Ulycees Blue Jacket and Purse
By Penny Muncaster-Jewell

While on vacation in Australia I visited the Butterfly Sanctuary just outside of Cairns in North Queensland. They had these magnificent native butterflies called Ulycees Butterflies which were just my favorite shade of blue! I fell in love and ever since I have wanted to create this design. So I did.

In the meantime, I discovered this scrumptious fiber called Angelina. I used a very light layer of the turquoise Angelina, and the black silk organza muted it to the perfect color while still leaving a translucent effect I desired. I digitized the butterfly in my PE-Design software. It is basically an applique design. Using the programmable fill feature I was able to create the texture for the wings, and using the new stamp feature, I was able to create flat areas where the Swarovski® crystals were placed.

I created two different sized versions of the design, one large for the jacket back and purse, and a smaller one for the jacket front and sleeves. The result is a stunning elegant jacket. Although extra glitz was added with the crystals, I felt they were needed as without them the butterflies almost disappeared.

I used Louise Cutting’s By Popular Demand pattern for the jacket. These designs are available as kits from DesignbyDawn.