The symbol of the butterfly has long been linked with the soul and more specifically with transformation and development. Today it is more often associated with freedom and joy. Whatever it’s symbolic connotations it is a very suitable choice for children of both sexes and, in my opinion, something a little more real and worthy then the hackneyed story of princesses and knights. Animals and nature where very much a part of my childhood when I was growing up and in this busy modern world where kids grow up so fast I think there is no harm in bringing them back to the wonders of nature whenever possible. It is perhaps a bit much to expect a butterfly bed canopy to change the development of your child’s life for the better, but it certainly won’t do any harm and will add a greater sense of class to your overall interior design.

When I was a girl almost everything I owned was homemade, even many of my clothes, because my mother was very handy with her sewing machine and there wasn’t much she couldn’t put together with the right materials. Today it’s almost unheard of for parents to make things for their kids. Time is short, typically both parents have to work, and there’s hardly a product out there that isn’t been produced by one company or another so why not just buy it!?

I have nothing against purchasing anything as long as you are getting value for money and the product you are buying is of a half decent quality. There are a couple of pretty butterfly bed canopies out there on Amazon and eBay and if you just want to get on with things and start brightening your kid’s bedrooms today then please go ahead and purchase one today. Below are two different butterfly bed canopys, the first being sold on Amazon UK and the second on Amazon US. As you will see they’re not expensive so grab one today.

Click Image for a Butterfly Canopy in the UK

Click Image for a Butterfly Canopy in the US

Alternatively, if you do have a little time and you like making things then why not jump on the arts and crafts revival bandwagon!? One of the great things about the internet, amongst many, is the opportunity it has given to many new craftsmen and woman to reach a wider audience with their beautiful homemade products. This has also lead to many other people taking an interest in home crafts and making things for themselves, my mother would be delighted.

There are some beautiful fabrics out there and with just a little time and effort it shouldn’t be difficult for you to make your own diy butterfly bed canopy. Even something really simple like buying some pretty patterned gauze or linen and then sewing on butterfly shapes cut from felt would be lovely and not beyond anyone’s skills. Make it together with your child and get them interested in making things too. It’s a win win situation. Go down to your local haberdashers for some inspiration and advice.

I hope you do try to make your own butterfly canopy because I think you will find the experience rewarding. I have filled the rest of this site with general articles about butterflies that I hope will give you some inspiration. Whether you buy or make bring a little bit of nature and wonder into your child’s bedroom with a bed canopy covered in butterflies!

You will need:

• a chandelier hook

• the inside ring of a large embroidery ring

• 12 metres (13 yards) of lightweight light coloured material (muslin is ideal)

• a further supply of fine lightweight cotton fabric in different colours, about 1 metre (1 yard) pieces in 4 or 5 colours

• 5 metres (5.5 yards) ribbon and some trimmings if you like

• a supply of iron-on fusible fabric webbing (make sure it’s suitable for the material you’re using)

• some iron-on fusible hem strip (make sure it’s suitable for the material you’re using)

• a hot glue gun

First, decide how low you want your canopy ring to be from the ceiling, take that measurement and cut the ribbon into 4 lengths of that measurement plus about 10 cm extra. Tie the ribbon onto the embroidery ring at the four compass points and then tie all the pieces of ribbon together at the other end so that they will loop and hang off the ceiling hook.

Then cut your canopy fabric into four equal lengths (each at least 2 metres long, so that they will hang all the way from the embroidery ring to drape over the bed). On the bottom end of each length apply some iron-on fusible hem strip so that it doesn’t fray

Next cut the different colored pieces of tulle into butterfly wing shapes in different sizes (making sure you have at least 4 wings of the same size per butterfly) – the easiest way is to think of each wing as a teardrop – or you can go online and find a butterfly pattern. You can have as many butterflies as you like!

Then carefully following the instructions on the fusible fabric webbing, iron on the wings to your canopy fabric in a butterfly shape. Use remaining pieces of ribbon and trimmings to make up the bodies of the butterflies, sewing or gluing them in place.

Once you’re finished decorating the canopy fabric, take each of the four lengths and fold one end over the embroidery ring in between the four ribbons (this can be a bit tricky on your own, so get someone to help) – fold enough fabric over so that you can attach the fabric to the embroidery ring with the glue gun.

If you have spare trimmings or ribbon, you can glue some of that onto the embroidery ring to finish off.

Finally screw the ceiling hook into the ceiling, carefully hang your canopy so that two lengths of fabric drape behind the bed, and two pieces drape over the bed. And voilà – a butterfly bed canopy fit for a princess!

Blue Morpho (Morpho menelaus)

Originating in South America, the gorgeous metallic, blue-green hues of the Morpho menelaus butterfly has made it a hugely popular one  – it is one of the most commonly displayed butterflies in the world, and is often the base for inspiration for jewellery and art.  There are in fact over 80 species in the Morpho genus – and not all Morpho butterflies have that amazing blue colour, the Sunset Morpho (Morpho hecuba) for example is in melting tones of orange, russet and dark brown.  Nevertheless the Blue Morpho seems to be by far the most enchanting of the species – just imagine how sublime it would be to be surrounded by a rabble of these shimmering butterflies.  By the way, that shimmering is due to the iridescent nature of the scales that cover the Morpho’s wings, and not the pigmentation alone.

