Tuesday, June 22, 2010

how to crochet a butterfly


My schedule has been too hectic to finish any real projects lately, so I've been getting my crochet fix by whipping up these tiny little butterflies in every color. The trick? Use embroidery floss. It comes in every shade imaginable, it's the perfect thickness for little accessories, and it's cheap. They're perfect for cards, scrapbook pages, hair clips, they'd even be cute on the front of a baby onesie or beanie.

Below are my original patterns for how to crochet a butterfly. If you're comfortable with a crochet hook, these will take you about 3 minutes to make. If you're a beginner, watch our How To Crochet A Flower and How To Crochet A Heart videos. The butterfly is basically a four-petaled flower using some of the same stitches as the heart. The only stitch not shown is the dtr (double treble) used in the medium pattern, which you can see on this site. Here are patterns for five different sizes of butterflies, which measure from about 1 inch to 4 inches in size, although the size of your materials and your gauge may change the sizes slightly.

To create the abdomen and antennae, cut a coordinating piece of thread or yarn about four to six inches long (depending on your butterfly's size). Leaving a short tail, wrap the piece around the middle of the butterfly twice. Tie ends in a double knot. Trim antennae.



Teeny Tiny Butterfly Crochet Pattern

Supplies:
*Embroidery floss
*Size 6 crochet hook

Ch 4. Sl st into first st to form a ring.

*Ch 2. 3dc into ring. Ch 2. Sl st into ring.* Repeat once.

*Ch 1. 3dc into ring. Ch 1. Sl st into ring.* Repeat once.

Fasten off. Create abdomen and antennae.


Small Butterfly Crochet Pattern

Supplies:
*Embroidery floss
*Size 6 hook

Ch 4. Sl st into first ch to form a ring.

*Ch 4. 3tr (treble stitch) into ring. Ch 3, sl st into ring.* Repeat once.

*Ch 3. 3dc into ring. Ch 3, sl st into ring.* Repeat once.

Fasten off. Create abdomen and antennae.

This card uses the small pattern.



Medium Butterfly Crochet Pattern

Supplies:
*Embroidery floss
*Size C hook

Ch 4. Sl st into first ch to form a ring.

*Ch 4. Work 3 dtr (double treble stitch) into ring. Ch 4, sl st into ring.* Repeat once.

*Ch 3, work 3tr into ring. Ch 3, sl st into ring.* Repeat once.

Fasten off. Create abdomen and antennae.



Large Butterfly Crochet Pattern

Supplies:
*Sport weight yarn
*Size C hook

Ch 4. Sl st into first ch to form a ring.

*Ch 4. 3tr (treble stitch) into ring. Ch 3, sl st into ring.* Repeat once.

*Ch 3. 3dc into ring. Ch 3, sl st into ring.* Repeat once.

Fasten off. Create abdomen and antennae.


Extra Large Butterfly Crochet Pattern

Supplies:
*Sport weight yarn
*Size G hook

Ch 4. Sl st into first ch to form a ring.

*Ch 4. Work 3 dtr (double treble stitch) into ring. Ch 4, sl st into ring.* Repeat once.

*Ch 3, work 3tr into ring. Ch 3, sl st into ring.* Repeat once.

Fasten off. Create abdomen and antennae.


I've mostly been making the small butterflies. Love them!




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86 Comments

86 Responses to “how to crochet a butterfly”

Melinda said...

Love these! My little girls will be wearing them by tonight!

Juliana Michaels 17turtles said...

These are just adorable and I love those hair clips! TFS!!!

Adam Winter Family said...

those are adorable. i will be making some. i also want to try the heart and flower. i've dabbled in crochet, but doing something like this wouldn't be too hard for me. keep the crochet tutorials coming.

Katie Bishop said...

I can't crochet, but these patterns make me want to! SOOO cute!

Elaine A said...

These are just so sweet! Thank you so much for sharing the pattern with us!

Elaine Allen

Sumo @ Sumo's Sweet Stuff said...

These are so cute! I'll be featuring them on my blog on July 15th - linked back to you of course!

http://sumossweetstuff.blogspot.com

Summer

Tasha said...

yep! I know what I'm doing tonight!!

mommy Orkid Belle said...

So adorable! :)

Verónica Isabel Pérez said...

I just love your crochet butterflies, also flowers and hearts, however I'm very far from a crochet expert and do not know how to read the instructions :(
Any possibility for you to explain what, for example, "sl" means.

Thank you

Jax @ AlyandAsh said...

