Free Butterfly Granny Square Coaster — 2 Big Wings + 2 Small Wings
This is a different butterfly than the filet butterfly charts we already have. Filet is a flat 2-color silhouette in mesh-and-block. This coaster is a 3D motif — the wings physically lift off the surface as petal-style fans, and you can use 4 different yarns to make each pretty.
The construction is a single granny square: magic-ring center body, four wing petals worked off it, granny rounds wrapping the petals into a square coaster shape.
What You'll Make
A coaster about 4″ × 4″ (10 × 10 cm) with a butterfly motif raised in the center. The butterfly has:
- Body: a small round center (the magic ring + sc round)
- 2 large upper wings: tall fan petals at the top corners
- 2 small lower wings: shorter fan petals at the bottom corners
- Granny square frame: a single round of (3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) corner clusters that turns the butterfly into a square
Materials
- Yarn: worsted-weight cotton in 4 colors. About 5 g per color.
- Color A — body (gold, dark brown, or black)
- Color B — upper wings (pink, orange, or coral — your "wow" color)
- Color C — lower wings (a complementary tone — purple, turquoise, or yellow)
- Color D — granny frame (cream, white, or beige)
- Hook: 4 mm (US G/6)
- Notion: yarn needle for weaving in ends
Stitch Abbreviations (US terms)
- ch — chain
- sl st — slip stitch
- sc — single crochet
- dc — double crochet
- tr — treble crochet (= UK dtr)
The Pattern
Round 1 — Body (Color A)
- Make a magic ring.
- Ch 1. 8 sc in ring. Pull the magic ring tight.
- Sl st to first sc to join. (8 sc)
- Fasten off Color A. Weave in tail.
Round 2 — Upper Wings (Color B, 2 large petals)
The big wings sit at the upper-right and upper-left corners of the eventual square. We work them into the 1st and 7th sc of the body (counting clockwise from the top).
- Join Color B with a sl st in the 1st sc of Round 1.
- 1st upper wing: Ch 4 (counts as 1st tr), 6 tr in same sc, ch 3, sl st in same sc. (7 tr fan + ch-3 corner space)
- Sl st across the next 5 sc of the body. (You're skipping 4 body sc to get to the opposite upper position.)
- 2nd upper wing: Ch 4, 6 tr in this sc, ch 3, sl st in same sc.
- Fasten off Color B.
Round 3 — Lower Wings (Color C, 2 small petals)
The small wings sit at the lower-right and lower-left, in the 2 body sc adjacent to the 2 sc you didn't use for upper wings.
- Locate the 2 unused body sc directly across from where you joined Color B.
- Join Color C with a sl st in the lower-right body sc.
- 1st lower wing: Ch 3 (counts as 1st dc), 4 dc in same sc, ch 2, sl st in same sc. (5 dc fan + ch-2 corner space)
- Sl st in the next body sc.
- 2nd lower wing: Ch 3, 4 dc in this sc, ch 2, sl st in same sc.
- Fasten off Color C.
Round 4 — Granny Square Frame (Color D)
Each wing tip becomes a corner of the square. We work standard granny clusters (3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) into the ch-space at each wing tip, with single 3-dc clusters along the sides.
- Join Color D in any wing-tip ch-space.
- Ch 3 (counts as 1st dc). 2 dc, ch 2, 3 dc in same ch-space — this is the corner cluster.
- Ch 1. (3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in the next wing-tip ch-space — corner cluster.
- Repeat the previous step 2 more times to complete all 4 corners (visiting each wing tip clockwise).
- Ch 1. Sl st to top of starting ch-3 to join.
- Fasten off Color D. Weave in all ends.
Round 5 (optional) — Outer Frame (Color D continued)
If you want a slightly larger coaster (about 4.5″), add one more standard granny round:
- Sl st across to the next ch-2 corner space.
- Ch 3, 2 dc, ch 2, 3 dc in same corner. (3 dc, ch 1, 3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in each subsequent corner. 3 dc in each side ch-1 space.
- Sl st to top of ch-3 to join. Fasten off.
Color Combo Ideas
| Combo | Body | Big wings | Small wings | Frame |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monarch | Black | Burnt orange | Yellow | Cream |
| Blue Morpho | Black | Royal blue | Sky blue | White |
| Pastel Pink | Brown | Soft pink | Lavender | Cream |
| Tropical | Black | Magenta | Turquoise | Cream |
| Spring | Yellow | Mint green | Lavender | White |
Tips
- Block the coaster after weaving in ends. Lightly steam-block or wet-block — petal motifs always look better blocked.
- Yarn ends: 8 ends total (2 per color). Weave them through the wrong side; the multi-layer petal structure hides them well.
- Make a set: 4 coasters in 4 different color combos = a pretty Pinterest-worthy gift.
Related Free Patterns
- Free Filet Crochet Butterfly Patterns — 4 Sizes — flat mesh-and-block butterflies, different aesthetic
- Classic Granny Square — same finishing technique, no motif center
- Granny Square Color Combinations — color-pairing guide