DIY Network

Captured Butterfly Picture Frame Create a three-dimensional accent to enliven a picture frame. From "Uncommon Threads" episode DUCT-118

Stumpwork enlivens needlework by adding dimension. In this project, Melinda Barta demonstrates how the wings of a butterfly are suspended above the frame's embroidered background with wire. To omit the wire, you can combine the patterns and stitch the butterfly directly on the background fabric.

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Finished size: 7"x5" (17.8x12.7 cm)

Materials:

Captured Butterfly Picture Frame

thread: 100% silk 6-strand embroidery threads (1 pack of each color listed in the keys)
100% cotton fabric: aqua, 11"x11" (27.9x27.9 cm), 1 piece; purple, 6"x6" (15.2x15.2 cm), 2 pieces
white fleece, 9"x7" (22.9x17.8 cm), 1 piece
notions
medium-weight nonwoven fusible interfacing, 11"x11" (27.9x27.9 cm), 1 piece
cloth-covered 32-gauge stumpwork wire 8" (20.3 cm) long, 2 pieces
needles (chenille, size 18, and embroidery, size 10)
embroidery hoops, 5" (12.7 cm), 10" (25.4 cm) diameter
mat board, 7"x5" (17.8x12.7 cm) with a 2-3/4"x1-3/4" (7.0x4.5 cm) opening
craft knife
wire cutters
acid-free craft glue

Embroidery stitches used:
buttonhole stitch
colonial knots
couching
long-and-short satin stitch
satin over double running stitch
stem stitch

• Unless otherwise noted, use one strand of silk and the embroidery needle for all stitches. Refer to the patterns for color placement.

Buttonhole stitch:
This stitch is a tightly worked blanket stitch. Working the stitches from left to right, bring the needle up at 1 and insert at 2 (for stumpwork, the thread between these two points covers the wire.) Bring the needle up at 3 and over the working thread. To achieve an even edge, keep the needle low to the fabric and pull the needle toward you while tightening the loop; make each new stitch as close to the previous one as possible.

Figure A

Using one of your favorite transfer methods, transfer wing pattern (Pattern 1) to the center of one of the purple pieces of fabric. Mount the fabric in the 5" (12.7 cm) hoop. Using the outline of the wing pattern as a guide, bend the wire to match the shape of the wing. Bend the tails of the wires according to the pattern so they are parallel to each other and at right angles to the outline of the wing (do not couch the wire after the right-angle bends). Use #819 to couch down the wire every 1/8" (3 mm) along the outline of the wing (figure A). Outline the eyespots with double running stitch; fill and cover the outlines with vertical satin stitches. Use long-and-short satin stitch to fill the background and accent lines of the wing; when you're working close to the outer edge, angle the stitches under the wire. Completely cover the wire with buttonhole stitches, starting and stopping at the right-angle bends in the wire. Remove the fabric from the hoop. Center and transfer the other wing (Pattern 2) to the second piece of purple fabric, mount in the hoop, repeat wire bending and stitching instructions as for the first wing and remove the fabric from the hoop.

Leaving about 1/4" (6 mm) of fabric between the uncovered wires to create a flap, carefully trim the fabric around the buttonhole stitches with embroidery scissors. To straighten stitches, lightly brush the edge of the stitches with your finger and trim the loosened fabric threads. Fold the flap under the wing so that the long-and-short stitches are at the edge of the fabric; tack the flap to the back with a few satin stitches. Repeat trimming and stitching for the other wing and set both pieces aside.

Background:

Figure B

Fuse the interfacing to the back of the blue fabric according to manufacturer's directions and use one of your favorite transfer methods to transfer the background pattern (Pattern 3), excluding the dashed lines, in the center of the fabric. Mount the fabric in the 10" (25.4 cm) embroidery hoop and refer to the pattern for color placement. Stem-stitch the branches with two strands of silk thread (figure B) and the highlights with one strand (use one strand of each color for the blended needles). Stitch the dots of the pattern with two strands and colonial knots. Use a single strand of thread to outline the body and tail with double running stitches; fill and cover the outlines with satin stitches, using vertical satin stitches for the body of the butterfly and horizontal satin stitches for the tail and its three light blue highlights.

Attaching the wings:
Make sure that the blue fabric is taut in the embroidery hoop. Referring to the red dots of the pattern for placement, punch holes in the fabric with the chenille needle on either side of the butterfly body. Pull the wires of the left wing through the two holes on the left side of the body. Wrap your hand around the hoop and hold the wings in place. Looking at the right side of the fabric, make sure the long-and-short satin stitches on the base of the wing are flush against the background fabric; if they are not, the wires need to be pulled a little tighter from the back. Bend the wires toward the center of the wing at the point at which the wires emerge from the front; wires will be flush with the back of the fabric. Tack the wires with two strands of #818 and satin stitch under the body of the butterfly. Attach the right wing by bringing the wires through the two holes on the right side of the body, repeat pulling and wire bending, and tack the wires to the back of the fabric. Use caution if you have to retwist the wire more than once: it may break. Wrap the four wires with thread to create a small bundle where they meet under the body. Trim the wire tails to 1/4" (6 mm). If the fabric at the base of the wings is showing, add a few more vertical satin stitches to the center of the butterfly's body with the embroidery needle. Gently bend the wings on the front so that the tips are suspended about 1/8" (3mm) above the ground fabric. Remove the fabric from the hoop and set aside.

Assembling the frame:

	Figure C
	Figure D

Lightly coat the right side of the mat board with glue and let dry for about two minutes; center and place right side down on the fleece. Allow the layers to dry on a flat surface under the weight of a book. When the glue is completely dry, lay the frame right side down on a cutting mat or piece of cardboard and use the craft knife to cut the fleece out of the opening in the mat. Trim the fleece around the mat and set aside.

Trim the background fabric along the solid outside line and gently lay right side down on a hard surface covered with a terrycloth towel. Lightly coat the outer 1/2" (1.3 cm) of the back of the mat with glue and center the mat with the fleece side down on the wrong side of the background fabric (figure C). First pull the corners of the background fabric, then the sides, onto the glued mat with tight and even tension. Let dry for a minimum of 5 minutes. With the fabric right side down on a cutting mat positioned on the edge of a table and the butterfly hanging off the edge, draw an x in the center that extends from one corner of the mat's opening to another (figure D). Starting and stopping 1/" (3 mm) from the tips of the drawn x, cut along the x with the craft knife; trim 1/4" (6 mm) off the points. Working on the wrong side of the fabric, lightly coat with glue the top 1/4" (6 mm) of the trimmed flaps, tightly pull the flaps to the back and glue to the back of the mat. Mount the mat in your favorite picture frame.

GUESTS :

Melinda Barta
Website: www.hiptostitch.com