Are you enjoying a well-deserved vacation this month? And haven't you quite figured out your plans yet? Great! Because this July, we'd love to teach you how to knit the butterfly stitch.
Yay, it’s July! I personally think it’s a wonderful month. Summer vacation is starting up again, and life is really shifting from indoors to outdoors. The kids are splashing around in a kiddie pool, and I’m sitting comfortably on the patio with a craft project on my lap. The garden around us is in full bloom, and the butterfly bush, in particular, is flourishing like never before. Lemon butterflies and small fox butterflies flutter cheerfully from flower to flower. They were the inspiration for this month’s stitch: the butterfly stitch.
The butterfly stitch is also known as the bow stitch. It’s not hard to guess why this stitch is called that—you’ll recognize the little butterflies or bows right away. It’s a super cute stitch for knitting a baby blanket. As far as we’re concerned, the butterfly stitch falls into the “looks-hard-but-isn’t” category. If you’ve mastered casting on, knitting, and purling, then you’ll surely be able to knit the butterfly stitch too. In this comprehensive tutorial, you’ll find a written Knitting Pattern, a knitting chart, and a video tutorial.
Free Butterfly Stitch Pattern
The pattern consists of thirteen rows. To begin, cast on a multiple of 10 stitches, plus 5 extra stitches, plus 1 edge stitch on each side. For our pattern, we cast on 27 stitches.
1st, 3rd, 5th, 9th, and 11th rows (right side of the work): knit all stitches.
2nd, 4th, and 6th rows: 1 edge stitch, 5 purl stitches, *slip 5 purl stitches (with the yarn behind the stitches), 5 purl stitches*. Repeat from * to * and end with 1 edge stitch.
7th row: 1 edge stitch, *7 knit stitches, knit 1 stitch over the slipped stitches (by inserting the right needle into the next stitch and also under the 3 held-back yarns, then knitting them together), 2 knit stitches*. Repeat from * to * and end with 5 knit stitches and 1 edge stitch.
8th, 10th, and 12th rows: 1 edge stitch, slip 5 purl stitches (with the yarn behind the stitches), *5 purl stitches, slip 5 purl stitches (with the yarn behind the stitches)*. Repeat from * to * and end with 1 edge stitch.
Row 13: 1 edge stitch, *2 knit stitches, knit 1 stitch over the slipped stitches (by inserting the right needle into the next stitch and also under the 3 held threads, then knitting them together), 7 knit stitches*. Repeat from * to *. End with 2 knit stitches, knit 1 stitch over the slipped stitches (by inserting the right needle into the next stitch and also under the 3 held-back yarns, then knitting them together), 2 knit stitches, 1 edge stitch.
Repeat the pattern from the 2nd through the 13th row.
Video Tutorial on Knitting the Butterfly Stitch
New stitch, new project
Why not settle into your garden chair and turn your new stitch into a beautiful project? And don’t forget to share the final result with us and all the other knitting enthusiasts. For example, by posting your creation on Facebook or Instagram with #Yarnplaza.
See you next time for the “Stitch of the Month”!
