Tutorial Tuesday: How to Make Butterflies

I've put together patterns and instructions for two butterflies that can be used as is or modified however you wish. 

Denim Butterfly

This butterfly uses a fabric technique that is lots of fun to use on denim and other dark(ish) fabrics. In the laundry aisle of the grocery store, look for a Clorox bleach pen. This pen contains a thickened bleach gel solution that whitens whatever it is put on. Since it's in a pen form, you can draw with it! I love using recycled denim in projects - I used part of one leg from a half-price pair of Goodwill jeans.

1. Cut two pieces of denim fabric big enough to fit the provided pattern or your own. I just cut off the bottom of one leg.

2. Slit open the leg and lay flat. Put something protective underneath the fabric, such as waxed paper. With the lid on, shake the bleach pen well. Unscrew the fine tip cap (one side is a fine tip, the other is a wider scrubber), gently squeeze, and trace around the outside of the pattern, except for the antennae.

3. Remove the pattern (throw away - it'll have bleach gel on it), add the antennae, and make sure all of the outline has a thick layer of gel. Draw designs inside - I just doodled.

4. Let set for 30 minutes. If you are using this technique on fabric that is thinner than denim, 20 minutes will probably be fine. 

Rinse in the sink and scrub the dried gel off. With smaller pieces such as this, I then hand wash the fabric. Larger pieces, like clothing, should be washed now.

5. With the two layers together, sew along the bleached lines by hand or machine. I'm using white thread on the machine to keep the delicate look, but I could see different colors of thread and different embroidery stitches looking great on this.

6. Cut butterfly out along the outside of bleached lines. I used pinking shears.

Layered Felt Butterfly
1. Cut out two pieces of felt using the whole pattern. Cut inside pieces of pattern from one side and cut two pieces of each. It's hard to see with the black felt, but I also cut a circle and a body piece to sew on the butterfly's middle.

2. Attach pieces to one piece of the body using a blanket stitch and starting with the bottom layer and working up. I wanted a dramatic look for this piece, so I used the full 6 strands of embroidery thread. Felt stretches a bit when you sew it on, so you might have to trim some of the pieces to get them to fit. I had to cut the smaler pink ovals down to small circles. When all your pieces are sewn on, attach to the back using a blanket stitch.

Happy Creating!

Tutorial via Art Threads.