Detached Chain Stitches makes lovely butterflies.
The first time I encountered these butterflies was on the cover of Dorothy Bonds book Crazy Quilt Stitches (ISBN 0-9606086-0-5) which look much like the first purple butterfly which is done with silk buttonhole twist thread.
I tend to leave a gap between the wings so that I can add a stitched or beaded body…the second butterfly is stitched with Rayon Thread and has a beaded body.
The 3rd butterfly is stitched with Silk Ribbon and has a stitched body…Silk Ribbon makes a lovely full winged butterfly.
Below is a flight of Butterflies on a detail from my crazy quilt called Butterflies. ![Detached buttonhole stitch butterflies](http://loopylace.com/anniescrazyworld/wp-images/butterfliesdetail595.jpg)
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