I sat down to tat a snowflake. Little did I know that hidden
in a cocoon in the central flower, there was a butterfly waiting to spring out
! The snowflake was Georgia Seitz’ SuperBowl Sunday Snowflake 1999.
When I shared my first pic in the Tatting Design Class, it was received enthusiastically & the
pattern was cleverly dissected (no harm came to the butterfly :-) !). At the time I had named it after the snowflake (one of my
ways of giving credit to the original) - quite a mouthful, though.
However, after talking to Georgia , it became Super 17
Butterfly for two reasons – it had taken 17 years for the snowflake to become a
butterfly, & my date of birth is 17.
Recently I remembered two more important reasons ! This is the 17th
year of her Online Tatting Class, And she celebrates her 17th
birthday today – yes, forever young our GS !!!
This little butterfly is dedicated to Georgia Seitz
&
her immense contribution to the tatting art & community.
Happy Birthday, shuttle sister :-)
I am sharing 3 main versions of the butterfly – a simple 2D
basic pattern & two 3D versions, with a few little options thrown in. All the butterflies can be tatted in one
continuous pass.
THREADS USED & FINAL
MEASUREMENTS
Yellow
Butterflies : Anchor size 20 Art 4054 (0293 lemony yellow & 0302 dark yellow)
Black
Butterflies : 2 strands of Anchor variegated embroidery thread (1325), &
Anchor Mercer size 40 black.
3D Peach
Butterfly : 3 strands of Anchor variegated embroidery thread (1315) & Red
Heart 0328)
In size
20, they measure 1¼”x1” & in size 40 1”x ¾”.
There are times when one is looking for a simple or beginner
pattern. This 2-page pdf contains only the basic pattern in the form of written
notations & diagram. It can be worked with single shuttle & ball & thread size of choice.
showing folded chain & inward picots |
Options for antennae/feelers |
in size 40 threads |
If, while tatting, one decides to convert the basic 2D
butterfly into a 3D version, simply follow along without cutting & tying!
The 2nd wing is winged after completion of body with one minor
change. And one can still work with single shuttle & ball.
In this version, the basic 2D pattern is followed till the end where instead of 1ds, a Mock Ring (or SCMR or chain joined back on itself) of 2ds is made. Continue without reversing work. The 2nd wing is worked from behind/back side of the previous wing and is a mirror image of the 1st wing. The wing is joined back at the base of the head to complete a 3D butterfly.
I got the feeling while photographing, that the head got
hidden in the 1st version. My very first visualization had been to
make the body 3D by coiling a chain around, as I had once done back in 2014 for
a freeform pond reed (see pic). But
that will have to wait for another butterfly.
Instead I added texture & bulk to the body by using a combination of variable padded ds & Josephine chain. To make the head more prominent I applied my perpendicular arrangement of concentric/onion JosephineRings.
So here’s version 2 of the 3D butterfly for those who like
a bit of a challenge.
This version requires 2 shuttles.
This version requires 2 shuttles.
The antennae/feelers were kept simple with a long picot snipped in half later.
The peach thread is perle cotton which was a mistake! It appears bulky but loose & the stitches are never as neat as one wants them. Nevertheless, in order to show the head & torso, I had chosen a lighter shade .
I hope nothing has been left out. In case of any questions, mistakes, etc. feel free to talk to me. You know where to reach me :-)))
happy tatting :-)
Related Posts/Tutorials : twisted picots (floating)
Motif #24 of III for 25 Motif Challenge
A lovely tribute! I like the 3-D version best.
ReplyDeleteJane, many in class today felt the same way about the 3D one. I enjoyed tatting these - flying off my shuttles :-)
DeleteSo sweet! I love butterflies!
ReplyDeleteThese are just newborns compared to your evolved ones, Ninetta ;-)
DeleteCreativity is seeing something no one else sees. I love these. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteSuch a lovely thin to say, StringyDogs :-) Hope you enjoy making them
DeleteThanks Muskaan, nice story.
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed the read, Bernice :-)
DeleteWonderful butterflies!! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sue ! Waiting eagerly to see your 6-shuttle lace :-)
DeleteHow beautiful. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThanks & welcome, Pam :-) Hope you get around to tatting them ...
DeleteWow! Gorgeous tatted pieces :). Love the 3D butterfly :). Thanks for sharing the patterns muskaan :).
ReplyDeleteThank you so very much, Jenn :-)
Delete(((Hugs)))
I really like the 3D version, and also the black and variegated thread together. It's a very pretty variegate, is embroidery thread difficult to tat with?
ReplyDeleteAh, you noticed, Robin ! No, it the embroidery thread was extremely easy to work with. One needs to be careful only when trying to open a stitch for fear of separating the strands. I recently bought a box of 25 skeins (5 colourways) so you will be seeing them in future too :-)
DeleteThese are of course already variegated & the number of strands can simply be pulled out together. But in 2014, I had tried to create my own 'colourway' by combining single strands - one from a blue & one from a purple skein. Simply knotted it at the beginning, loaded the bobbin & the tatting went very smoothly too.
Cudowne motyle.Kolory piekne.Pozdrawiam serdecznie.
ReplyDeleteDziękuję bardzo, Malgorzata :-)
DeleteThank you. I love them
ReplyDeleteWelcome, Anonymous 🌿🌺🌿 Happy tatting
Delete