Simple Embroidery on Butterfly Print Fabric

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Here’s a fun way to make an inexpensive print fabric a little more special, just add the simplest embroidery stitches to give extra colour and texture.

I’m using this butterfly print polycotton from Minerva but this idea works with all kinds of prints and designs. Have a rummage through your fabrics and see what you can find that might be enhanced with a few embroidery stitches. This print, also from Minerva is similar and would work just as well.

Simple embroidery to embellish butterfly print fabric

All you need is:

  • a print fabric, butterflies really do lend themselves to this idea

  • some embroidery threads in colours that match your fabric

  • an embroidery needle - that’s one that is sharp and with a large eye

  • scissors

  • an embroidery hoop

Decide what part of your print fabric you’d like to embellish and pop it into the embroidery hoop so it’s nice a taught.

Take a length of embroidery floss. You’ll see it is made up of 6 strands of thread, generally you’ll want 2 strands to embroidery with so pull out 2 and recombine them by putting them together and threading your needle with them.

The stitches you do will depend on your fabric print. A butterfly print lends itself particularly well to embroidery embellishment because it’s easy to add to the butterfly pattern, especially if you’re not trying to be botanically accurate!

There is no need to do anything complex to get lovely results.

stitching embroidery over a pink printed butterfly

You might want to outline some of the shapes on the fabric with straight stitches or a backstitch. Lazy Daisy stitches are useful, so are french knots. Even small straight stitches add lovely texture. Just build up your design and stop when it feels like enough!

pink butterfly print fabric with embroidery embellishment

If you don’t know any embroidery stitches or if it’s been a while and you need a refresher then I have a beginners guide to some easy embroidery stitches to help get you started.

You can be guided by the colours on the printed fabric or add different colours for contrast.

This simple embroidery idea is a great way to use up little leftovers of embroidery thread. If you stitch embroidery kits you’ll know you often have a few lengths of thread left over when the embroidery is finished, now you have any idea to use them up!

simple embroidery on butterfly print fabric

What to do with your embroidered butterflies

I turned this piece of embroidered fabric into a bag but you could also use this idea to make:

  • A greeting card - I share a method to add fabric to greeting cards for a nice neat finish here: Fabric Easter Greeting Cards

  • A little pouch - adapt this idea and use an embroidered butterfly as the main motif: How to make a little pouch from your fabric scraps

  • A scented sachet - use this basic method, just miss out the cross stitch and use a square of your fabric with the embroidered butterfly nice and central: Cross stitch cross stitch lavender bag sachet

  • A garment - if you were going to use your butterfly fabric to make a garment I’d definitely think it would be best to make the garment first and then decide which butterflies were going to be embroidered. To embroider first and then try and work out placement for your pattern pieces would just add an unnecessary extra layer of stress!

  • Thinking of garments, why not have a rummage through your wardrobe and see if there are any items made with a print that could be enhanced with a little embroidery?

Alternatives to butterflies

As I said at the start, this idea is not restricted to just butterfly prints of course, I just like how it works on butterfly fabric. You could just as easily embellish flowers in a similar way using the simplest of embroidery stitches.

I embroidered on a cute bunny print once to make some Easter gift bags using similar techniques. This was a little more planned and my stitches were a tad smaller and more precise than the butterflies though.

You really don’t need to be an embroidery expert to have a go and stitch some pretty butterflies. Using a butterfly print fabric as your base means you are half was there already and you can add as much or as little embroidery as you like.

Have fun, play around, make something pretty today.

Julie

I’ll be sharing this idea at some of these link ups

You might like to check out some more of my simple embroidery ideas (nothing complicated here I promise!)