Since we made butterfly tea sandwiches earlier in the week, we thought. . .
. . . a fun. . .
. . . educational. . .
. . . craft. . .
. . . would be a lovely addition to a beautiful afternoon under the shade of a summer tree.
DIY Cloth Butterfly Puzzle
Materials:
- Felt (White and at least one other color)
- Needle and thread
- Paintbrush and watercolor paints
- paper and pencil
- scissors
Optional tools:
Draw or trace (from a book) your favorite silhouette of a butterfly onto a sheet of paper. You'll want this drawing to be about 8" to 10" wide.
Once you have your drawing, cut it out and place it on your sheet of felt that is not white. Trace around the pattern with fabric pencil or one that is almost the shade of the felt you are working with. I like to use a sturdy felt for the background (this one is a wool blend) because that piece is going to get the most use over time.
Stitch over the outline with a contrasting thread until you have completed the butterfly in stitches. I used a simple back stitch where I inserted the needle between the threads of the previous stitch to make sure it all looked like one continuous line, but feel free to use whichever stitch you're most comfortable with.
Cut apart the paper butterfly pattern so that you have two wings, a body and a head in white felt. Ask the kids to pic out their favorite butterfly from a book or search for one outside to take a photo of. Use the watercolors to paint the felt pieces to resemble that butterfly and take some time to learn more about the species while you're at it. Repeat this as many times as you would like and build a collection of butterfly parts and pieces with your kids that they can then match and identify any time they'd like to play a fun game!
Happy Crafting!
xo
~i.c.