These are adorable! I send the link to my mom so she can make me some since I don't crochet! She made me these little flowers for card making a while back! So I'm hoping I'll get some butterflies now too!
http://alyashcreations.blogspot.com/2010/06/see-it-again-saturday-crochet-flowers.html

Anonymous said...

This is so cute!! Is there any chance you might add a video to this tutorial? Thanks to your crochet heart video, I was actually able to make one! :) Thank you so much! ~Sam

Grizzly Bear said...

These are lovely! :)

BlueRose said...

Thank you so much for the instructions, I have a ton of floss so this is just perfect. Thanks again
xoxoxKat/Bluerose

Rachel Witthaus said...

These are simply gorgeous! I don't know how to crochet, but I think you've just inspired me to learn! As a beginner, what are the necessary items I should buy (e.g. size hooks, etc)? Thanks for sharing your amazing ideas and tips :)

Renee•Candy Stick Lane said...

I totally heart your crochet tutorials - I made a bazillion hearts for valentines day and I cant wait to churn out some butterflies! XOXOXO

LadyChelini said...

this is awesome!!! :D

Marybeth said...

i am jealous...the butterflies are adorable...i can only knit scarves...straight, boring scarves...

http://suiteheart.blogspot.com/

organicmommy said...

Oh my gosh those are so cute and are making me want to learn how to crochet

Amy said...

I've been in a bit of a crochet slump lately, and I think these little butterflies are just the thing to cure me! Plus, it validates the fact that I have a ton of embroidery floss left over from a cross stitch phase that I can't seem to let go....

Nika said...

Where can you buy those little alligator clips you put the butterfly on to?

ExploreColorado said...

Cute Idea!!! Can't wait to try and make one.

Emily said...

So adorable!! Your video makes them look really easy! I can't wait to try!
Are you selling your hair clips by any chance? I don't know if I'll ever be good enough to make them tiny enough for a hair clip!!

Loralynn said...

These are just so darn cute! I'm making a baby blanket for a friend right now and I think a couple of these are in order! They will look darling!

Aly said...

Whoa. I've never commented on your blog before, but I love it. And I am going to learn to crochet JUST so I can make these! Thanks for sharing!

Amanda Pedro said...

thanks for sharing the pattern. Now to see if I can read it. My downfall. Will probably do it by looks.
I've linked it on my blog
cheers

The Fat Kid said...

Just precious! I can crochet, sort of, but I don't know how to read the directions... so I guess I have a new goal! :)

Bethany @ The Paper Pony said...

These are just the sweetest things. I can already think of about a million things to do with them. Thanks for the inspiration... now if only I could read "crochet"...

Tonya Gunn said...

Oh you are so sweet to share this pattern.
I know what I will be doing on my car ride to pick up our daughter.
Warm wishes, Tonya

Yycien Adams said...

I might learn more crochet just to make these hair clips! LOL. :) Thanks for sharing the pattern.

angelina said...

was sent to you via hook and thread. lovely thanks!

M@miogée said...

Coucou!
Tes petits papillons sont magnifiques.

J'adore!
bizz

glor said...

These are absolutely adorable and thank you for the pattern.

BlueMoonScrapbooking said...

This makes me want to learn crocheting -they are so cute!

Kira said...

My crochet skills are limited and I like small, quick projects. I like to crochet during church to keep my hands busy while I listen. I usually make flowers, then make them into pins. (to give as gifts or to sell at craft shows) I think all the little girls at church may end up with a crochet butterfly hair clip now! The butterflies may work as cute pins as well! Thanks for the tutorial!

Stacy said...

Thanks for sharing this. I just started crocheting and I've been making your flower pattern like crazy during a long road trip. It's been so fun. I was wondering- is a triple crochet stitch the same as a treble crochet stitch?

blueberrymoon said...

Thank you times 20!! I love it. Grabbing hook now!

memakingdo said...

These are so cute I featured them on my blog you can check it out and grab a button if you'd like!
http://soverycreative.blogspot.com/2010/07/crochet-butterflies.html

Beth- the mama bee said...

thanks- super cute. I need little projects for killing time waiting to pick kids up from camp, etc. I'll start one in the morning.

Kara said...

Loved your flower tutorial, so I can't wait to try these. They are darling! Love the hair clips!

Jennifer said...

