niffler, due to this limitless capacity to BEElieve in possibility. In other words, if you have any shiny-things… keep them hidden! 

The Design Story 

The Niffler was the first ever ‘fantastic beastie’ I crocheted, days after I saw the first film. You can read the full design story of my Niffler here. I began using faux fur yarn in 2019, snd since then have never looked back! 

The majority of my nifflers - including the house nifflers - use the Sirdar 'Alpine' yarn. For my Nifflebees however, I use Scheepjes ‘Furry Tales’. The yarns are very similar in texture, with the latter being “just a smidge” lighter. The real difference is colour; while the Alpine is more natural, Furry Tales is fat bolder and brighter. This is the yarn that I use for the majority of my  Pygmy Puffs!

I use a combination of black and yellow For my Nifflebees, but decided to go for block colours as opposed to smaller stripes - the latter felt a bit to busy (even for a busy bee!). However, I ensured that the bee was well and truly represented, with the addition of some white bee wings on the back. In addition, I hand painted the eyes in a beautiful sparkly gold nail polish, which are all the more striking thanks to the all-black head.

In a knutshell, I am just a little bit beesotted with the Nifflebee and I hope you love them as much as me! 

Your Story 

As with all other Spew Crew beasties, each Nifflebee is handmade to my own pattern, so is 100% exclusive to Bumble and Be. As they are made-to-order, it means that no two will be quite the same, but I like to think that is part of their magic - just like an Ollivander wand!

Every single Nifflebee adopted will also come with their own exclusive adoption card and "beastie book badge", which I make from the secondhand pages of Harry Potter books. Before your beastie flies off to you, I will ask if you have a name in mind and - if so - put this onto the adoption card. On that note, this name will often form the basis for the book badge too; for example, past customers have called Nifflebees Buzz and Honey, so I have chosen passages with these names included! 

Note: MY BEASTIES are inspired by the Wizarding World, but have no affiliation with JK Rowling/Warner Brothers.