Butterfly Circle Wreath Embroidery Design, Instant Download

About 10 or 11 butterflies arranged in a loose circle, each one a different species. Theres a large monarch-style butterfly dead centre at the bottom, a blue morpho-style one with eyespot markings at the top right, some smaller cabbage-white types scattered between the bigger ones. None of them are identical. Im pretty sure thats the whole point of it, looks like someone pinned their collection to a board and arranged them into a wreath shape.

Two colours do a lot of lifting here. The dark green outline thread traces every wing edge and the body segments, then black dense hatching fills in the wing surfaces with that sketchy naturalist texture. Wing veining uses thin satin gaps rather than stitched vein lines, which keeps the density manageable. The negative space inside each wing cell stays open fabric and thats what gives it that old botanical illustration vibe.

Six sizes run from 5 inches up to 10 inches square, stitches from 25,613 on the smallest to 51,690 on the biggest. Last autumn a customer wanted the 8-inch hoop for a nursery wall piece and said the detail on the wing markings was sharper than she'd expected at that scale. Pair a brushed cutaway stabiliser on cotton or linen. Avoid jersey or stretchy fabric, the dense hatching stitches need a stable base or you'll get puckering around the wing edges.

Hoop the fabric drum tight before you run it. Pop a piece of topping on sheer or textured fabric so the wing detail reads clean and doesnt sink into the weave. Add an underlay pass if your machine allows it, the density on the bigger sizes is around 50k stitches and the bobbin tension needs to be dialled in right. Skip dark fabrics unless youre going for a dramatic inverted look, the green and black combo needs a light ground to read properly.