Butterfly Amigurumi – Free Crochet Pattern

These butterfly amigurumi are so fun to make and are perfect to get you excited about spring and summer! 

I was inspired by some fun new yarn that I bought when I was on holidays recently and I thought the bright colors would be beautiful on some butterfly wings! You can’t really tell in the photos, unless you look really hard, but the purple and blue butterfly bodies are done in sparkle yarn! I’m so excited about how these turned out!

Each butterfly amigurumi measures about 6.5 inches wide (from wing tip to wing tip) and 6.5 inches tall (from antennae to the bottom of the body).  

When you make these butterflies, first you will start by working up the head/body (in one piece). Then the wings each made in two pieces and then crocheted together before attaching to the butterfly. Lastly, the antennae will be sewn on at the end.

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Materials:

• Worsted Weight yarn – I used I Love This Yarn, but you can use any worsted-weight yarn. The blue butterfly is made with Aqua Sparkle and Sea Spray Ombre and the purple butterfly is made with Lavender Sparkle and Paint Party. Remember that not all worsted weight yarns are created equally and some are thicker or thinner than others, which may affect the finished size of your project.
• Safety eyes – I used 8 mm size.
  • As an alternative to safety eyes, you can also crochet eyes to attach to the butterfly. Check out this awesome crochet eyes tutorial by Grace and Yarn!
• 3.5 mm crochet hook – I use (and love) Clover Amour hooks!
• Stuffing
• Black embroidery thread for eyelashes and mouth (or you can separate a strand of black yarn instead)
• Yarn needle – I find that bent yarn needles work great for sewing amigurumi pieces together.

Stitches Used:

• Ch – chain
• Sl St – slip stitch
• SC – single crochet
• HDC – half double crochet
• DC – double crochet
• SC INC – single crochet increase – two single crochet stitches worked into one stitch. SC INC Video Tutorial HERE.
• INV DEC – invisible single crochet decrease – insert hook into front loop of next stitch, then insert your hook into the front loop of the following stitch (3 loops on hook). Yarn over and draw through 2 loops (2 loops on hook), yarn over and pull through 2 remining loops on hook.  INV DEC Video Tutorial HERE

Important Notes:

• Magic Circle – Make a circle with your yarn, insert crochet hook into circle and draw up a loop. Use this loop to start your first chain 1 of the pattern. If you are unsure of how to make a magic circle, check out my Magic Circle Video Tutorial.
• Continuous Rounds – This pattern is worked in continuous rounds without joining. After you finish the stitches of one round, start right on the next round without joining between.  You may want to use a stitch marker or a piece of yarn to keep track of where one round ends and the next starts.
• Stuff as you go – Add stuffing to the butterfly head/body as you work it up.  Make sure you are finished stuffing before the opening gets too small when working the decrease stitches. You’ll want to add enough stuffing to make the piece firm, but not so much that you can see the stuffing through the stitches.
• Tension – For amigurumi projects, it helps if you crochet with a tighter tension. If you usually crochet loosely, it might be helpful for you to go down a hook size to keep the stitches closer together.

The Pattern

HEAD/BODY

Stuff as you go. Stuff firmly, but not so much that the stuffing shows through the stitches. Make sure you add enough stuffing before the opening gets too small towards the bottom of the body.

Round 1: Magic circle, chain 1 and make 6 SC stitches into ring (6)

Round 2: 2 SC in each stitch around (12)

Round 3: 2 SC in first stitch, SC in next, repeat around (18)

Round 4: 2 SC in first stitch, SC in next 2, repeat around (24)

Round 5: 2 SC in first stitch, SC in next 3, repeat around (30)

Rounds 6-14: SC in each stitch around (30)

*Insert safety eyes between rounds 9 and 10, leaving approximately 4 stitches between the eyes. If you’d like to your butterfly to have eyelashes, first place your safety eyes where you’d like them to be, but don’t secure them yet. Next, remove the eyes and use your yarn needle to stitch on the eyelashes. This will create a hole to help you see where you want the eyelashes to go. Then insert the eyes again and secure the back. You can also stitch on the mouth at this point, or you can do it at the end if you prefer.

Round 15: INV DEC, SC in next 3 stitches, repeat around (24)

Round 16: INV DEC, SC in next 2 stitches, repeat around (18)

Rounds 17-33: SC in each stitch around (18)

Round 34: INV DEC, SC in next stitch, repeat around (12)

Round 35: SC in each stitch around (12)

*Make sure you have added enough stuffing to the body by this point.

Round 36: INV DEC around (6)

Fasten off and sew bottom of body closed. Weave in ends and then cut your yarn.

WINGS

There are 2 wings on each side of the butterfly; one large and one small. To make the wings, you will need to make 4 large and 4 small wing pieces. Then follow the instructions below to crochet the pieces together, forming the wings.

Large Wing Piece (make 4)

Round 1: Magic circle, chain 1 and make 6 SC stitches into ring (6)

Round 2: 2 SC in each stitch around (12)

Round 3: 2 SC in first stitch, SC in next, repeat around (18)

Round 4: 2 SC in first stitch, SC in next 2, repeat around (24)

Round 5: 2 SC in first stitch, SC in next 3, repeat around (30)

Round 6: SC in first 5 stitches. 2 HDC in next stitch, [DC Ch 1, DC] in next, 2 HDC in next stitch, SC in remaining 22 stitches of the round.

