Crochet Butterfly Tutorial from King Soleil

Yesterday we introduced you to King Soleil and all the cute things they make and sell on Etsy. Well today King Soleil is sharing a lovely tutorial on how to make little corchet butterflies!!

I use these crochet butterflies on many different items in my shop, and are my favorite little applique to add some whimsy and fun to just about anything. Whether a nursery crochet rug, baby blanket, winter hat, or wall art, you can alter the size and texture with various yarns and colors to match your decor. I wanted to share how i make them, so we can all decorate and make our lives just a little bit prettier.

For this tutorial, I use Stitch Nation Peruvian Wool in the Ivory Color and a size J crochet hook. The only other tools you will need are a tapestry needle and scissors. This makes a chunky textural butterfly, and after I crocheted her (I dub this one a girl) I actually thought she looked a bit like a moth and was inspired by a silk moth to make her antennae a bit thicker at the top (more on that later).

To make a more delicate butterfly, you can use crochet thread, as I did with this applique on the amigurumi tea pot handle. Or use a medium weight yarn as I did on this baby blanket and rug.

For this pattern, you will need to know how to slip stitch (sl st), Chain (ch), Single Crochet (sc) and Double Crochet (dc). Easy peasy, right?! Right.

Sl st and then ch 6.

Insert your hook back through the first ch, yarn over hook and sl st to form a circle.

Round 1: Ch 3 (this will count as your first dc). 2Dc into the circle. [To dc into the circle, yarn over hook, insert your hook into the circle, yarn over hook, pull back through the circle and complete your dc.] Ch1. *3dc, Ch1* repeat this set 6 more times so you have a total of 8 sets of 3dc's grouped together.

Sl st in the third ch of the first ch 3 to close the round. At the end of Round 1, you will have 8 ch1 spaces that will eventually be the butterfly wings.

Round 2: Insert your hook into the ch1 space, yarn over hook, sl st, ch 2 (this will count as the first dc). 2dc into the same ch 1 space, ch 1, 3dc into the same ch1 space. *3dc, ch 1, 3dc* into each ch 1 space. Sl st into the second chain of the ch 2 to close the round.

At the end of Round 2 you will have 8 sets of 6dc’s separated by a ch 1 space.

Your piece will be quite ruffled at this point, but don’t worry! You will be folding this in half and the ruffles magically disappear.

Round 3: Insert hook into the ch 1 space, yarn over hook, sl st, ch 2. (This will count as your first dc). 7dc into the same ch 1 space. Sc in the stitch in between the two ch 1 spaces. This will anchor your wing so it is nice and rounded. *8dc into each ch 1 space, sc in between* Sl st into the 2 ch of your first ch 2 to close the round.

When you are finished, you will have 8 sets of 8dc’s in each ch 1 space.

Sl st to knot and tie off your yarn with an extra long tail. You will use this to sew your butterfly together. Fold your round ruffled circle in half, aligning each set of four wings with the tail at the bottom.

Sew up the center until you reach the inner circle of Round 1.

Ch 25. Sc in the second ch from the hook and in the next 4 stitches. sl st in the next 14 stitches and sc in the last 5 stitches. Tie off. This creates the thicker ‘silk moth’ antennae. If you would like the straight antennae you see on my other butterflies, simply chain your desired length, super tightly.

Fold the antennae in half and place on the top of the butterfly. Take your tapestry needle and sew to secure.

Weave your thread into the inner wing and Voila! A three dimensional, perfectly pretty crochet butterfly!

With wings that can move up and down…flutter flutter!

This butterfly found her home on a Crochet Children’s Wool Bamboo Hat.

And this one (crocheted in an eggplant shade of Peruvian Wool) is now a part of this Crochet Baby Hat in Wool Bamboo. Where will you place yours?


This tutorial AND all pictures are the property of King Soleil. Want to share how to crochet a butterfly? Please do! But make sure to link back to www.kingsoleil.com ! This tutorial and butterflies made are great for personal use, decoration, and gifts and are not intented for selling/profit. Thank you and enjoy!

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How to make cupcake toppers tutorial

Today April of kidEprints has a lovely tutorial to share with our readers. kidEprints sells a variety of lovely printable tags including a lovely collection of valentine themed ones!

April has written a really useful tutorial on how to turn printables into cute cupcake toppers.

The first step is to print your digital file. If printing with a JPEG image, treat it like a digital photo and try not to use any margins. Photo printers are the only printers that will allow for borderless or no margin printing. If you need to use margins, use the smallest size available (usually 1/8 inch).

Next, using your paper punch, centre the image and punch out a topper, repeat for all of them.

Place one topper face down and glue a lollipop stick to the centre back. The best glues are thick and acid free, or you can use a hot glue gun. You can find lollipop sticks and most major craft stores.

Add a bit of glue around the outer edge of your topper and stick a second topper on top so your cupcake topper is double sided. Place in your cupcake and you're done!!

