These DIY monarch butterfly wings made of felt are super easy to create and make a great Halloween costume or a cute addition to dress-up play. Just pair the homemade butterfly wings with some black leggings and a black top, you’ve got the perfect monarch butterfly costume! (We actually will be wearing ours to our upcoming local butterfly festival and parade.)
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*This post was originally published on September 18, 2013 and has since been updated.
Aren’t these felt butterfly wings absolutely adorable? They really are super easy to make (basically no-sew), and can be done with just a few materials. There are so many ways to change up these wings and make them your own. I’ve had readers share some gorgeous pictures of their handmade butterfly wings with all kinds of colors and designs!
Some Butterfly Books to Check Out:
Felt Monarch Butterfly Wings Tutorial
Materials for Felt Butterfly Wings
- Black felt (36 inches x 36 inches- similar to this
)
- 1 Sheet of white posterboard
- Pencil
- Pins
- Orange felt
and white felt
- Scissors
- Glue (I used Aleenes All Purpose Tacky Adhesive Spray and Fabri-Tac
for any little areas I missed.)
- Black elastic- 3/8 inches wide
(Cut into: 2 pieces 15 1/2 inches long, 2 pieces 4 inches long)
- Black sewing thread
- Sewing needle or sewing machine
Directions for Felt Butterfly Wings
1. Draw half of a wing shape on the white posterboard using pencil and cut it out. (I measured from the center of Lucy’s back to the edge of one hand. This distance was just under 22 inches.)
2. Take your piece of black felt and fold it in half. I had to fold mine in half diagonally for the wing to fit. Place the center edge of the wing template along the folded edge of the black felt. Pin it in place.
3. Cut the black felt around the template. Unpin the cardboard and unfold the black felt to reveal your butterfly wings.
4. Now it’s time to add the black and white design. I started with my white felt, cutting various circles and placing them along the edges of the wings. Then I cut teardrop-like shapes from the orange felt and placed them onto the wings. (It helps to always cut two shapes at a time. That way you’re guaranteed to always have two identical shapes~ one for each wing.)
5. With your leftover black felt, cut our a center body for the butterfly.
6. Once you’re happy with how you’ve arranged the felt pieces, glue them in place. I used the spray adhesive to do this. Later when I found corners that I had missed, I used the Fabri Tac to stick them down. Allow the wings to fully dry.
7. Now it’s time to sew on the elastic. We’ll be making two large loops in the center of the wings to place arms through and a small loop for the tip of each wing to place the thumbs through. Turn the wings over so the wrong side is facing up.
8. Take your two long pieces of black elastic (each 15 1/2 inches long) and fold them in half forming a loop with each one. Pin them to the wings with the cut edges in the center top of the butterfly wings. (I’m using white elastic in the photo below so you can see it more clearly.
9. Cut out a small rectangle from your leftover black fabric. Place it on top of the elastic ends to cover them up. Sew around the entire rectangle, securing both elastic pieces in place.
10. Now that the arm loops are sewn in place, it’s time to attach the thumb loops. (Again, I’m using white elastic for you to see it more clearly. The actual wings use black elastic.) Take one of the 4 inch pieces of black elastic and form it into a loop. Pin it at the end of one wing. (You can hold the wings up to your child to estimate about where his/her thumb will be.) Pin the loop in place. Do this for the other loop on the remaining side.
11. Sew the loops in place.
This is how the back of the monarch butterfly wings will look.
And here’s the front of the monarch butterfly wings!
Once the kids are done wearing these for the butterfly parade (and possibly Halloween), they’ll go right into our dress-up basket in the playroom! I’m sure there’s tons of imaginative play in our future with these adorable butterfly wings!
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Tulip says
September 18, 2013 at 8:34 pmLove this! They look so beautiful on your little girl. I can’t wait to try and make my girls some butterfly wings! Thanks for sharing.
