Bluework butterfly with banded wings hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 1 color · 3 kinds of stitch

Bluework butterfly with banded wings: preview of the stitched design

This is a bluework butterfly seen from above, the same on both sides. A round head carries two long feelers, and the body below it is crossed by rings. The two fore wings sit above the two hind wings. Each wing is crossed by two bands that follow its outer edge, with three round spots between the edge and the outer band, and veins that fan from the body to the inner band. The head, the body, the feelers, the wings and the spots are stem stitch, the rings, the bands and the veins are back stitch, and the tips of the feelers are French knots. It is all one navy thread, with no filled shapes.

Size and details

Easy. Simple stitches in one color.

1 color of floss and 3 kinds of stitch, all of them line stitches and knots:

The stitched size, by hoop
Hoop	Inches	Centimeters
3 in (8 cm)	1.6 × 1.3 in	4.1 × 3.3 cm
4 in (10 cm)	2.4 × 2 in	6.1 × 5.1 cm
5 in (13 cm)	3.2 × 2.6 in	8.1 × 6.6 cm
6 in (15 cm)	4 × 3.3 in	10.2 × 8.4 cm
8 in (20 cm)	5.6 × 4.6 in	14.2 × 11.7 cm

In a 3 inch hoop the French knots are drawn smaller than about 2 mm (a little over 1/16 in). Use one strand of floss for them there, or choose a larger hoop.

The pattern is drawn inside a circle about half an inch (1.3 cm) smaller all around than the hoop.

What you need

DMC 336 Navy BlueHead, body, feelers, fore wings, hind wings, spots of the wings, rings of the body, bands of the wings, veins of the wings and tips of the feelers

The floss is six-strand cotton; the stitch guide says how many strands to use. You also need a hoop, an embroidery needle (a size 7 to 9 suits two or three strands) and plain cotton or linen fabric. To frame the piece in its hoop, cut a square 3 inches (8 cm) wider than the hoop: a 9 inch (23 cm) square for a 6 inch hoop.

Stitch guide

Stem stitch 2 or 3 strandsHead, body, feelers, fore wings, hind wings, spots of the wings
Back stitch 2 strandsRings of the body, bands of the wings, veins of the wings
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsTips of the feelers

Getting it onto your fabric

The PDF holds the pattern twice at actual size: once as drawn, and once mirrored for an iron-on transfer pen. Print it at 100% with scaling off and check the one-inch square (25.4 mm) with a ruler before you trace. How to transfer a pattern explains tracing, carbon paper and the other ways. The files are under Downloads.