Hey guys, welcome back to the Watch Knitting YouTube channel! This is Fariba, and today I’m going to show you how to create an easy Butterfly Stitch pattern. 🦋
This stitch is beautifully textured, totally beginner-friendly, and perfect for many knitting projects—especially for baby blankets, scarves, and garments.
The Butterfly Stitch is based on a multiple of 6 stitches + 3 and is worked over 16 rows (8 rows of the main pattern + 8 offsetting rows). All the wrong-side rows are simply purled across, making this stitch easy to follow and memorize.
For this tutorial, I’ll be using a lightweight yarn with 2 mm needles. I cast on 21 stitches, which gives me three full repeats of the pattern. To set up, I worked a couple of rows in garter stitch (knit one row, then knit the return row) to create a neat base.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Cast on a multiple of 6 + 3 stitches, plus edge stitches if desired.
Rows 1–8
- Row 1 (WS): Purl
- Row 2 (RS): Edge, rep [K2, Sl3 wyif, K1], K1, edge
- Row 3 (WS): Purl
- Row 4 (RS): Edge, rep [K2, Sl3 wyif, K1], K1, edge
- Row 5 (WS): Purl
- Row 6 (RS): Edge, rep [K2, Sl3 wyif, K1], K1, edge
- Row 7 (WS): Purl
- Row 8 (RS): Edge, rep [K3, L3DK, K2], K1, edge
Rows 9–16 (Offset Section)
- Row 9 (WS): Purl
- Row 10 (RS): Edge, K3, rep [K2, Sl3 wyif, K1], K4, edge
- Row 11 (WS): Purl
- Row 12 (RS): Edge, K3, rep [K2, Sl3 wyif, K1], K4, edge
- Row 13 (WS): Purl
- Row 14 (RS): Edge, K3, rep [K2, Sl3 wyif, K1], K4, edge
- Row 15 (WS): Purl
- Row 16 (RS): Edge, K3, rep [K3, L3DK, K2], K2, edge
Abbreviations
- K – Knit
- P – Purl
- Sl – Slip
- wyif – With yarn in front
- rep – Repeat
- L3DK – Insert the right needle from under the horizontal strands, pick up the dropped stitch, and knit it. Do not drop the original stitch—keep it on the left needle. Pull the new stitch through under the strands, place it back on the left needle, then knit the two stitches together through the back loop.
Helpful Tips for Knitting the Butterfly Stitch
✨ Always bring the yarn to the front when slipping 3 stitches.
✨ The butterfly shape is formed on Row 8 and Row 16 when you knit into the strands.
✨ Blocking your project will help the butterflies open up beautifully.
What Can You Make With the Butterfly Stitch?
This stitch is perfect for:
- Baby blankets 🍼
- Scarves 🧣
- Shawls
- Decorative panels in sweaters and cardigans
It creates a lovely textured fabric with “butterflies” floating across the surface—a show-stopper that’s still easy to knit.
Final Thoughts
That’s it for the Butterfly Stitch knitting pattern! There are many variations of this technique that can create magical textures, but this is the basic version that beginners can master quickly.
👉 If you enjoyed this tutorial, don’t forget to Like, Subscribe, and hit the Bell on my YouTube channel so you never miss a new stitch pattern.
Happy Knitting! 🧶💙
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