Nicolette Roux @ Powerful Mothering says
September 19, 2013 at 3:00 amI LOVE this! It looks so gorgeous on Lucy, I cant wait till my little girl is older to make such lovely things. Right now, she pulls things to bits. sharing /pinned.
Sarah @ How Wee Learn says
September 19, 2013 at 4:30 amWow – beautiful. You are so creative. These would be great for a dress up bin too.
Katie says
September 19, 2013 at 9:23 pmThis is so beautiful! If my daughter saw this right now, I bet she would be sold. Then I would ask my mother-in-law to make it :).
Jody says
September 19, 2013 at 11:58 pmThese are gorgeous! I’m pinning this and really hoping I get around to giving it a go one day!
Ginny says
September 20, 2013 at 11:47 pmThat is super. I love monarch butterflies. And you could adapt it for other species of butterfly!
Chelsey says
September 21, 2013 at 7:41 pmThanks, Ginny! I can just imagine this in different butterfly patterns. They would be gorgeous!
Lucinda @ Navigating By Joy says
September 21, 2013 at 12:20 amWe don’t do Halloween costumes as much here in the UK but I shall be looking for an opportunity to use this wonderful idea nonetheless!
Chelsey says
September 21, 2013 at 7:38 pmThanks, Lucinda! The wings are even perfect for imaginative play. Lucy has been zooming around the backyard in them! 🙂
Dana says
September 21, 2013 at 5:39 amMy daughter’s store-bought wings just bit the dust the other day, and she is very sad. I’ll have to try this for her…although I’ll have to find a pink butterfly to use as a model. =)
Chelsey says
September 21, 2013 at 7:37 pmI think Lucy would just LOVE a pink butterfly too! 🙂 So many options…
mummyzilla says
September 21, 2013 at 12:48 pmawesome! My girls would love these. Thanks for posting the tutorial.
Lorie says
September 22, 2013 at 5:31 amThose look amazing and I love no sew costume ideas!
Julie says
September 22, 2013 at 10:37 amThey are stunning. What a fantastic idea for Halloween.
Ann @ My Nearest and Dearest says
September 22, 2013 at 5:21 pmChelsey, you are my felting idol! These wings are fabulous and little Lucy is just as cute as can be. 🙂
Chelsey says
September 22, 2013 at 8:24 pmOh, thanks so much, Ann! They were so fun to make!
Piwimama says
September 23, 2013 at 9:35 amI can see my girls dancing around the house in these!!! thanks for the instructions!
Natalie says
September 23, 2013 at 1:53 pmThis outfit is as gorgeous as its model. Too bad my daughter wants to be a ghost for Halloween and not a butterfly 🙂 Thanks for sharing with Afterschool!
Denise says
September 24, 2013 at 1:33 pmThat is simply AWESOME! And you could make any sort of butterfly, bird or fairy wings with this pattern. (Dang, wish I had a girl now.)
Natalie says
September 25, 2013 at 8:42 amWhat beautiful wings!
Thanks for linking to Tutorial Thursdays on Marigolds’ Loft.
Your tutorial will be featured tomorrow 🙂
Look forward to seeing you again this week.
x
Natalie
Marigolds’ Loft
Pinned 🙂
Jill says
September 27, 2013 at 9:50 amThis is a very cute craft project just in time for Halloween too. The wings turned out just lovely! Thank you for linking up this week to the Thoughtful Spot Weekly Blog Hop 🙂
Anna@The Measured Mom says
September 27, 2013 at 10:56 amYou’re going to have a very happy little girl on Halloween – what a beautiful costume! Thanks so much for sharing at After School.
Carrie says
September 27, 2013 at 5:03 pmBeautiful!! Thank you for sharing at Sharing Saturday!
Amy Greene says
October 1, 2013 at 1:56 pmThis is such an adorable costume idea. I am featuring on Mom’s Library this week at Pounds4Pennies!
katepickle says
October 3, 2013 at 12:10 amjust gorgeous! My kids will be so pleased I pinned this one day when they need a costume!
