Small Blue Butterfly by Nicola Jarvis

Throughout the book Life in Seasons | Winter & Spring, Nicola introduces us to some truly wonderful creatures that form part of her nature journey through the seasons.

Varying in stature and number, some creatures you will be familiar with, others you may have never seen or even heard of before.

This week we’re introducing you to the smallest project from the book.

Aptly called the ‘Small Blue Butterfly’ this ‘tiny, jewel-like creature’ as Nicola describes it, may never have been around to enjoy its fame as a stitched piece of art, if it wasn’t for some vital intervention. Nicola explains…

‘Over the last five years I have become increasingly interested in the**natural history of British butterflies and moths This led me to join the Butterfly Conservation organisation, where I then became a member of Warwickshire Butterfly Conservation. This is a local branch of the national charitable body that works tirelessly to educate, conserve and restore specific habitats for butterflies and moths to thrive.’

‘In Warwickshire we have a very encouraging success story surrounding the small blue butterfly (cupido minimus), the smallest of all the British butterflies. Although it is called blue and part of the family of ‘blues’, it isn’t really that blue in real life!

Over the last few decades these tiny, magical creatures had declined to such a point that they were in danger of becoming extinct in the county.

Happily, volunteers from Butterfly Conservation worked hard to re-establish these vital grasslands by clearing scrub and re-introducing kidney vetch in a few key areas. The work is now paying off and this hitherto scarce species is increasing again in several sites across Warwickshire and has now been removed from conservation red lists.

I wanted to celebrate the tale of this delightful little butterfly in an appropriately bijou project and to highlight how we all have the power to invoke positive change in our environments.’

Nicola has captured the beauty of the small blue butterfly by creating this wonderful, stitched study using a combination of 10 different techniques worked in silk and metallic threads to add lustre to the delicate wings.

Modest in size, with the finished design measuring 3.5cm x 6cm wide (1 3⁄8″ x 2 3⁄8″), this is the perfect foray into your adventure following Nicola through the seasons.

Once you’ve completed your splendid Small Blue Butterfly, it might become the insert for a paperweight, a patch to sew onto a cap, a duffle bag or piece of clothing, or maybe form part of your ‘projects on display’ collection.

However it happens, we’re confident that if this becomes your first Nicola Jarvis project, it won’t be your last…

Make Your Own Small Blue Butterfly*

We have all the materials you need to re-create this project yourself, from easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions to a Ready-to-Stitch kit with everything sourced for you.

*A couple of tips when stitching Small Blue Butterfly:

Background – as this piece has been stitched on pre-printed fabric, to re-create it exactly as it appears in the book the kit comes with the pre-printed fabric included. Alternatively, use the pattern sheet from the Life in Seasons book to transfer the design and create your own background elements as desired.

Instructions – As this kit does not include instructions, for step-by-step directions on how to create this project, please refer to the book Life in Seasons, purchased separately.