Onwards and Upwards!
The idea of these butterflies originally flew into my mind back in July, as I had the plan to knit a little butterfly for my daughter’s teacher after she had completed her first year of school. A knitted handmade teacher gift to show my appreciation – And with it, a nice message to pop on a little notecard in the box.
Off she flutters into Year 1, leaving behind some beautiful memories of her first year of school. With many thanks Mrs Ray, Mummy Ali
But… I’m afraid to say, against the whole aim of the website, I was my usual slow/disorganised self and was unable to ‘fit in the knitting’. I kept changing the wing shape to perfect the design, and as the final design itself took three hours to complete, I hadn’t left enough time to finish it. However, I have since completed three butterflies, trying some different colours as chosen by my wonderful children – blue, yellow, and unicorn vomit…
Pattern Creation…
I looked at several different species of butterfly using the great outdoors and good old Google for inspiration; looking at the various wing shapes and patterns. And I did my usual snap-happy self, taking some pictures of butterflies to pop on this site alongside my knitted creations – grateful that September is clinging onto the last few rays of Britain’s Summer sunshine. I braved the battle with photoshop and made a collage of the many butterflies I saw on a previous holiday too!
Once settling on the 4-wing design, I worked on different edges to achieve the right shape and also the appropriate size. Something big enough to allow me to achieve the angles I wanted, but small enough to make it fairly cute and take less time to make. Et voilà – small but perfectly formed!
Back to my Pincake!
I dug out my knitted pin cushion cupcake from the cupboard (a previous creation) to help with my organisation, and pleased to say it is still going strong! If like me, you like to knit all your pieces first and then sew them together at the end, then you may find it helpful to use coloured pins to mark out which wing piece is which. I used blue, green, red, and yellow pins (alphabetical order) to correspond with the order I have done them in the pattern. For my own amusement, this also meant that when the pieces are made up, the pins mark Red for Right, Lemon for Left (I’m sorry for the nurses/clinicians reading this that may note that it isn’t Green for Spleen!) But you may of course choose any colour-coding method you wish.
New Life Flutters in…
The butterfly fluttering by can give a pretty, enlightening representation of happiness and hope. Their cheerful dancing on the breeze can sometimes be used to represent many stages in life – Moving on to pastures new, the freedom of retirement, for those that leave us, or those new lives that enter this world. And therefore a knitted butterfly could make a great handmade gift for many different occasions. It was quite an emotional decision to knit a butterfly – I had knitted one back in 2014 to place with my grandma after she passed away. A little offering for her to fly away in peace, particularly as knitting was always close to her heart and that she was the one who had originally taught me. But as some flutter out of this world, new life flutters in. So in complete contrast, I thought it fitting to knit a butterfly as a little gift for my new baby nephew. My sister-in law also loves butterflies and it seemed a wonderful Summer gift and keepsake as a knitted handmade new baby gift!
Contact me to get any new or updated patterns straight to you. Or keep an eye out on the updates section of this website to see the newest creations. Fitting In Knitting is also on Facebook, twitter and Instagram for some sneaky previews of projects as they evolve….
Happy knitting!
Ali 🙂
How to Knit a Butterfly
Total time 3 Hours
Made from eight knitted wing pieces, one knitted body piece, and either using yarn ends or a finger-knitted length to make up both of the antennae. All pieces are sewn together, with optional added stitching to the wings for personalisation or added prettiness.
Handmade Gift Ideas!
Get some more ideas, see what you will need and follow the patterns to learn exactly how you can make your own… More Knitted Gift Ideas!
I aim to have a new pattern up on the website every few weeks (children and their busy schedules permitting!) and I’ll let you know as soon as the next one is up and ready to go…
