Weave Your Own Nature Butterfly Wings

Have you ever tried the wonderful craft of weaving?

Perhaps you’ve always wanted to give it a go, but just haven’t gotten around to it. Maybe you’ve tried it but you’re a little tired of making the same old baskets. If you want to try something extra enchanting, you will love making these Nature Butterfly Wings!

The weaving process is just as enchanting as the wings themselves. It’s been a lifesaver for me during periods of isolation, calming my mental health and giving me something to focus on. It whisks you away into a mindful dream, where you are completely captivated by each weaving motion, and not the dramas in the world.

What you’ll need

• Weeds. Yes, I use invasive weeds for my weaving (corky passion vine). There’s nothing like taking something that’s smothering the native plants and making it into something fun for my kids! You may need to do a little research on the best weeds to weave within your local area, but a quick Google search can usually pull up a few options. 
• Raffia, or embroidery thread. The pink wings were made with pink raffia and I use blue embroidery thread for the blue wings. 
• Scissors.
• Wooden or steel tapestry needle (any needle will do though).

How to weave your nature butterfly wings

1. Collect 4/5 strands of your weed and cut them, or line them up together. Twist the thread around the weeds from the ends to about 1 and a half inches in. 
2. Loop the covered weeds and then twist the thread around the second layer of weed, joining them together to form a loop. I will say that this is the hardest part, but it gets easier after this step. 
3. Now you’re going to adopt a blanket stitch and start stitching around the one layer of weeds onto the next. I show you just how to do this in this basket weaving video. What’s different from the video is that you’re going to continue to squish one end of your circle to make a teardrop shape. You will need to squish it each time you weave past the pointed section. 
4. Tie off your thread when you’re happy with the size and tidy the weaving up by snipping off any weeds that are jutting out. You could also simply slip them into the weeds.
5.  Next, you’ll need to make the other three sections of the wings. Two large wings and two small wings.
6. Thread the wings together at the points they touch. You can use thread , but I used more weeds to do this. 
7. You’ll need to make the arm straps. I make these by braiding six strands of weed together. I was surprised at how strong they were!
8. Secure them on your wings like the picture below. Be sure to measure it with your child first. This time, I used thread to tie the straps onto the wings. 

 

All that’s left is for your children to enjoy their new nature butterfly wings.

Best of all, they last forever. (Well, not forever – but I have baskets that are years old, and still going strong!)

 

So there you have it – a simple yet completely enchanting craft. Did you give it a go? If so, be sure to let me know in the comments, or shoot me an email. I’d love to see the finished result!

You might love these nature butterfly crafts too:

• Nature butterfly Craft
• Butterfly mask
• The Very Hungry Caterpillar Nature Craft