How to Make a Decorative Bee Skep

LEARN HOW TO MAKE A DECORATIVE BEE SKEP TO DRESS UP YOUR HOUSE OR PORCH THIS SPRING. JUST A FEW SIMPLE SUPPLIES & 30 MINUTES IS ALL YOU NEED!

I have to admit it. I have ALWAYS had this thing for bee skeps. And over the years I have always been drawn to them. I think it is their hand crafted beauty, the history that surrounds them, and how absolutely beautiful and timeless they look in the flower garden!

In mid-February, I came across a YouTube video, Spring 2019 at Magnolia Market. It was a fascinating video about the huge creative process that goes into getting Magnolia Market ready for the next season. As a result, my mind just wouldn’t stop thinking about new projects I could do this spring.

My inspiration for making a decorative bee skep

There were so many things to love in the nine-minute video. But the thing that really stuck with me was the huge display of bee skeps they handcrafted and hung from the ceiling. It was so beautiful! They only showed snippets of the creative process and the finished display, but it was enough to get my creative juices flowing.

The last bee skep I had in my herb bed slowly deteriorated and I have never found one I liked as well to replace it. Or that I could afford! I’m not sure why I never tried making one. I guess, in my perfectionist mode, I thought I had to make it like an authentic bee skep. Woven with authentic materials.

Then I saw the beautiful skeps made by Magnolia staff out of different sizes of rope and grasses and just had to give it a try. So began the hunt for materials.

Decorative bee skep materials

• natural jute rope – I purchased 1/4″ rope. If I were doing it again I would definitely try larger width…maybe 3/4″. Length will depend on the width you choose and the size skep you want. I purchased 200ft and made 2 bee skeps and could easily do one more. If you used a thicker rope you would need approximately 50 feet which would bring the cost down.
• hot glue gun and clear glue sticks
• an old plastic bucket the approximate width you want your bee skep – I used a gallon size ice cream bucket for my small skep and a 2-gallon bucket for the larger one.
• scissors
• flat knife

How to make a decorative bee skep

1. Flip a bucket the size you need for your bee skep upside down on your work surface. I glued my lightweight ice cream bucket to a piece of cardboard to hold it steady but didn’t do that with my larger bucket. If your bucket is heavy there is no need for this.
2. Begin wrapping your chosen rope around your bucket. Start above any handles or rim that might be sticking out from the bucket. You want a smooth circle.
3. Pulling the rope up against the sides of the bucket glue to itself as you wrap it around the bucket. Be careful to put the glue toward the back so it does not show on the outside but try not to stick to the bucket.
4. After winding and gluing about 2″ of rope onto itself you will need to slip the knife down between the rope and the bucket to dislodge any glue that has stuck to the bucket. Repeat this step every 2″ as you build up.
5. Before going further you need to decide if you want to have a bee ‘door’ in the side. If so, you will need to leave a small opening 1/4 of the way up the side. You must have a finished height in mind in order to gauge this. If you plan to use this outside you may not want an opening due to the risk of wasp nesting in your skep. I made one door by cutting the rope, leaving a 1″ gap and then gluing rope on again. Because my rope was thin, I did this for two rounds to make a square opening. For my larger bee skep I just pushed up the rope and left a curved opening about 1″ long and 1/2″ high. As subsequent rows go around the bump over the door smooths out. See photo below.
6. Continue wrapping and gluing until you get to the top of the bucket, or the side height looks good to you.
7. Remove from the bucket and gradually begin gluing further to the inside so that your skep begins to taper into the middle.
8. When the opening in the top is equal to the width of your rope stop. Leave enough slack to make a loop handle at the top and cut off the rope. Loop the rope, tucking the end into the center hole and glue all parts in place.
9. Stand back and admire your work!

How to make a decorative bee skep video

Future plans for more decorative bee skeps

I would like to try my hand at making a more authentic looking bee skep. For instance, one made with natural materials to decorate my garden. (note: it is illegal to use a bee skep for actual beekeeping in the United States because of the risk and spread of disease.)

Also, I would also like to try larger diameter jute rope. They were, of course, more costly, so I didn’t purchase them. If I had realized it wouldn’t take that many feet of rope I might have tried them first. I think a larger rope would hold up longer outdoors.

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