A Little Flutter of Something New

Sometimes the nicest ideas are the ones I wasn't looking for.

I'd been working on larger crochet projects and wanted something small that I could make with my glitter thread and a 2mm hook. Something that didn't require hours of work or another enormous commitment of yarn.

My first idea was a crescent moon.

It did not go well.

We'll leave the moon where it belongs.

In the sky.

Then I found a pattern for a tiny crochet butterfly.

I decided to try it.

And this time, something rather lovely appeared from my hook.

The First Butterfly

My first butterfly was made in silver glitter thread.

It's delicate, slightly sparkly and beautifully lacy, and the moment I'd finished it I knew I wanted to do something with it rather than simply putting it away as a crochet experiment.

So the first butterfly is becoming a brooch.

But, as frequently happens at Woven Witch, one idea immediately led to another.

I already had some hair pins amongst my supplies.

What if the butterflies could land in your hair?

And that was that.

The Butterfly Hair Pins

I made three little butterflies in different shimmering colours — Silver, Rose Pink and Lavender Purple — and attached each one to a simple hair pin.

Suddenly my afternoon experiment had become a new Woven Witch piece.

They can be worn individually as a tiny flash of crochet and sparkle, or several can be scattered through an updo as though a little gathering of butterflies has landed amongst the hair.

I particularly love the idea of them for weddings and special occasions, and I'm already imagining what future versions might look like with pearls or tiny gemstones.

But for now, I love them just as they are.

Small.

Delicate.

Sparkling.

And unmistakably handmade.

From Experiment to Woven Witch

One of the things I'm beginning to enjoy most about creating Woven Witch is that I don't always know where something is going when I begin.

Not every experiment works.

Some become abandoned crescent moons.

Others become butterflies.

And occasionally, something I make simply because I fancied trying it ends up becoming a piece that I can put into my shop.

The new Woven Witch Crochet Butterfly Hair Pins are now available individually, with the three colours also available together as a set.

They're a smaller piece of Woven Witch than some of the garments and jewellery I've been making, but every butterfly still passes through my hands one stitch at a time.

And I think there's something rather magical about that.

Of course, the arrival of several tiny winged creatures in the workshop has already been noticed by a certain member of management.

The Bee is monitoring the situation.

Closely.