Quiet Book Series: Page 3 - Butterfly

by Hannah Garnier

Quiet Book Series: Page 3 - Butterfly

Hello again! This is Hannah from Homemade Heartfelt. Did you know that Monarch butterflies begin to migrate in North America in September? They travel up to 3000 miles and are the only butterflies to make such a long two-way journey every year. I had no idea about all the travelling they do and how far they go! It’s amazing how there is always something new to learn as an adult… and in early childhood. This quiet book page is sure to blend education and fun for your little one!

Blending hand and eye coordination with entertainment, this Design Your Own Butterfly page is perfect for everyone. Kids can practice using a zipper, which is a very practical skill for dressing themselves. They’ll have to reach inside the wing pouches to retrieve the felt shapes and use their creativity to arrange them on the butterfly’s wings. If they are very young, just let them design away, but as they grow, you can use this page to introduce symmetry to them. Besides butterflies, many things in nature have a symmetrical design, such as flowers or birds, and even humans! Challenge your child to place identical shapes on both the left and right wing. Set up the shapes on one wing and ask your child to mimic your design on the other wing. Then let your child make up a design for you to copy; take turns. Children can also bend and twist the pipe cleaner antennae into different kinds of lines. This page is sure to be fun for your little designer. Here’s how to make this busy book page:

 

Design your own Butterfly

Size: Approx. 9x12 inches

Difficulty Level: Beginner

  Supplies to gather:

Note: You can find all kinds of zippers, pipe cleaners and poms at your local arts and craft store. 

  • Scissors
  • Black and orange sewing machine thread
  • Hot glue gun and hot glue sticks (not pictured)
  • Sewing Machine
  • Straight pins
  • Butterfly Pattern

Downloadable template here:

Butterfly Pattern Base PDF

Butterfly Pattern Shapes PDF

Instructions:

  1. Print the pattern on an 8.5 x 11 inch paper, with narrow margins; you might want to enlarge it up to 10%. Cut out the pattern and pin paper shapes onto the designated colors of felt. Cut around the edges. Please note that some shapes need two pieces. Remove pattern and pins. Lay out your pieces, ensuring you know what each is and where it will go on the quiet book page. I like to lay mine out on a white 9x12 piece of acrylic craft felt, but you could use any base color you prefer.

Note: I provided many shapes in the pattern, but feel free to get creative with the pieces you want to use for your page.

2. Thread the sewing machine with black thread. Lay the zipper in the opening of the long black felt body of the butterfly. Select the straight stitch on your sewing machine. Begin by sewing the top of the zipper (across the left and right halves) down onto the body of the butterfly. Turn the presser foot and sew down alongside the zipper, across the bottom and up the other side. You may need to maneuver the zipper pull tab to a different location as you sew and it interferes with the presser foot (unless you have a zipper presser foot). Be sure to end your stitches by sewing back and forth over your stitches each time (back tack) to ensure that nothing will come loose. Trim the threads.

a. Position the black felt body with zipper on the orange wings. Following the same stitches, stitch the body down to the wings. You should be sewing the same exact rectangle around the zipper as you sewed in the previous step

3. On the back of the wings, you should see the rectangle you stitched. Open the zipper and fold the butterfly in half horizontally so you can cut a slit within the zipper area. Cut the orange felt until you’ve sliced it the complete length of the zipper. From the back, trim it up so the orange felt will not be seen when opening the zipper from the right side up. This will also prevent the zipper from getting caught on any felt that may be too close to its teeth.
4. At this time, you should switch your sewing machine to a zig zag stitch and sew down the left and right sides of the black body to the wings so it will be smooth. Alas, I forgot to do this step, so you won’t see these stitches evident in my photos.
a. Lay your butterfly down on the sheet of white felt at least half an inch from the bottom. The extra space at the top will be for the antennae.
b. With the zig zag stitch, secure the bottom of the butterfly bottom to the page. When sewing the top of the butterfly body to the page, insert the black pipe cleaner, folded in half. I bent mine to look like curly antennae.

5. Switch the thread on your sewing machine to orange and keep the zig zag stitch. Sew around the edge of each wing, stopping when you reach the body in the center and restarting on the other side. Trim the threads.

6. Hot glue the black pom poms to the ends of the black pipe cleaner. This will cover the end of the wire that is inside of chenille stems.

7. Place your felt shapes inside the zipper for safe storage.

8. Your page is ready to be attached to the back of another quiet book page. If you need directions for how to do that, please visit my last blog here.

 

If you make this page, please post it on social media and tag both @the_felt_store and @homemadeheartfelt – we’d love to see your work!

Also, check back soon for my next quiet book page tutorial. If you have any questions or problems during your sewing, please leave a comment or reach out to me directly and I would be happy to help you through it.

Important Note: Working with loose small pieces is a personal decision, as this can pose a choking risk to children who may still put things in their mouths. Please use discretion. Children should always be under adult supervision while playing with any toy containing small pieces.

Happy Crafting!

 

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