Have fun making these cute and cheerful fabric butterflies! It’s such an easy sewing craft, perfect for beginners, and it’s a great nature craft for spring or summer.
Use our free fabric butterfly pattern and follow our step by step photo and video tutorials to make these adorable butterflies. Use your fabric butterflies for home decor, an addition to a DIY hair accessory, or give it as a thoughtful homemade gift!
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How to Make Fabric Butterflies
Materials
- FREE Printable Fabric Butterflies Pattern
- Cotton fabric, (colour or pattern of choice)
- Twine
Instructions
Step 1: Find what you need
- Gather your supplies and materials.
Step 2: Cut out the pattern pieces
- Print our free fabric butterflies pattern (find the link in the materials list above!) and cut out the circles.
- Pin the pattern pieces on top of the material and cut them out.You can also trace around the template with chalk or a pencil.
Step 3: Fold the circles in half and sew together
- Fold the larger circle of fabric in half, with the pattern (good side) inside.Line up the edges and insert a sewing pin or two to keep the fold in place.
- Repeat, folding and pinning the second circle.
- Sew along the curved edge of the folded circle, leaving about 1/4 inch seam allowance.Leave a 1 to 2 inch space unsewn in the top center.
- Here you can see the half circle sewn together with the gap in the middle. This will allow you to turn the piece right side out.
- Use your fingers or a loop turner hook to turn the half circle right side out.
- Repeat, sewing the smaller circle in the same way and also turning it right side out.
- Sew the open edges closed, as close to the edge as possible. Don’t worry about the stitches showing; they’ll be hidden in the next few steps.
- Set the half circles down in front of you with the curved parts in the middle. The larger semi-circle should be at the top.
Step 4: Gather the fabric together
- Gather the top semi-circle together using an accordion fold.
- Push the smaller semi-circle up against the larger one and accordion fold it as well, holding the two pieces together.
- Keep the fabric pinched together in the center, allowing the sides to open up. You should start to see the butterfly shape!
Step 5: Tie the center of the butterfly
- Cut an 8 inch piece of twine and begin wrapping it around the pinched middle of the butterfly.Leave a couple inches loose on one end and then wrap the longer part of the twine around 2 to 3 times.
- Cut a 4 inch piece of twine and place it horizontally, with the center above the wrapped twine.
- Wrap the first twine around the center of the butterfly another 2 to 3 times, this time including the 4 inch twine in the bundle.
- Tie the two ends of the 8 inch twine into a double knot at the back of the butterfly.
- Adjust the 4 inch twine to make sure the ends are even. Then tie a small knot at the end of each “antenna” to stop the twine from unraveling.
- Your fabric butterfly is complete!
Helpful Tips:
- Choose a colour and/or pattern of cotton to match your home decor!
- Scale the pattern up or down before printing to make fabric butterflies in all different sizes.
- Don’t want to use twine to tie the butterfly? You can also sew a tube of fabric and sew or glue it around the gathered fabric. You can tie thread around the fabric first to make sure the folds of the butterfly stay nice and tight.
Get our free printable fabric butterflies pattern:
The link below will take you to our free, printable fabric butterflies pattern! The PDF file will open in a new window. Then simply print the template on 8.5 x 11 (letter size) printer paper.
>>> Fabric Butterflies Template <<<
Do I have to use the fabric butterflies pattern?
No, you don’t have to use our pattern to make your fabric butterflies. If you don’t have a printer you can also find circular items in your home to trace around. The circles on our pattern are 4-3/4 inches and 5-1/2 inches.
You can trace around plates, bowls, glasses, candle holders, or even rolls of tape.
What size fabric butterflies does this pattern make?
Our fabric butterflies are about 4-1/2 inches tall and 3-1/2 inches across.
Can I make fabric butterflies without a sewing machine?
Yes, if you don’t have a sewing machine you can also hand sew the fabric together with a backstitch.
Or, you can also make a no-sew butterfly! Cut out the circle patterns from felt and then begin accordion folding and tying them together, no sewing required.
What can I do with these fabric butterflies?
These charming fabric butterflies can be used in a number of different ways. Here are a few ideas for you:
- Attach it to a DIY hair accessory, whether it be a barrette, headband, or scrunchie
- Sew or glue it onto a hat or tote bag for decoration
- Attach your butterfly to a pin to make a brooch
- Hang it up as home decor in a play room, kids room, or craft room
- Glue it to a magnet for a fridge decoration
- Attach a jump ring to the twine to make a keychain (this would be especially nice with a smaller fabric butterfly)
- Make a beautiful butterfly mobile to hang above the crib in a nursery
- Use the fabric butterfly as a prop for storytime or pretend play
Celebrate the beauty of nature with these fabric butterflies! It’s such a fun and creative way to use up scraps of fabric from your stash, and you can make them in all your favourite patterns or colours.
Here’s even more fabric craft ideas:
Our book Low-Mess Crafts for Kids is loaded with 72 fun and simple craft ideas for kids! The projects are fun, easy and most importantly low-mess, so the clean up is simple!
Where to buy:
You can purchase Low-Mess Crafts for Kids from Amazon, or wherever books are sold:
Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Books-A-Million | Indiebound | Amazon Canada
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