Garden Fork Weaving & a Butterfly

Garden Fork Woven Butterfly

I've been scaling up and being a bit creative with some fork weaving that I watched on YouTube.  On that video (which you can watch here) by Nakshi Kantha World, it shows you how to weave a flower petal on an ordinary, everyday fork and then combine the petals to make a flower.  I thought the petal could be adapted to become a butterfly wing and if done on a larger scale would make a great big butterfly. 

Where, I thought, am I going to find a large fork though?  After a trip to the garden shed however, I had my answer!

So, first wash your garden fork...

Luckily the fork fitted in the bucket!

Washing the garden fork

Find some big yarn.  I had some brightly coloured selvedge edge ribbon that I got from the Cone Exchange (which is a completely amazing place and well worth a visit - at the moment you have to book an appointment).  Alternatively you can make some yourself from old textiles or T shirts - try about 2.5 cm/1 inch wide.  

Start weaving in and out of the fork tines - this is one round

Next, begin weaving round your garden fork.  Don't forget to count how many rounds you do as you have to produce two the same size and then two more but a little smaller! These will be the butterfly's fore and hindwings.  I used orange for the hindwings and pink for the forewings with 15 full rounds for the hindwings and 20 for the forewings.

Continue weaving

You may have to push your yarn down the fork in order to fit on all the rounds you need. When you have done enough rounds, finish with your yarn at the same end you started at.  You will have to cut your yarn off now if it's on a roll.  Make sure you leave enough to feed up and down all the tines and knot the ends.  Err on the side of caution! Next, feed the yarn down between the yarn strands by the end tine.  Turn your fork round and knot your yarn to the end you started with.

Knot the ends together

Then continue threading your yarn up the next tine and down the following one and up the final tine.

Feed your yarn up and down the tines

Then take the yarn down the side of your weaving on the outside and take it up the final tine again.

Ready to take the weaving off the fork

You are now ready to take the weaving off your fork, after which you can pull on this final end and it will gather up one side of the wing.  You can use the yarn tails to attach the wings to the body.

Butterfly wings

I finger knitted a body on four fingers and tied the wings on.  I used the remaining yarn ends to plait some antennae with I attached by threading through the centre of the head. Et voilà...

Finished butterfly

My butterfly is about 46 cm (18 inches) - antennae to tail by 40 cm (15.75 inches) - wingspan.  He's going to be part of the Butterflies and Bees & a Happy 100th Birthday Yarnstorm in Rowntree Park York.  I'll be bringing my garden fork to the two outdoor Butterflies & Bees workshops in Rowntree Park if you fancy having a go.  Don't forget to book you place though!  You can book here. Full Yarnstorm project details here.