Floral Ballerina Butterfly Embroidery Design, Instant Download

Played with a split-figure concept here that took a while to get right. The dancer stands with both arms arched overhead in a classical pose. But from the waist down on her left, theres a large open hibiscus with layered petals spreading out past her leg, and on her right the torso and skirt become the body of a monarch-style butterfly, wings fanning out with round dot markings near the edge. Two completely different worlds stitched into one figure.

Colour-wise its 2 threads total, a warm coral salmon for the main fill and black for every outline, vein line and detail mark. The contrast is strong but not aggressive. Density clocks in at 1,339 stitches per square inch and the largest file tops out at 69,478 stitches, so this is a proper complex stitch-out. You need a good medium weight cutaway stabiliser and a sharp 75/11 needle on woven fabrics. On stretch or knit backing definitely go two layers cutaway so the petals dont distort on the flower side.

Five sizes starting at 3.51 by 3.23 inches up to 7.51 by 6.91 inches. The large version is genuinely impressive on a plain background, it fills the frame without looking cramped. A customer who makes dance costumes ordered three colourways last spring and said the hibiscus petal section was the part her students kept pointing at. The butterfly dots on the wing tip are small satin circles so they stitch clean even on the mid sizes.

Works beautifully on ballet bags, dance recital gifts, tote bags, pillow covers or any light coloured fabric that lets the coral pop. Cream, off-white, pale grey or nude pink backing all read well. Avoid dark backgrounds as the coral gets lost. Slow your machine on the colour change between the coral fill and the black detail runs, a slow second pass keeps the outlines crisp. Pop the large size on the back of a lightweight jacket for a teen dancer and it photographs brilliantly against pale denim.