Crochet Butterfly Stitch

The crochet butterfly stitch is a quick and easy way to add some lace to any crocheted garment. I’ve seen it used in many crocheted hats as it adds a nice touch when added along the brim. I imagine it might also look good in scarves and neckwarmers, bags, doilies and other home decor patterns.

Crochet Butterfly Stitch - Photo Tutorial
Crochet Butterfly Stitch – Photo Tutorial

When I first discovered the stitch I designed a butterly summer tank pattern that uses this stitch almost throughout the whole pattern. Not sure if that was a good idea or not, but that’s what I did and I still wear it.

Although the butterfly stitch is very simple to crochet, it can be a bit confusing when the pattern says to crochet around the loops. So here is a tutorial showing how to crochet the stitch from start to finish.

Crochet Butterfly Stitch

Step 1: The first step in crocheting the butterfly stitch is to crochet your foundation. Next, you’ll need to make at least 1 stitch in the row or round. In this case I made 4 stitches.

You could probably use any stitch that you wanted, but I find that double and half double crochets look good. For this tutorial I worked with double crochets.

Now you’re ready to make your chains as the pattern instructs. My favorite is to use even numbers between 4-10. Below I chained 6.

Crochet Butterfly Stitch Tutorial - Step 1.

Crochet Butterfly Stitch Tutorial – Step 1.

Step 2: Skip the same amount of stitches below as you made chains. In the image below I made 6 chains and also skipped 6 stitches. Then I crocheted into the next stitch.

Crochet Butterfly Stitch Tutorial - Step 2.
Crochet Butterfly Stitch Tutorial – Step 2.

Step 3: Repeat step 2 for 3 rows/rounds making sure that all your chains are directly above each other.

Crochet Butterfly Stitch Tutorial - Step 3
Crochet Butterfly Stitch Tutorial – Step 3

Step 4: Start your next row/round as normal and crochet up to the chains.

Crochet Butterfly Stitch Tutorial - Step 4.
Crochet Butterfly Stitch Tutorial – Step 4.

Step 5: Now make half the chains as you made in the previous row/rounds. In my case I had 6 chains in my previous rows so I’m going with 3 chains here.

If you made an uneven number of chains in previous rounds subtract 1 and divide that in half. For instance, if you have 5 chains, chain 2 for this step. For 7 chains, chain 3, etc. The single crochet that you’ll make next will make up for the subtracted chain.

Crochet Butterfly Stitch - Step 5.
Crochet Butterfly Stitch – Step 5.

Step 6: Now you will gather your loops by crocheting a single crochet around them. To do that insert your hook underneath all 3 loops as pictured. Notice how the working yarn remains on top of the fabric.

Crochet Butterfly Stitch - Step 6
Crochet Butterfly Stitch – Step 6

Step 7: Wrap the yarn over at the back and pull it through to the front of the fabric. You should have 2 loops on the hook.

Crochet Butterfly Stitch Tutorial - Step 7
Crochet Butterfly Stitch Tutorial – Step 7

Step 8: Wrap the yarn over again and pull through both loops on your hook. Your single crochet is now complete. :)

Crochet Butterfly Stitch Tutorial - Step 8
Crochet Butterfly Stitch Tutorial – Step 8

Step 9: Now chain the same number of chains as you did in step 5. In my case I chained 3.

Crochet Butterfly Stitch Tutorial - Step 9
Crochet Butterfly Stitch Tutorial – Step 9

Step 10: Continue to crochet above the other stitches.

Crochet Butterfly Stitch Tutorial - Step 10
Crochet Butterfly Stitch Tutorial – Step 10

Step 11: For the last row or round of the butterfly stitch repeat step 2: Work your stitches along the sides with the same number of chains in the center as you did previously. In this case I chained 6.

Your butterfly stitch is now complete.

Crochet Butterfly Stitch Tutorial - Step 11
Crochet Butterfly Stitch Tutorial – Step 11

Step 12: You can use the last round as the first loop for the next butterfly stitch, or you can crochet into the loop or the chains. In this case I single crocheted into the chains.

Crochet Butterfly Stitch Tutorial
Crochet Butterfly Stitch Tutorial

Crochet Stitch Tutorials

See More Crochet Stitches

Front Loop Single Crochet Swatch
Slanted puff crochet stitch shown in a cotton yarn.

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3 Comments

  1. I have never heard of this stitch before. I like learning and seeing new stitches. This is one that I will have to try.

  2. Thanks so much for this pattern. My first attempt went way off and i ripped it out and tried again with the result being BINGO! It’s so pretty and i absolutely love it. Turned out smaller that i had intended but i’ll do this one again and again with different yarns and hook sizes. It’s def my fav now.

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