Stephanie @ Twodaloo says
October 4, 2013 at 11:02 pmLove this SOOO much! I just found out that we have a local monarch butterfly parade on the 19th, so I’m looking at monarch butterfly wings instead of going to bed OR working on my own blog 😉 Love, love, LOOOOVE!
Felt With Love Designs says
October 8, 2013 at 2:15 pmHi! Love your idea!! We included your butterfly costume in a round-up we did on no-sew costume ideas! Thank you for sharing!
http://www.feltwithlovedesigns.com/2013/10/04/links-with-love-no-sew-diy-halloween-costume-ideas/
Sethu says
October 27, 2013 at 7:06 pmA search on google to grant my daughter’s wish landed on your wings. Beautiful.. i did a pink version and my girl is in love . It was time well spent for both of us.
Here’s my version
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sethuprem/10527114626/
You are on my weekly reading list ..Thanks.
Chelsey says
October 27, 2013 at 8:16 pmThose wings turned out absolutely beautiful!! I absolutely adore them and especially love that it provided quality time together! Thank you so much for sharing! I’d love to share your finished photo on the Buggy and Buddy Facebook page if you don’t mind. I think others would love to see your version!
Sethu says
October 28, 2013 at 8:05 amSure. I am glad. I will do so in facebook.
Syb says
January 1, 2014 at 6:43 amThis is beautiful and a very fun project!
Thank you for sharing!
Kim Byers {The Celebration Shoppe} says
January 1, 2014 at 6:54 amThis is darling! LOVE the idea and pinning! 😉
Clo says
April 17, 2014 at 11:09 pmHi, thanks for the tutorial a blessing to find it as my daughter needs a costume for the school play. I was wondering what does it look like from the front? Thanks for sharing.
From Oman, Clo
Chelsey says
April 18, 2014 at 9:48 pmSounds like a fun school play- hope the tutorial will come in handy! The other side is just all black. 🙂
Betsy says
May 21, 2014 at 6:19 amJust made these, fairly true to your original. They turned out PERFECT! Thank you, thank you. Your directions were simple to follow and the whole costume came together in just a couple hours 🙂
Chelsey says
May 21, 2014 at 6:50 amYay! That’s so good to hear!! Hope the lucky recipient of the costume enjoys it!!!
Erinn says
June 5, 2014 at 9:03 amHello! These r gorgeous!!!! Is there a template to print for the wings?
Chelsey says
June 5, 2014 at 4:30 pmThank you, Erinn! Sorry, there is no template for the wings, but it’s not too hard to free hand! Please let me know if you have any other questions!
cassie says
September 16, 2014 at 4:56 pmHow do the wings attach to the dress? Such a cute idea I’m making an adult version for Halloween this year!
Chelsey says
September 16, 2014 at 7:46 pmI love that idea, Cassie! How fun! The wings aren’t attached to any clothing. They’re just held on the body with the two straps at the shoulder and two at the hands. 🙂
Tania says
October 7, 2014 at 12:44 pmWhat a beautiful monarch!! Thanks for sharing the directions. I have been looking for a monarch butterfly costume since our move to Northern California has been finalized, and my kids have gotten interested in monarchs and its migration. When I came across your blog,I knew I found the perfect costume. Followed the directions, and it turned out great. Now if only my little one would stand still for a picture….
From your post, I gather you are around the same area as we would be moving in. I have heard its beautiful!!!
Emily says
October 17, 2014 at 9:12 pmI just made these for myself, a 20-year-old, and I loved them! I had to extend the length and width a bit but I am happy with the result. The will surely make a lovely addition to my butterfly Halloween costume! Thank you for the tutorial! 🙂
Chelsey says
October 18, 2014 at 12:04 amOh this makes me sooooo happy!! I hope you enjoy them!!! 🙂
Emily says
November 1, 2014 at 12:32 amI made these for my almost two year old for Halloween this year. What a beautiful idea and it turned out mostly great! I adjusted for her size, which worked out fine. This was my intro to spray adhesive and fabri tac and a couple of the orange and white pieces fell off. (Maybe I didn’t let it dry long enough? not sure what happened there.) Also, she didn’t like having her thumbs stuck in anything, but we were able to have her keep the arms on and so it just hung on her back, which didn’t look too bad 🙂 Thanks for a great and easy butterfly costume overall!