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Easy Holiday Truffles

By Cori of Peace, Baby! Batiks

I love making sweets during the holidays, and this year, I decided to make mostly truffles and cake pops. I’ll be starting with these recipes, which are two of my favorites: Oreo Truffles and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles. Add a lollipop stick for a fun treat!

Oreo Truffles

This recipe comes from a friend in my MOMS Club. Super, super easy. Start them now, and they’ll be ready to eat in just a couple of hours.

16 oz. package of Oreo cookies, crushed in food processor (or in a Ziploc bag with a wooden spoon)
8 oz. package of cream cheese, softened

Mix the cookies and cream cheese together. Form into balls (I used a melon baller for size), and place on wax paper on a cookie sheet. Freeze until set. (I left mine in about two hours.)

Melt chocolate (white or semisweet), and dip the frozen truffles into the chocolate. While the chocolate is still soft, decorate with sprinkles, colored sugar, etc. – a great way for kids to help out!

Cookie Dough Truffles

This recipe comes from Spare Time Baker, the blog of a talented baker friend. I recently started following her on Pinterest, and the baked goods she shares there are just sinful! These truffles are always a hit, and my son loves them because I let him try the raw cookie dough. No eggs!

1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2- 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1-1/2 pounds semisweet chocolate candy coating, chopped

Cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add flour, sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla; mix well. Stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts, if using. Shape into 1-inch balls; place on waxed paper-lined baking sheets. Loosely cover and freeze for 1-2 hours or until firm. (The dough softens quickly at room temperature so it works best if they are frozen, not just chilled in the refrigerator.)

In a microwave safe bowl, melt candy coating, stirring often until smooth. Dip balls in coating; place on waxed paper-lined baking sheets. Refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes. If desired, melt remaining candy coating and drizzle over candies. Store in refrigerator, not that they’ll last that long!

(Thanks to my friend WB for this awesome photo.)

Now, try to limit yourself to just one. Or two.

Happy holidays!

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Cosmetic Bag Tutorial

Here is a great quick last minute handmade gift idea!
Cosmetic Bag Tutorial Shared by: Nana Brown's

I love it when I find something great and get that bolt of inspiration that fuels me and keeps me creating.


I was wandering around a shop in town and saw these fabulous placemats. It was love at first sight, but we don’t use placemats on our kitchen table. Instead, I had a vision of something fabulous and useful instead, a new cosmetic bag. My old one has been with me for more years than I can remember and is in a very sorry state. It needed replacement and I was inspired - what a great combination!

I bought several placemats made with all kinds of different fabrics and interfacing. I found the easiest ones to work with had lighter interfacing in them, otherwise it makes it too hard to get the zipper in.


Here is an easy tutorial to make your own cosmetic bag from a placemat.
Placemat Cosmetic Bag Tutorial



If you love the way they look but do not want to make your own they can be purchased in my Etsy shop too.

To visit more from Nana Brown's: Shop & Blog

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Kanzashi Flowers Tutorial

Kanzashi flowers are a Japanese art form that are traditionally made with honotai silk.  Kanzashi are typically worn as decorative hair ornaments in traditional Japanese hairstyles. Use your kanzashi flowers on hair clips or headbands as they were traditionally worn by geishas. Or put them on hats, jackets or tshirts. You can also make kanzashi flowers out of paper. Make a sweet bouquet or wreath.


Fabric (preferably a woven one that is thicker material)

Scissors or rotary cutter

Ruler or cutting guide

Iron and board

Straight pins

Needle and thread

Hot glue gun or fabric glue

Buttons, beads, embellishments



Cut your fabric into 4" squares. I recommend 3" ones if your going to use them for girl's hair accessories, but I'm making mine to embellish hats. Each square is one petal of your flower and each flower needs 5 petals.

Use your iron to press each square in half to make a triangle.

Next you're going to fold your petals. You will want to have your pins close by. With the top of your triangle pointing away from you, fold the left corner up to the top, bisecting it in half.

Then fold the right corner up to meet the left one, making a smaller square. Holding those folds in place, flip your new small square over keeping the raw fabric edges facing away from you so it is oriented like a diamond.

Fold the left and right corners evenly towards each other so that they touch and meet in the middle.

Fold the fabric together from right to left, sandwiching the points in the center.

Use a straight pin to push through your petal sandwich in the center, making sure to catch the 2 points in the middle.

Repeat the process until all your petals are folded and ready.

Using a sharp pair of scissors, cut the raw edged tail off of your petals. You want to cut close to the pin, but not exactly on top of it. Do not remove the pins yet.

Using your first cut petal as a guide, cut the rest of your petals so that they are the same length.

Use your needle and thread to sew 5 petals together. You want the needle to pass through where your pin is, so that it runs through all the folds and the center points sandwiched inside the petal. Remove the straight pins as you insert the needle.

I usually stack all 5 petals on the needle at once to keep the petals folded and then use a pair of pliers to pull the needle through all the layers of fabric. Then tie a knot to secure a loop of thread. You do not want to tie your loop tightly, otherwise you will not be able to position your petals and open them up properly.

Move your petals around so that they are in a flower shape. Use your thumb to press open the outer point of each petal.

