Embroidery is a creative pastime that consists of you decorating a piece of fabric by using a needle and thread. You can create decorative patterns, and some embroiderers like to incorporate buttons and sequins into their designs for a 3D effect.

You might be an embroidering pro or this might be your first time, embroidery is a relaxing activity that takes precision but is a lot of fun. 

It might look daunting, as butterflies are very colorful creatures. However, it is very easy to embroider a butterfly. There are a couple of ways we are going to explain how you can embroider a butterfly yourself. 

Getting Started

When it comes to any embroidering, there are some particular things that you need to have. However, it is worth noting that you may want to draw an image of a butterfly onto your fabric before you begin sewing. This will then give you an outline of where to put your needle.

The butterfly image that you choose or create, is up to you. It can be really simple or really complex. However, drawing a pencil outline on your fabric will help you a lot. 

Also, just a reminder that it is important to start with the darker colors of your design first. This then makes the blending of stitches and colors more natural.

Which will then give you a better final outcome. However, this is up to you, but we have found that starting with the darker colors first works best. 

What you will need:

• Fabric
• Needle
• Embroidery Hoop
• Different colored embroidery threads
• Scissors

Once you have collected all your materials, and your butterfly outline has been drawn onto your fabric, you can begin. We are going to show you a couple of ways to embroider a butterfly below.

Embroidered Butterfly

This first embroidered butterfly is a simple, filled butterfly. It is up to you which of the following filling stitches you want to use. We are going to use long and short stitches.

Although the other stitches you could use are:

• Blanket stitch
• Satin stitch
• French knot

For these designs, you can either use the whole six strands of the thread, when sewing. This will give you a fuller looking design. Or you can use one or two strands of the thread, which will give you a more delicate outcome. 

Method

1. Draw your butterfly on your fabric using a marking tool. This could simply be a pencil, however, there are other ways of transferring a design onto your fabric that you can use. Once you are happy with your guide, you can begin sewing.
2. It does depend on the design of your butterfly, but most butterflies have black tips and edges on their wings. Therefore, thread your needle with some black thread and using a satin stitch fill these areas in. 
3. At this point, you may also want to fill in the butterflies head and torso, using a satin stitch.
4. Next, you can now draw your attention to the butterfly's wings, with the color of thread of your choosing. If there is a design to your butterfly's wings, like circles in the center of the wings, then a long and short stitch will be more suited here. However, if your butterflies wings are plain, then you could use a satin stitch instead. 
5. Finally, your butterfly is almost complete. All that is left is the butterflies antennas. To achieve this, pick the same colored thread that you used on the butterfly's torso. Starting from the top of the butterfly’s head, using an outline stitch, create two antennae on either side of the butterfly’s head. These don’t have to be very long, a few stitches will do it. 
6. Now your butterfly is complete!

Beaded Embroidered Butterfly

You might want to add a bit of glam to your butterfly design. There may be some beads lying around that you don’t know what to do with.

Not only does adding beads to your design make your butterfly look more beautiful, but it makes your butterfly stand out. It gives your butterfly a 3D effect, as it isn’t lying flat on the fabric. 

This method uses some more advanced sewing techniques, but it can still be completed by a beginner. 

Method

1. Draw or transfer your butterfly outline to your fabric.
2. Place your beads on the inside of your butterflies wings, on the outline edge. Secure the beads onto the fabric.
3. Choosing any color of thread of your choice. Now you need to make lazy daisy stitches around the beads. Each bead should be surrounded by a lazy daisy stitch. A lazy daisy stitch is a single chain stitch, which uses a straight stitch to hold the loop in place. 
4. Now select another thread color, and you’ll be making longer lazy daisy stitches over the top of the stitches you just made. These stitches should start at the base of the butterfly's wings, go up and around the beads again. 
5. The lazy daisy stitches should fill out the majority of the wings. If there are any gaps, you could always fill these areas in with a satin stitch. Or you may like the sparse look, and instead, you can use an outline stitch to attach the wings to the butterfly's body. 
6. Like with the previous method, fill out the body of the butterfly using a satin stitch.
7. To complete the butterfly, using an outline stitch, create two antennas on either side of the butterfly's head. 
8. Your butterfly is now complete!

Final Thoughts

Embroidering a butterfly can be a lot of fun. Butterflies are known for their vibrant colors, so it can be fun to play around with lots of different colors and patterns.

There are various ways to embroider a butterfly. We have shown you a simple method to embroider a butterfly that anyone can do. We have also included a more advanced method, for those who are a little more experienced in embroidery.

However, both methods can be achieved by anyone and are a lot of fun to do.