Fancy butterfly hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 3 colors · 5 kinds of stitch

Fancy butterfly: preview of the stitched design

An ornate butterfly spreads its wings. The upper wings are edged with a beaded border, the lower wings are scalloped and tailed, the veins scroll into spirals inside each wing and the antennae curl at the tips. The outline, the antennae and the scrolls are stem stitch, the border and the rings of the body are back stitch, the teardrops are lazy daisy stitches, the beads along the wing edges are French knots and the head is satin stitch.

Size and details

Easy. Line stitches, lazy daisy stitch and French knots, with a little satin stitch.

3 colors of floss and 5 kinds of stitch:

The stitched size and the widest satin stitch, by hoop
Hoop	Inches	Centimeters	Satin stitch up to
3 in (8 cm)	1.5 × 1.4 in	3.8 × 3.6 cm	1/16 in (1.6 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.2 × 2.1 in	5.6 × 5.3 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	2.9 × 2.8 in	7.4 × 7.1 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	3.6 × 3.5 in	9.1 × 8.9 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	5.1 × 4.9 in	13 × 12.4 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)

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 BlueUpper wings, lower wings and tails, borders of the upper wings, antennae, body, rings of the body, and head
DMC 3809 Very Dark TurquoiseScrolling veins
DMC 3350 Ultra Dark Dusty RoseTeardrops and beads along the wing edges

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 strandsUpper wings, lower wings and tails, scrolling veins, antennae, body
Back stitch 2 strandsBorders of the upper wings, rings of the body
Lazy daisy stitch 2 strandsTeardrops
Satin stitch 2 strandsHead
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsBeads along the wing edges

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.