Erin says
November 6, 2014 at 1:06 pmThanks for the great post!!!!!! Just made my daughter a butterfly this year 🙂 I adjusted the specs a bit to work for a 2 yr old, but the design is the same. I started by making it double sided so I could sew the sides together to keep a hanger inside. Then I attached elastic the armpits so she could wear it backpack style.
Here is a link to my post, scroll down to check out the picture!
http://ahomeinchrist.wordpress.com/2014/11/06/halloween/
Chelsey says
November 6, 2014 at 9:43 pmThey turned out absolutely beautiful! She makes an adorable butterfly!
Sindhu Nair says
November 20, 2014 at 8:19 pmHey, thanks a lot for this post. My daughter wanted to dress up as a butterfly for her fancy dress function at school. Your post really helped me make the butterfly wings for her and she loved them. She still plays with them @ home. And best part, she could help me with making them too. Thanks again
Jacqueline says
February 22, 2015 at 1:37 pmJust beautiful! Thanks for the inspiration!
Hugs, Jacqueline
Anshu Makin says
March 3, 2015 at 9:56 pmThanks for uploading such a wonderful craft. The wings looking beautiful. My daughter wanted to wear them for her fancy dress competition at school. She is 6 yrs old. I created them as per your instructions given and also decided to the do the pattern on both sides of the wings. In the end I had applied glitter on wings to make them look more beautiful. Along with wings I have made headband and used white felt circles on the front portion of the shirt to define the butterfly body. Hoping to win the competition. Once again thank you very much. For you to see my daughter, I have uploaded her video on YouTube. In search enter – Fancy dress competition monarch butterfly.
Chelsey says
March 3, 2015 at 10:56 pmThe wings turned out absolutely adorable!! I love all the additional details you added, and your daughter is just the cutest!!
AshM says
May 4, 2015 at 6:59 pmOh my goodness, LOVE THIS!!!
I saw this on pinterest and am planning on making my (adult) self some butterfly wings for my Halloween costume this year!!! 100% in love!! Thank you!!
Also, I’m thinking about doing mine in silk — I have some old silk scraps lying around that should work perfect for this and give it a nice flowy look :):)
Carissa says
May 11, 2016 at 9:42 pmI pick my daughter up from school today and she told me that she needed an insect costume for her school play tomorrow. I ran across your tutorial and ended up making her These Wings and she loves them! Thank you so much!
Chelsey says
May 12, 2016 at 6:43 amThat’s so nice to hear! Thank you! Enjoy her school play- sounds like it’s going to be super cute!
Sharon says
October 5, 2016 at 8:28 amMight be too late, but what age was your daughter (or what size was she wearing) when you made the wings? I’m making for a 6 year old butterfly tea party with 5 and 6 year olds, I think these measurements are about right, but wanted to check since i can’t measure all the kids. Thanks!
Chelsey says
October 8, 2016 at 1:37 pmHi Sharon- My daughter was 5 when I made her the butterfly wings, and she wore them again the next year to our local butterfly parade! Hope that helps!
Marzia says
March 4, 2017 at 5:50 amHi! I was looking for a diy carnival costume for my kiddies and bunped into this- awesome! I made 2 for my twins (similar pattern but i stiched the bits just to make that they wouldn’t fall to bits as I didn’t trust the glue i had so much…), big success! My kids love their butterfly wings so much, they want to wear them everyday! Great tutorial! Cheers, Marzia
Emma Williamson says
December 7, 2018 at 7:46 amOh, my God!!! Lovely!!! She is the cutest little butterfly ballerina ever.