Origami Fabric Butterflies from Across the Pond

Summer is drawing to a close and with it comes the end of the sights and sounds of summer.  But never fear - there is a way to keep hold of the beauty of summer all year round with this month's Across the Pond sew-along project – fabric origami butterflies. 

 

Creating these beautiful insects is very simple - all it requires is a couple of pieces of fabric, some folding and pressing and a few stitches to help the butterfly keep its shape.

 

I used the paper origami tutorial by Ralph Matthews.   

Large and Small Butterfly

Start with two fabric rectangles per butterfly.  For the large butterfly I cut two 6½” x 5” rectangles and for the smaller butterfly the rectangles measured 4½” x 3½”. 

With right sides together stitch the two rectangles together using a ¼” seam but leave a small gap in the middle of one of the long seams for turning.  Clip the corners and turn the rectangle right-side-out.  (A chopstick is very good for pushing the corners out.) You can either slip-stitch the opening closed or do as I have done and topstitch all the way around the rectangle, close to the edge.  Press.

From hereon it is simple – follow the origami instructions and press as you go along.  Once your butterfly is complete, stitch the wings together along the centre as indicated by the arrow:

A couple of stitches in the underside of the wings will help
the butterfly hold its shape



I added two short lengths of knotted ribbon to mimic antennae, stitching them in place with a couple of stitches. 

These colourful fabric embellishments are so much fun and they can be used in so many ways.  Pop over to Susie’s Sunroom to see how she used her butterflies and then pop over to Amy made That to see her stylish turquoise butterfly and some colourful butterfly projects. 

What did I do with mine?    The little one is a book-mark fitting neatly onto the corner of my current notebook ..... 

Butterfly Bookmark

... whilst the larger butterfly seems more at home amongst the flowers, as a plant stick.  This was easily achieved by inserting the blunt end of a cane skewer into the fold of the butterfly and stitching it in place.    (I am thinking this would make a lovely gift - especially if accompanied by a Butterfly Patch mug rug.)

Butterfly Plant Stick

You could even pop one into the corner pocket of my Butterfly Pocket Mug Rug:

Butterfly Pocket Mug Rug Pattern

Until next time ......