Fasten off with a slip stitch in the next stitch. Weave in all ends. Repeat above to make 3 more wings (4 in total). See below for instructions on crocheting the wing pieces together.

Small Wing Piece (make 4)

Round 1: Magic circle, chain 1 and make 6 SC stitches into ring (6)

Round 2: 2 SC in each stitch around (12)

Round 3: 2 SC in first stitch, SC in next, repeat around (18)

Round 4: SC in first 5 stitches. 2 HDC in next stitch, [DC Ch 1, DC] in next, 2 HDC in next stitch, SC in remaining 10 stitches of the round.

Fasten off with a slip stitch in the next stitch. Weave in all ends. Repeat above to make 3 more wings (4 in total). See below for instructions on crocheting the wing pieces together.

How to Crochet Wing Pieces Together

First, lay one wing piece on top of the other, matching up the stitches. It doesn’t really matter which way you lay the wings on top of each other as long as you match up the stitches, making sure the 2 HDC, DC Ch 1 DC, 2 HDC stitches are lined up on both pieces. I kept the “right” sides of the wings on the outside, and put the “wrong” sides in the middle, however, this is completely optional.  It actually made the wings a little harder to line up to crochet together, but I liked that the stitches on the back of the wing looked just as nice as the front. Keep in mind that since it’s the back of the wing, it doesn’t really matter how nice the stitches look, so you could do it either way depending on your preference.

Next, you will be making a slip knot with your yarn and then inserting your crochet hook through a matching stitch on both layers of the wing pieces.  Pull the slip knot through both layers, chain 1. SC in the same stitch and in each stitch around, working through both layers of the wing. Join to first stitch with a slip stitch. See photo tutorial below. Fasten off, leaving a long tail.

*If you wing looks puffy in the middle after crocheting them together, don’t worry, I have a step below that will help with this!

If your wings look puffy in the middle or are not sitting flat after being crocheted together, use your yarn needle and the tail end of the yarn to sew a few stitches up and down through both layers of the wing pieces. You can pass your yarn through the middle of the wing to get it in the place you’d like it to be to make some stitches.

When you are finished making each wing, you will need to move the tail end of the yarn to the end of the wing opposite the side with the HDC and DC stitches. This is the part of the wing that will be attaching to the butterfly body and it helps if you have the tail in the right spot before you start sewing.  Sewing instructions later in the pattern.

ANTENNAE (make 2)

Gently stuff as you go.

Round 1: Magic circle, chain 1 and make 6 SC stitches into ring (6)

Round 2 2 SC in first stitch, SC in next, repeat around (9)

Round 3: SC in each stitch around (9)

*Add stuffing to the top of the antenna to help keep the rounded shape at the top. Then add a little stuffing as you complete the next few rounds. As a tip, I use a chopstick or a wooden skewer to help get the stuffing in if the opening is getting small.

Round 4: INV DEC, SC in next stitch, repeat around (6)

Rounds 5-7: SC in each stitch around (6)

Fasten off, leaving a tail to sew onto butterfly. Make the second antenna.

How to Assemble your Butterfly

Step 1: Sew on the Wings

You are now ready to sew your wings to your butterfly amigurumi. This part is a little on the tedious side, but I promise it’ll be worth it! 😉

First, make sure the yarn tails on the wings are sticking out of the side of the wing across from side with the DC and HDC stitches. This is the side of the wing you’ll be attaching to the body, so it’s easier if the yarn tails are already there.  You can move the yarn tails to where you need them to be by using your yarn needle to pass the tail through the inside of the wing and pull it out where you want it on the other side.

When you are ready to begin sewing, start by lining up one of the larger wings where you’d like it to be. I pinned the first wing in place before I started to help me keep it where I wanted it. For reference, where I pinned my wing was a couple stitches over from where the eyelashes start. Make sure the side of the wing with the HDC and DC stitches is toward the upper outside part of the wing (shown in photo).

Next, use your yarn needle and sew on the wing by making stitches in and out of the SC stitches on the edge of the wing and passing through a stitch on the butterfly body.  When you are done sewing, secure your ends by passing them through the inside of the butterfly before cutting.

Now you will need to sew on one of the smaller wings, overlapping the bottom of the larger wing a little bit. Start by lining up the wing where you’d like it to be. You can pin it in place, if that helps. I attached the first stitch right beside where the larger wing is and then started by making stitches downwards on the wing, attaching it to the body.  Then I went back up and made few stitches along the part that overlaps the larger wing, passing the yarn needle through both wing layers.  Weave in your ends and then cut the yarn.

You are halfway done sewing on the wings! Now you will need to repeat the same steps to attach the wings to the other side of the butterfly.  You will do this in the same way you did for the first side, using pins if needed. Start by lining up the larger wing and sewing it in place. Make sure as you sew that it is staying lined up with the large wing on the other side.  Then sew the smaller wing on, keeping it lined up so it looks even with the other side.

Step 2: Sew on the Antennae

First, place one of the antennae on top of the butterfly’s head and line it up where you’d like it to be. The antennae on my butterfly are lined up with rounds 2-4 on top of the head. Use your yarn needle and sew in and out of the stitches at the bottom of the antenna and pass in and out of a stitch on the butterfly. Make sure you go around each stitch and make sure the antennae is nice and secure before you weave in your ends and cut your yarn. Repeat for the second antenna.  

You’re all finished!! I hope you love the butterfly amigurumi you just made!! 

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