I am so excited to have stumbled upon this! I ended up watching your YouTube vidoes and they helped me so, so much!! THANK YOU!!!

http://perrilyncreations.blogspot.com/2010/07/crochet-projects.html

Jennifer

Beth- the mama bee said...

thanks so much. I ended up putting one on a hair clip, a few on a dress, and made a bookmark. I wrote about them here: http://mamabeefromthehive.blogspot.com/2010/07/butterflies-and-dress.htm

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for sharing this pattern. I'm so glad I found it. The butterflies are so cute. I plan on adding them to a purse I'm working on. Here is a link to a picture of the finished butterflies. Thanks again! :)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/15632105@N04/4867958206/

Annemarie's Haakblog said...

Gorgeous! I saw the tutorial and I immediately made a small butterfly. I love them! Thanks so much for posting.

Annemarie

Unknown said...

Very cute, thanks for posting the instructions. I made one to use as a button for a shrug I made for my daughter, she's a butterfly lover!!!

Unknown said...

Very cute, thanks for posting the instruction. I made one to be used as a button on a shrug I made for my daughter, she loves butterflies!!!

Jessica said...

Stumbled across this blog and thought I could help answer a couple of questions.

@Las Labores de Veronica:
Sl is slip. You sl st (slip stitch)to form a ring or connect two parts of the pattern without creating a new stitch. I like this chart for explanations of stitchs: http://www.crochetspot.com/crochet-abbreviations/ She explains the abbreviation and has tutorials for some of them.

@CraftyBatches:
There are several videos on Youtube of how to crochet a butterfly. Some may be similar to this pattern.

@Rachel Witthaus:
Hook size depends on whether you want to use yarn or thread. Take a look at the yarn or tread label. There is often a hook size listed. Patterns will also tell you a hook size. Bear in mind that you can use different hook sizes than specified but it will change the gauge (how many stitches per inch.) In a pattern like this gauge will affect the size of your butterfly but doesn't really matter. If you were crocheting a shirt, on the other hand, you would want to pay attention to your gauge.

@Nika:
One place you can buy alligator clips at Sally's Beauty Supply. You can also buy them on Ebay and some other online retail sites.

@Emily:
If Little Birdie isn't selling hair clips check out Etsy. There are many different kinds on there.

@Stacy:
Yes, triple and treble are the same.

Just trying to help. :) Awesome tutorials. Keep up the great work and keep getting more people interested in crochet.

Patricia said...

I wanted to THANK YOU for the WONDERFUL videos you have for crochet flowers and hearts. They were a HUGE help! I have wanted to do these and I am terrible at understanding the directions, I am such a visual learner. Thank you. I learned a great deal that I was able to actually follow the butterfly pattern!!!!

Sara said...

These are so sweet! A great gift idea for the little girls in my life. I started a blog to keep track of the patterns I find on the web. Hope you don't mind I linked to one of your photos with a short description and a link back to your site for the pattern. Thank you so much for sharing this. Very creative! www.tangledhappy.blogspot.com

Filipino Mama said...

Thank you for the tutorial. I tried to crochet and I am happy with how the crocheted butterflies and flowers turned out. I posted it on my blog and I linked it to your post. Thanks again!

Chris said...

How do you attach them to the hair clips? Can you do the flowers and hearts as well?

Chris said...

On the butterflies, did you use embroidery floss to make them? How many strands?

Little Birdie Secrets said...

Yes, Chris, I used embroidery floss, just one strand. The best part is that it's cheap and comes in TONS of colors! :)

Chris said...

Again a question, so that I can get it straight in my mind. You used one strand out of six embroidery floss? That seems so fine.
Just trying to get it right.
Thanks

Little Birdie Secrets said...

Ha ha, I'm sorry for the confusion, Chris! I am in yarn mode. No, use all six strands of embroidery floss. Just use it as it comes. :)

rebs said...

is there a special way to attach the butterflies, flowers, etc.. to the hair clips??

Little Birdie Secrets said...

I either glue them on with fabric glue (on the ribbon-covered clips) or tie them on with a piece of embroidery floss. :)

rebs said...

thank you so much! i love your work! everything you make is so cute and inspires me to be creative, or at least try =)

Anonymous said...

this is cute, thank you

MsJay said...

Love your crocheted butterflies, thanks so much for sharing.

Juhi said...

OMG these are just gorgeous, can't wait to try them, thanks for sharing!

Jennifer Uribe said...

I am obsessed with these! I've made over 30 since I found this post last night. 3 minutes is exactly the amount of time they take. My daughter has butterflies in her hair as do my two nieces!

Thank you for sharing!

Nevelyn said...

