Butterfly Bag

Why

Ever stop to watch a butterfly? Carry one with you every day on a cheery tote you make yourself. Fill your Butterfly Bag with your treasures.


Steps

1. If you have an iron-on butterfly patch, decide where on your bag to place it. Place bag on a flat ironing surface. Remove paper backing from decal. Place the iron-on transfer design-side up on fabric (do not remove the clear protective cover sheet). Ask an adult to preheat an iron on cotton with no steam. Apply firm pressure for at least 30 seconds. Cool. Gently remove clear cover sheet.

2. Add more butterflies or other pretty designs to your pouch. Choose from one of two ways to decorate it. If you like, draw with the Crayola® Fabric Crayons directly on your bag. To set the color, lay the bag on a safe, flat ironing surface. Make a bed of recycled newspaper. Add a layer of white paper. Lay your Butterfly Bag on the surface. Cover the design with white paper. Go to step 4.

3. Another way to use fabric crayons is to experiment and then draw your final design on white paper. Remember, the image will transfer to the fabric in reverse. Color your art. Press hard so the colors will be bright when they are transferred to fabric. Brush away any flecks of crayon. Choose a safe, flat location to iron. Make a bed of recycled newspaper. Cover newspaper with white paper. Place the fabric on the plain paper, face up. Lay your colored design face down on the fabric. Cover with more white paper.

4. Ask an adult to set an iron on cotton, with no steam, and preheat it. Place the iron in one spot, press down, then lift and move the iron to another spot. Repeat until the entire design has been set or transferred. Gently lift paper. Cool.

Safety Guidelines

Adult supervision is required for any arts & crafts project.

Fabric Crayons or Melting Crayons—Melt crayons in a well-ventilated area. Overheating wax crayons during melting or ironing may release irritating fumes. Ironing should be done by an adult.

Scissors—ATTENTION: The cutting edges of scissors are sharp and care should be taken whenever cutting or handling. Blunt-tip scissors should be used only by children 4 years and older. Pointed-tip scissors should be used only by children 6 years and older.

Related Crafts

Crafts

 

Supplies

crayola supplies
  • Fabric Crayons
household supplies
  • recycled newspaper
  • white paper
  • iron (for adult use only!)
  • cotton bag or tote
  • iron-on patch (optional)

Where & When

"After decorating our bags, we created butterfly pants, shirts, and socks to match."
Marci W., 10-year-old camper.

"Our grandmothers were thrilled with the cheerful bags we made for them. We filled the Butterfly Bags with stamps and goodies."
Rachel and Sarah T., 13-year-old twins.


Interesting Info

There are about 20,000 species of butterflies. Some species migrate long distances to warmer climates. One of the biggest clouds of moving butterflies ever seen measured 250 miles (402 km) across. For a whole day, every minute, more than a million butterflies flew past.