The Green Birdwing
(Ornithoptera priamus poseidon)

The Green Birdwing (Ornithoptera priamus poseidon) is part of the large group of birdwing butterflies which are named such thanks to their huge size (up to a maximum body length of 7.6 cm or 3 inches and a wingspan of 28 cm or 11 inches), their more angular wings and birdlike flying pattern.  Having never seen one in real life, for me the idea of a butterfly being as large as an A4 sheet of paper just blows my mind.   The other great things I like about the Green Birdwing is that it has a wonderful large yellow body – quite different from most butterflies and the markings on its wings are rather lovely.  These butterflies originate in the Pacific around Southeast Asia, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Australia.

Zebra Swallowtail
(Eurytides marcellus)

After butterflies, my next favourite animal is a zebra, so mix the two together and what’s not to like! This is a truly delightful butterfly – graceful looking and delicate (indeed the upper parts of the wings are almost totally clear and you can see right through them).  There are at least 550 species of swallowtail butterfly) – all of them distinctive for their long tailed lower wings!  The Zebra Swallowtail is mostly found in the eastern Untied States, northeast Mexico and southeast Canada – and it is the official state butterfly of Tennessee.  I think its fabulous striped black and white markings with that flash of red at the base of the lower wings makes it a great favourite for arts and crafts projects – you could play around with the monochrome effect sapping the white areas for other colours, rather like a Warhol print.

Comet Moth (Argema mittrei)

Although technically a moth, the Comet certainly deserves a place in the list of favourite butterflies.  It’s beautiful markings, long distinctive tails and wonderful buttery yellow colour are just a few reasons why I find the Comet so inspiring.  Like so many extraordinary creatures, Comet Months are found only in certain parts of Madagascar – and they only live for 4 to 5 days after emerging from their cocoons.  A rare and beautiful sight indeed!

Butterfly Paintings

My final favourite butterfly is not a real one! I just loved as a kid doing butterfly paintings – and now look forward to doing them with my nieces.  All you need is a large piece of paper and some poster paint. Fold the paper in half landscape ways and then simply apply different blobs of colourful paint in a random pattern (roughly the shape of one side of a butterfly) but just on one side of the paper! Finally before the paint dries, fold the paper back again and then carefully unfold it to reveal the symmetrical butterfly wings – when the paint is dried, add a head, body and antenna to finish your butterfly.

Obvious parallels with the observed life cycle of the butterfly lead to the most obvious symbolism. Both the ancient Egyptians and the Greeks are known to have placed golden butterflies in their tombs, associating the emergence of a butterfly from its chrysalis as a symbol of the soul and its resurrection, rebirth and immortality.

In Christian doctrines too, parallels have been drawn with the ever hungry caterpillar stage associated with man’s time on earth pursuing earthly pleasures and needs; the chrysalis here is a symbol of death and entombment whilst the butterfly stage represents the soul being reborn in heaven, no longer trapped by earthly concerns.  This has been shown by the marking of a butterfly on ancient Christian tombs, and in some Christian art.

In oriental culture too, the butterfly is seen to represent the soul, but also and interestingly the butterfly is a symbol of love. As one Japanese superstition goes, if a butterfly comes into your guestroom and perches behind the bamboo, screen you will be visited by the person you love the most; and in Chinese culture when two butterflies are seen flying together they are said to be a symbol of love.

Perhaps this link between the immortal soul and love is not so unusual; indeed, in ancient Greek mythology the goddess Psyche who represents the “soul” is often depicted as a butterfly, and she is eternally linked to the god of love Eros in a never-ending passionate union.

Perhaps also this union of the soul and love in the butterfly makes sense in light of the ultimate symbolic attribute of the butterfly, which is faith.  In the butterfly’s life cycle we can see an unshakeable, graceful and elegant certainty – that despite these seemingly different and difficult transitions in life, the butterfly emerges transformed – completely changed and much more beautiful for it.

There are four stages in a butterfly’s life cycle.

The first stage is when the insect is just a tiny egg.  Butterfly eggs vary in shape and size depending on the type of butterfly – they can be round, oval or cylindrical.  You will usually find butterfly eggs on plant leaves or stems, usually on a plant that the butterfly knows will be food for its future offspring.  Nothing much happens during the egg stage – nothing visible anyway – but just like human babies in the womb inside the egg a tiny caterpillar is growing.

The second stage is the caterpillar or larva stage – the egg hatches to reveal a small worm-like caterpillar.  At this stage the future butterfly looks nothing like a butterfly – in fact, if humans hadn’t observed these different stages no one would even guess that a caterpillar had anything to do with a butterfly! Whilst caterpillars can cover quite some distance on the ground, from plant to plant, on the whole they stay close to where they were hatched. The caterpillar’s job is to eat and grow, and learn about its surroundings. During this stage, as it eats and grows, the caterpillar sheds its skin several times to make room for all these growth spurts.  Just like human children, caterpillars grow at an alarming rate!

The third stage is the chrysalis or pupa stage.  Once the caterpillar has grown to its optimum size, it locates a comfortable place to rest and cocoons itself entirely in a skin-like silk cover.  Inside this cover a miraculous transformation takes place – the caterpillar tissue disintegrates and the butterfly’s body and wings grow.  This stage is a bit like how teenagers often retreat to their rooms for a few years, experiment with different attitudes, clothes and hairstyles, and then eventually come out again as young fairly well formed adults!  The difference is that for butterflies this stage only takes a few weeks!

The final stage is the adult or imago stage, when the beautiful butterfly emerges from the chrysalis.  The butterfly is now ready to really explore the world, takes flight on its fresh wings and goes off in search of a mate and possibly a new place to live. In time the butterfly will also lay new eggs and so the cycle starts again. In the same way, human adults seem programmed to spend some time learning and growing before they are ready to explore their environment and be free to make their own way in the world.