Using your hot glue or fabric glue, put a small amount of glue between each petal to keep the petals from shifting around too much when in use. I also put some glue into the center of the petals from the back side of the flower. Next use a button, beads, covered button, or other embellishment to attach to the center of your kanzashi flower. I sew beads onto felt cut with pinking sheers for these flowers.

I'd love to see pics of what ever you make. Email them to thatmoxiegirl@gmail.com

Shared by: That Moxie Girl
Etsy shop: www.thatmoxiegirl.etsy.com


Facebook: www.facebook.com/thatmoxiegirldesigns

Blog: www.blog.twocrazypirates.com

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Make Your Own Fabric Labels

Giving handmade is an important aspect of the Holidays for many EtsyKids Team members.  We are making gifts, purchasing from local stores and purchasing from many of our EtsyKids Team friends in order to have a handmade holiday.  


Recently, EtsyKids Team member, SnugglyMonkeyCo, shared a tutorial on how to make fabric labels.  How perfect the holiday season!  Her simple instructions will make it easy to create custom labels to put on your handmade gifts ... like a scarf for dad, tea towels for grandma, skirt for sister, blanket for baby.    

Ouchie Pouch Hot / Cold Therapy Pouch

Here are Claudia's instructions:  Whether you are making something as a gift or a new item for your shop, I think these labels are the perfect finishing touch for a handcrafted item. Enjoy and please let me know if you have any questions!

What you need:

• Sew-on Printable Cotton Fabric Sheets
• Printer
• Heat-n-Bond Iron On Adhesive (see notes below for which kind to get)
• Ruler, Cutting Mat, Rotary Cutter (Or Fabric Scissors)
• Iron

Step 1: Design
Start off by designing your labels with your favorite word processor/photo editing software. If you haven't checked out Picnik yet, you should! It is a fantastic photo editing site with lots of cool features, and the best part is that the free part of the site can often times be all that you need.

Once you have your design, decide how big you want your labels to be and then lay out the labels using your word processor onto an 8.5"x11" standard page.  For example, my labels are about 2" wide by 0.5" tall. I set my page up in the Landscape orientation and have 4 columns with 14 labels in each column, so I get a total of 56 labels per page. 

Step 2: Print 
Grab your Printable Cotton Fabric Sheets. You can buy these at your local fabric store (look in the "Quilting Notions" area). Typically, they cost about $10 for 5 sheets. There are lots of different brands available. You can usually find them in either white or beige, sew-on or iron-on. Pick whichever color you think would work best with your design.  For this tutorial I use the "Sew-On" kind, but you could use the iron-on sheets and skip steps 3 & 4. I will say that from my own experience, the iron-on sheets do not have as strong of a bond as the Heat-n-Bond will give you. That is why I iron on my own adhesive instead. 

Follow the directions on the package for printing out your labels and heat setting the ink. If you are going to be putting your labels on something that can be washed (such as a quilt or clothes), I recommend following the instructions for colorfasting the fabric sheets as well. 

Step Three: Iron-on Adhesive
I find it difficult to keep my labels exactly where I want them on my items when I try to stitch them on at this point. So, I like to put some iron-on adhesive on the backs of my labels first. Then, I iron the label in place and topstitch. I find that this helps me get a nicer, cleaner look in the end.

Once your fabric sheet is ready to use, grab your Iron-on Adhesive. You have two options with Heat-n-Bond: Sewable (Purple package) or Ultra-Hold (Red package). If you only want to Iron On your labels with no stitching, then go with the Ultra-Hold.

If you want to topstitch your labels in place, go with the Sewable. Do not sew through the Ultra-hold - trust me - I learned this the hard way. You will get adhesive inside your sewing machine, and it will screw up your bobbin tension or worse. (And the money you are saving by making your own labels will go to getting your machine repaired!)

Cut an 8.5"x11" piece of the Heat-n-Bond and following the instructions on the packaging iron it onto the back of your labels.

{Tip: Put an old t-shirt down on the top of your ironing board before you iron on the adhesive. That way if your label sheet and the adhesive sheet do not exactly line up, the excess adhesive will get on the old-shirt instead of our ironing board cover. And, your husband won't get upset when he goes to iron his work shirts and ends up with an ugly, sticky glue mark on his shirt....}

Step Four: Cutting Your Labels
The final step is cutting out your labels. I find it easiest to do this with a rotary cutter and ruler, but it is also possible to do it with regular fabric scissors as well. I am just a bit challenged at cutting nice, neat straight lines with a scissor, so I use the rotary cutter. 

Once you have your labels cut out, all you need to do is iron them on to your item and stitch them in place.

Eye pillows with removable covers. 

A big thanks to Claudia for sharing her tutorial with us.  Whether you are looking for a new ID Badge Reel or Lanyard to dress up your work wardrobe, an Eye Pillow to help you relax after a long day or an eco-friendly Ouchie Pouch (Hot Cold Therapy Pack) for your little one, you will find all of these and much more at SnugglyMonkeyCo!  You can see more of Claudia's tutorials and see examples of her work on her blog.

   

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