Wonky Butterfly Tutorial

I wanted a butterfly for something I am making. I looked around for pieced butterflies and didn't find anything that was what I wanted. I wanted a butterfly that looked somewhat real. Finally I got out my son's old "North American Field Guide to the Butterflies" book and studied it.

Butterflies have two sets of wings, and they aren't usually significantly different from each other. The "notch" on the outer edge of the butterfly is the space created where the two wings meet visually.

I liked the idea of a w-i-d-e butterfly that was more horizontal than vertical. I found a butterfly I liked, and drew it out. After playing with that a while, I put in on some graph paper, made photocopies (so I could use it as a pattern without having to draw it all over again) and tried to figure out how to sew it together. After a couple of dud attempts, I finally got one I really liked (the orange one, above.) Now I've made two dozen, and I've got it all figured out. So here goes. You can click any of the photos to enlarge them, so you can see better.)

1. For one butterfly, you'll need a 2" strip of fabric about 22" long for the butterfly itself, (here shown in lavender); one strip of background fabric 3" wide x 22", two strips of background fabric 1" wide x 22" and one piece of dark fabric for the body,1" x 3".
2. We'll start with the wings. Sew them together, using a 1/4" seam, as shown below. Press to one side. (I'm not going to go into detail about that, if you make quilts, you know how to do this already.)
3. Fold in half lengthwise, and cut into two equal pieces
4. Cut two pieces 5-1/2" wide. These will be the upper wings. Use the other pieces for the lower wings.
5. Place an upper wing piece on top of a lower wing piece, aligning the seams, as shown.
6. You'll sew the two together at a 45 degree angle. You can click the picture and enlarge it to see just how I measure this to get it the way I want it.
7. Sew, and press the seams to one side. You now have two wings as shown. Set the wings aside.
8. Make the body. Cut a couple of pieces of the 1" background fabric about 3-1/2" long, and sew to each end of the body. In this picture I have a much longer piece, but it's actually too big.
9. This is the trickiest part of the whole thing. Cut pieces of the 1" wide backing fabric into strips about 10" long. You will sew these to the sides of the body at an angle. Your goal is a long tapered shape, wider at the top (about 1/4 - 1/3") and almost to a point at the bottom edge. If yours isn't a point, don't worry. It will be fine as long as it isn't the same width from top to bottom. I usually use a pretty narrow seam allowance. Trim the excess fabric, and press away from the body fabric.
10. Here's what you're shooting for. The more you do, the better you'll get. You don't want the body too skinny or too short.
11. Now you have two wings and a body, as shown here.
12. Setting one wing aside, fold the inner edge of one wing under itself until it gets to be the shape you like. You are setting the angle of the wings here. They can be wide apart at the top, and closer together at the bottom. Whatever. Play with it until you like the way it looks.
13. Repeat with the other wing. You want to get them pretty symmetrical. When you get them the way you like, press them so the wings get a nice crease.
14. Move one wing out of the way. Gently fold the wing over the body, and stitch on the creased line. Open it to make sure it looks ok, then repeat with the other wing, lining it up so the wings look even and symmetrical. It's OK (I think it's even better) if you can see a bit of background fabric still surrounding the body.
15. Trim the excess and press.
16. Trim the outer edge. For this butterfly, I line up the top corner of the upper wing with the inside edge of the "notch". Then I just slice the excess away with my rotary cutter. Repeat on the other side.
17. Trim the bottom edges of the butterfly's bottom wings. These are supposed to be smaller than the upper wings, so don't be afraid to chop them off.
18. The finished butterfly. You can add more background fabric. As you can see, the butterfly is about 7-1/2" wide and 5" high.
Here are two butterflies, both made with the same technique. As you can see, the butterfly on the left is wider. The body is a bit wider also, and the lower wings are made from a different fabric. I think there is a lot of "wonky" possibilities with this butterfly technique. You could make the upper wings wider. You could trim the wings differently. You could make the body longer.
Have some fun, but you have to post pictures! I want to see how yours turn out!