Needle painted Butterfly
At the request of my Saturday group class students, here’s an introduction to needle painting. As they are newcomers to the technique, I’ve chosen today to create a butterfly;
It’s a relatively easy subject to embroider, but one that allows you to practice color fading as well as the inclusion of “multicolored spots” in a plain background.
You will find the downloadable pattern HERE.
The long and short stitch work is done entirely with one thread. I don’t give any indication of color, as butterfly-making allows for all kinds of fantasy, and I wouldn’t want to deprive you of that…
Generally speaking, the butterfly is a subject that has been dealt with many times, so if you want your work to be unique, I advise you to focus on details such as the edges of the wings or the setting of the different parts of the wings with fine lines in different colors. This will give your work a special uniqueness and the impression of a finished project.
Below you will find detailed explanations of how to make the upper wing of the butterfly. In a second article you will find the embroidery of a lower wing and we will finish with the work to be done on the body of the insect.
Start by underlining the outer edge of the wing and the veins with a 1-thread split backstitch.
For the color gradient, I’ve chosen to work with 4 shades in camaieu. Start with the lightest color, as shown in the photo.
Continue working towards the base of the petal between the veins with the second color.
Now add the third color…
Finally, finish filling the surface with the fourth color. Highlight the top of the embroidered area in the lightest tone with a split backstitch in the same color as the veins.
Add a second row of split backstitch in the color of your choice along the previously embroidered row. Prepare the tip of the wing by outlining its contour in split backstitch as well.
Fill the background of the surface with long and short stitch, taking care to preserve the parts intended to form the colored spots;
First fill the top 2 spots, interlocking the stitches with those in the background and leaving the central area empty. Mark the remaining 2 areas with the back stitch.
Complete the embroidery of the various dots and fill in the area around the gradient part of the wing created at the beginning of the work with a series of straight stitches. To achieve the striped effect, use 2 contrasting thread tones and make 2 straight stitches in one color and 4 in the other. Finish by edging the wing with several rows of 1-thread split backstitches in the colors of your choice.
You can see here the picture of the completed upper wing.
Needle painted Butterfly part 2
Needle painted Butterfly part 2 Here is the second part of the explanation dedicated to the making of this butterfly. Below you'll find photos and details of the work done on the lower wing, head and body. Lower wingEmbroider this part of the wing in...
Needle painted Butterfly
Needle painted Butterfly At the request of my Saturday group class students, here's an introduction to needle painting. As they are newcomers to the technique, I've chosen today to create a butterfly; It's a relatively easy subject to embroider, but one that...
Hi Laurence
Did you work any split back stitch in the very centre dots of the upper part if the wings
Thanks B
Hello Bridget,
I did not work any split stitch in the dots. I did it just plain.
Best regards
Thanks for the information Laurence
Keep on stitching
Muy bonita, me gustaría aplicarla, como consigo el dibujo completo, gracias, o las clases como son virtuales o presenciales
Hi,
You can download the design on my blog and follow the instructions in the tutorial at
https://canevasfolies.ch/papillon-en-peinture-a-laiguille/
best rregards
Laurence