These are so tiny and cute and easy. I've made 5 of the teeny tiny ones so far to give to the local hospital for several-night patients and have been amazed how quickly and easily these can be made.
Beautiful, absolutely beautiful.
I hope it is okay that I've linked to this from my blog with a picture. If not, just let me know and I'll take it down.

crystal_ds said...

Love these! I hope its okay that I link to your blog with a picture of my butterfly:)

florafun2 said...

i love these tutorials! i just started crocheting and i cant really deal with the difficult patterns but ur tutorials are absolutely simple and short! i love them!

Sorani said...

hi! thank you so much for your pattern........i will try it today fpr my chrochet- buttons......;o)
http://soranis.blogspot.com/2011/05/die-parade-der-hakelknopfe.html
bye nico

Nita indrayani said...

Thanks for sharing such a lovely pattern...simple but cute..

Susie Little said...

Thank you so much for this pattern it's perfect!xx

Jennifer Smith said...

I love these! Thank you so much for sharing. I made 2 of the extra large to add to a hat I made. I knotted the antennae to emphasize them a little more. Thanks again!

said...

I went and bought one of every size crochet hooks, even the tiny ones because I expected to need a tiny one to make a tiny butterfly, but the tiny one needs a "size 6" hook and the hooks I have say that the size 6 and G are the same thing. Am I confused?? I tried to make it with just the size G/6 hook and I it's a mess.

Little Birdie Secrets said...

Andrea, you do have the wrong hook. You are looking for the teeny, tiny aluminum hooks. For some reason they make it really confusing! Size G is a 6mm hook, but Size 6 is like a 3.25mm hook. The tiny ones use range from size 4 to 7. I don't know why they do it that way, but it is frustrating, huh!

Little Birdie Secrets said...

Oops, I meant to say the tiny ones I use range from 4-7. But I think they come in size 1 to 13 or something. Good luck!

~mandy

said...

Thank you!!

Staffords said...

as for the fabric on the clips, did you do that? If so what kind of clip is that? I am a mom to all boys but I have a niece that would love these!!! I wish I could stop at the fabric store today but it will probably have to wait a couple days :(

iejhajha said...

cute butterfly..love it..thnx so much for pattern

iejhajha.blogspot.com
xoxo

Designing With Dakota said...

so CUTE!!!

Anonymous said...

These are lovely in real life too. I have had a few donations of these from a lady and we use them in our care packages which we send out to parents who have just lost their baby.

Lucy
www.uponbutterflywings.org

Anonymous said...

ADORABLE! I will have to give these a try!

Sara @ My Merry Messy Life said...

I've used this pattern before and it's just precious! I would love if you would support my new fiber arts link party, just for crochet, knit, sewing, felting, etc. Thank you!! I've been following you for a long time :)
http://www.mymerrymessylife.com/2012/06/new-link-party-hookin-on-hump-day-1.html

Lorybeat said...

Gracias! I just love them!
Lorena :)

Néné - Moon Blue said...

Hello!

Thank you for teach me to crochet a butterfly.

I'm following your blog.
Please can you follow mine, too.

Kisses
Néné

http://miscelaneasssss.blogspot.com

Mel said...

These are so sweet! My 2 year old wants butterflies for her birthday so I'll be making some of these for hair clips for party favors!

Unknown said...

Absolutely gorgeous! My 5yo daughter draws butterflies on all of her drawings and they look exactly like this. She was beyond excited when I whipped one up last night while she was in the bath. I'll be making a whole butterfly house's worth of these lovelies!

Di from Life is Di-licious xx
www.lifeisdi-licious.blogspot.com.au

Connie said...

Thanks so much for the pattern, love it!

Unknown said...

What can I say that others have not said. I loved the pattern. Quick & simple. Grand daughter, called and asked me if I could make an Easter basket for her kindergarten class. I answered I'll think about it, sweetheart. Let me talk to mommy. Daughter gets on phone and said OH Mother! I know you'll come up with some small basket that one or two pieces of candy will look like a lot.So I thought about it and came up with a Basket out of an old recycled water bottle. Using scrap rick rack, left over bias tape they looked pretty good but it needed something to say "I AM Spring" So I made your tiny butterfly and it was the finishing tough. THANKS TO YOU, I got an extra big hug for the 22 baskets Kayla will take to school

kathy said...

GREAT IDEA! GREAT PATTERN! Yes, I am yelling because I can't get over how pretty the butterflies are. Thanks so much for generously sharing the pattern!

Claire M said...

Just made a sm and med one!! So sweet ! I put them on summer cotton hats for my great grand daughter Mackinley! She's 2 years old!! Thank you for the pattern!

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