Friend asked for something with a butterfly and a heart and I wanted it to feel bold rather than delicate, so I went with a big swallowtail sitting right on top of the heart instead of inside it. The heart is a soft watercolour-style wash underneath, blended patches of red, purple, cobalt blue and warm yellow that fade into each other with no hard edge between the colours. The butterfly on top is the opposite, crisp black satin outlines, thick and definite, wings filled in hot magenta, bright cyan, cream white panels and small gold accent sections. Nine colour stops for all of that.
The upper wings have those classic swallowtail section marks, each panel is a separate satin fill with its own direction so the sheen shifts as you move across the wing. Lower wings have the more rounded lobe shapes with a scalloped edge at the bottom. Body is a slim vertical satin column in black with fine leg lines. The heart below uses a blended tatami that changes colour zone by zone. Its a high density file at 918 stitches per square inch so youll need a stable setup to get the black outlines sharp.
This gets used a lot for valentines stuff but honestly it works all year as a nature piece. Ive had customers use it on summer tote bags, spring jackets, birthday gifts. Someone ran a batch of 6 on matching pouches for a hen party last spring and theyre done in a single afternoon sitting.
Back firm cutaway on everything, this is too dense for tearaway. Best on smooth white, cream or pale grey fabric where both the heart washes and the butterfly colours read clearly. Avoid busy prints or dark backgrounds. Hoop very firmly since 918 density means the fabric pulls during stitching if the tensions loose. Keep your machine at 600-700 spm on the satin sections and full speed is fine for the tatami heart fill.
Nine sizes from 3.5 by 3.22 inches up to 7.5 by 6.88. The mid-range 5-inch is the most versatile for bags and garments. The 7.5-inch is proper pillow-front or jacket-back scale where youll want every section of the wing to read clearly. Email the shop if the black satin outline on the upper wing spreads too wide at any size and Ill suggest tension settings.
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.
- Valentine's Day tote bag giftStitch the mid 6-in on a sand cotton tote for a valentines gift bag that holds chocolates or bath products, the bold colours need no wrapping
- Romantic cushion cover centrepieceCentre the largest size on a white cushion cover for a romantic bedroom accent that works past february too
- Wedding guest favour pouchEmbroider the 4-inch on small organza or cotton pouches for wedding guest favours, fills nicely in a single hoop session
- Butterfly collector wall hoop artFrame a 7.5-inch stitched piece in a 10-inch hoop for a butterfly wall art display in a nature-themed reading room
- Spring jacket back panelUse the large version on the back panel of a spring jacket for a bold nature statement that pairs with plain denim
- Kids room cushion with heart and nature themeUse the 5 in on a kids cushion cover for a bedroom that mixes nature prints with pink and purple colour pops
- Galentines party tote setRun a batch of 6-inch on matching totes for a galentines party set, the multicolour heart means no two look exactly the same
- Bridal shower gift bag embroideryEmbroider the medium size on a white cotton bag for a bridal shower gift tied with a satin ribbon and a personalised tag
Dimensions
9 sizes included. Stitch counts shown for the largest colorway.
| Size (in) | Stitches |
|---|---|
| 3.50 × 3.22 in | 18,566 |
| 4.00 × 3.67 in | 21,568 |
| 4.50 × 4.13 in | 24,899 |
| 5.00 × 4.59 in | 28,358 |
| 5.50 × 5.05 in | 31,793 |
| 6.00 × 5.51 in | 35,561 |
| 6.50 × 5.96 in | 39,335 |
| 7.00 × 6.42 in | 43,268 |
| 7.50 × 6.88 in | 47,360 |
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.
