“Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly” This is a quote by Barbara Haines Howett that I love. The quote is quite inspirational. Butterfly is beautiful enough to warrant the contrast involved in the metamorphosis from a caterpillar to butterfly. With its beauty, a butterfly inspires us to hope for the better, even in dire circumstances. Butterfly embroidery is an attempt to recapture this vision on fabric.
In this article I will cover:
Different ways to embroider a Butterfly
Embroidered butterfly
I will start with the regular embroidery filled butterfly. You can stitch your butterfly with any of the filling stitches ( see the other filling stitch options here – like satin stitch, french knot, blanket stitch).
First draw your design on the fabric with your favourite marking tool. I just drew the butterfly free hand. The faults of this are evident – a butterfly body ought to be symmetrical on both sides – mine seems to be different. Check out the different ways you can use to transfer embroidery patterns accurately
Start by filling the butterfly body – I am using long and short stitches with 6 strands of the embroidery thread.If you use one or two strands you will get a delicate needle painting look which is beautiful.
Most of the original butterflies have their wings outlined in black.So if you want some realism use black. If not, use any colour you want.
Ribbon embroidery butterfly
Ribbons are shining, vivid and vibrant. Butterflies are the same. So using ribbon embroidery stitches to make your butterfly is a no brainer.
Mark 3 lines as in the picture below.
Using 1/4 inch ribbons make straight stitches along these lines.
Thread another ribbon on your needle and coming up from the middle of these stitches, Tie the three stitches with thread or ribbon.
Use thin ribbon for this. I used a wide ribbon and my butterfly looks like it has gone rogue. More of a wasp than a butterfly
You can do the same with embroidery thread.
Some simple straight stitches tied with a chain stitch make the cutest of butterfly embroidery.Simple is beautiful.
Felt butterfly
Cut out felt in the shape of a butterfly.Fold felt by the middle and cut away for symmetrical looking butterflies.
Attach seed beads in the middle for the body.Add a big bead as head and use bugle beads as the antenna.
Beaded butterfly
Draw your butterfly and add the beads along the outline, just inside.
Make lazy daisy stitches over the beads as in the picture below.
Over this make another longer lazy daisy stitches.(Check out the tutorial for lazy daisy stitch here)
When the stitching is done, complete the wings with outline stitches and do the body.
Easy Felt Butterfly.
Cut out simple circles from felt. Make running stitches along the middle to gather them
Tie them up with the thread.Add the antennas as you attach it to the fabric.
Sequins butterfly
This one is self explanatory. This tiny butterfly is made with bullion stitch and some sequins. Make the body with bullion stitch and then add a fly stitch as an antenna. Attach sequins as body
Check out this post on making a bullion stitch if you do not know how to.
Appliqued Butterfly embroidery
You can add a butterfly to your clothes by attaching other interesting fabric pieces as applique. Cut out the shape of the butterfly and then satin stitch along the edge to join it to the fabric. Learn how to machine applique and hand applique.
Butterfly embroidery – with embroidered patches
This is an embroidered patch attached to the fabric with the middle stitch filling the body. This is a nice 3 D butterfly embroidery.
Butterfly embroidery – with ribbons
To make this butterfly you need a piece of ribbon of width 1 1/2 to 2 inch.
Cut out the ribbons in the length equaling its width (square pieces) – you need 4 such pieces. Fix the edges from fraying with the flame of a candle or cigarette lighter.
Fold each piece by the middle diagonally.
Using a hand needle and thread make gathering stitches along the base.
Gather to form this petal shape – this is a wing of your butterfly. Make four of them and arrange them like the wings and stitch in place.
Like the picture below.Add small beads as the butterfly body. Make embroidery stitch or add a bigger bead as head.
Outline stitch Butterfly
If you want a simple butterfly design you can complete the butterfly entirely with outline stitches – like back stitch, split stitch, running stitch, chain stitch etc.
Here I have completed the butterfly with bullion stitches – bullion stitch makes the outline pop out with a 3 D effect.
BUTTERFLY EMBROIDERY DESIGNS
A butterfly is an artist’s delight. Their vibrant colored wings make these insects one of the prettiest animal species in the whole world. Capturing their beauty and vivid coloring in an artwork is something most artists would like to do, be it a painter or an embroiderer.
Drawing and painting a butterfly design is quite easy – because of their symmetry in body structure and their variety in coloring a butterfly can be drawn any whichever way – it will still look like a butterfly and beautiful.
For an ordinary person like me, depicting their wonderful coloring in all their glory, as it is, is next to impossible, but still, I like to try. This post is written with the idea of having a collection of butterfly designs in one place for easy reference, for the time when me or someone would like to draw and work on a butterfly.
Please excuse the drawings which is limited by time, talent and temperament ( I hired someone for the paintings – my temperamental daughter who had enough after some time, even with bribes galore)
Butterfly Design 1
Butterfly Design 2
Butterfly Design 3
Butterfly Design 4
A butterfly species understandably known by the name Duck Eyes ( real name is Precis Coenia )
Butterfly Design 5
Butterfly Design 6
This leaf Butterfly species is found in Srilanka
Butterfly Design 7
Butterfly Design 8
Butterfly Design 9
Butterfly Design 10
Butterfly Design 11
Butterfly Design 12
This is a small and colorful Butterfly seen in America Asia and Europe. Named Pieridae
Butterfly Design 13
This blue butterfly species is found in Peru
Butterfly Design 14
This beautiful African Butterfly known by the name Acrae Acrita has somewhat transparent wings
Butterfly Design 15
Butterfly Design 16
This is a butterfly called Deione Vanillae which is mostly seen in North America
Butterfly Design 17
This is a butterfly species called Polymmtus Icarus seen all over Europe
Butterfly Design 18
Butterfly Design 19
Butterfly Design 20
Butterfly Design 21
Butterfly Design 22
Butterfly Design 23
Butterfly Design 24
Butterfly Design 25
Butterfly Design 26
Butterfly Design 27
Tips to embroider the butterfly
You can take a print out of the black and white design you like and transfer the design to your fabric with the help of a transfer paper. Red, green, colored carbon sheets can be used to transfer, if you do not like the standard black one. White or yellow colored one can be used for dark cloth.
Cut the embroidery thread to about 18 inches (which is a maneagable length) on a fine embroidery needle. Fix your fabric on your embroidery hoop – tighten it to feel like a drum. Fill your butterfly designs with a variety of embroidery stitches like satin stitch, long and short embroidery stitch and back stitches.
Related post : Peacock embroidery designs; Different embroidery flowers
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