Friday, September 13, 2013

Butterflies are Free; at least, mine are :-)


Butterflies flew into my brain a couple of weeks ago, when I was thinking about adding wings to my Forget-Me-Knot kids.  I've always loved the illustrations of Cicely Mary Barker; her Flower Fairies drawings from the 1920's are delightful, and they all have very realistic butterfly and moth wings. Sooooo...

Here is my attempt at creating some realistic butterflies in crochet:

Crochet Butterflies

The patterns are done in one color, so it will be up to you to decide how to crochet your butterfly.  I used two books to come up with mine:   Butterflies of Indiana,  by Jeffery E. Belth; and Kaufman Field Guide to Butterflies of North America,  by Jim P. Brock and Kenn Kaufman.  These are both excellent field guides full of pictures.  The Indiana book is also excellent from the wealth of information regarding habitat, ecology, conservation, and everything you ever wanted to know about the life of butterflies. 

I used acrylic paint to add some details to the wings, like dots of color and wing tips.  Dual Duty button and craft thread was used to make the antennae.  The butterflies were made with worsted, sport, and size 10 crochet cotton, with a slightly smaller than normal hook for the yarn or thread.

I've become captivated and plan to try a butterfly garden next year.  Maybe you will too :-)


20 comments:

  1. They look awesome, thanks for all your hard work and sharing. ♥♥

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  2. Ohhh I really love them!!!They are beautiful!


    greats from Holland!
    Angeline
    www.mijnplekkie.tk

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  3. Absolutely fantastic Beth and very cleverly created. I love them all. Only wish we had a selection like that in our garden.

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  4. I love butterflies. Can't wait to try this pattern out!

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  5. Thank you so much, Maddy, Eli, Angelina, Cozz, and Marta, for your good words :-)

    Beth

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  6. Just love your butterflies they are really sweet!

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  7. So beautiful....i'm looking thru my stash to see what kind of butterfly i can make :) thanks for such wonderful butterflies. ~Anne~

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  8. Thank and and gracias for your good words, Typs, Anne, and Zhobeyda :-)

    Beth

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  9. firt at all thanks for you alltime share so nice pattern and also this butterfly I coming try them in white and pink And I coming hold eays open see what you will do whid your butterfly smile have a nice weekend

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  10. They look beautiful, Beth!!! Butterflies are always nice to dress up little outfits, too!!! Thanks!!

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  11. They make me wish that I could crochet... but sadly I am hopeless :-(

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  12. Forgive me if I make mistakes but I'm from Spain. I love your work but I also want to thank you for letting me discover Cicely Mary Barker. I'll continue being your silent follower :-)

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  13. Thank you so much for your good words, Vickewire, Sandie, RocketKnit and Isabel; they make my day :-)

    Beth

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  14. Beautiful. I love butterflies. :-)

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  15. Hey there, Joyce! It is wonderful to hear from you :-) It is amazing how crocheting these critters has opened my eyes to all the butterflies around us...little things that open big doors.

    Take care, dear friend.

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  16. Hey.....I could see all the butterflies, but no instructions.....maybe I am stupid! Please help. Thanks Annatjie

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    1. Within the post, Crochet Butteflies is a hyperlink. Just click on it and it should ask if you want to open or save the file. Also, if you look on the left sidebar of this blog, you will find Crochet Butterflies just below Labels.

      Beth

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  17. Thank you so much Beth. They are absolutely beautiful!!!

    Annatjie: the words "Crochet Butterflies" is a PDF download link.
    (If your viewing this in Mobile Pinterest, however, you must get to the website to download it)
    Again thank you Beth.

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    1. Thanks so much for your good words, Terry!

      Warmly,

      Beth

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