Its a swallowtail butterfly but where the upper wings should be theres two human eyes staring back. Real eyes with defined brows, lashes, irises. The left wing has a fully open eye looking straight ahead, the right one is slightly angled. The wing shape is proper swallowtail, lower wings have those elongated trailing tips, and the whole thing renders in cream, charcoal and dark grey. Seven colours, none of them loud. The effect is kinda unsettling but in a way thats exactly what makes it work.
Wing venation stitches as fine satin columns running outward from the thorax, and the wing panels fill with tatami to get a soft textured look, not flat. The eyes themselves use directional stitching on the iris so thread radiates from the pupil outward the way real eyes catch light. industry software digitised this at 1265 density which is on the higher end, 9 sizes from 3.07 to 6.56 inch wide, stitch counts go from 26,327 to 62,254 on the largest. Thats a genuinely dense file so dont skimp on thread quality.
I designed this for the gothic and alternative apparel market. My sister asked me to make something for a friend who runs a small independent clothing label and they sold out of the first run of tees in two days last october. Since then I get orders from makeup artists, tattoo studios and alternative fashion brands who want something that feels designed rather than downloaded from a clip art site.
Use mesh cutaway stabiliser, hoop firmly, and slow to 600-700 stitches per minute on the dense eye sections. Stitch on black or charcoal fabric for maximum impact, the ivory and pale tones absolutely sing on dark cloth. Also works on white or ecru if youre going for the moth-pinned-specimen look, pair with a simple text hit below for a strong shirt graphic. Avoid pale backgrounds on the main version, it dulls the whole contrast. Reach out if the file gives trouble on your machine and I can rework the underlay settings for ya.
What people are using this design for
A starting point. The design works for plenty more than just this list, this is what folks have stitched it onto most.
- Alternative and gothic fashion brand teesAlternative fashion label chest tee at 6.5-inch on black cotton, surreal wings read as wearable art at a distance.
- Tattoo studio merchandise and staff shirtsTattoo studio staff apron bib on black canvas at medium build, gothic aesthetic carried into practical workwear.
- Makeup artist aprons and tote bagsMakeup artist half-apron at mid-size in black cotton, the eye motif connects directly to their craft and clients notice.
- Denim jacket back panel graphic pieceDenim jacket back panel at largest build, the butterfly-eye concept carries a whole garment without any supporting design.
- Art print inspired wall hoop decorGallery-style wall art: 6-inch in a deep frame on black velvet, mounted in an alternative living space or studio.
- Independent label hoodie chest or back graphicIndependent clothing label hoodie chest or back at medium build, the surrealist quality suits any high-concept brand.
- Halloween costume embellishment on black velvetBlack velvet ribbon trim or costume cuff, tiny 3.5-inch build, halloween accent that reads unmistakably against velvet.
Dimensions
9 sizes included. Stitch counts shown for the largest colorway.
| Size (in) | Stitches |
|---|---|
| 3.07 × 3.50 in | 26,327 |
| 3.50 × 4.00 in | 30,774 |
| 3.94 × 4.50 in | 34,560 |
| 4.38 × 5.00 in | 38,945 |
| 4.81 × 5.50 in | 43,712 |
| 5.25 × 6.00 in | 47,894 |
| 5.68 × 6.50 in | 52,661 |
| 6.12 × 7.00 in | 57,220 |
| 6.56 × 7.50 in | 62,254 |
Files & Formats
Eight machine formats included in one zip. Whichever your machine reads, its in the pack.
Plus a color chart for thread matching. See full format guide.
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About the artist
Reyazul Masud Riham, hand-drawing every design on this site
Every design on Re Embroidery is hand-digitized by one person. Each file gets sketched, color-matched, and stitch-tested on real fabric before it earns a place in the shop. No team. No auto-conversion from images. Just slow, deliberate work, sometimes three or four days per design.
That's the joy I work for.
The hard part is finding my designs re-uploaded and resold elsewhere. So when you buy from Re Embroidery, you're paying one real person for the file you're about to download. That matters.
