Red Filet Butterfly Crochet Bed Cover Pattern with Matching Shams

Butterflies are the first thing you see on this bed. Twenty-five big red squares, laid out in five columns and five rows, each carry one butterfly with wide open wings, and the whole cover is worked in a single deep red, so the picture is made only from light and shadow. The butterfly is solid, built from thick lines of stitches, and everything around it is open mesh. The mesh lets a little shadow through, and the butterfly floats in the middle of it like a drawing on glass.

The technique is filet crochet, one of the oldest and best loved kinds of lace. A filet square is built from just two tiny pieces: an open space, which is a chain of two and a double crochet, and a solid block, which is three double crochets in a row. Chart a picture with blocks and spaces, and the picture appears. The butterfly in each square is made of 79 blocks, set into a mesh of 21 by 21 squares. Every wing is outlined with blocks and left open in the middle, with thin veins running through it.

Every square is the same, which keeps the work calm. Each one measures about 20 inches, with a solid border of three rounds of single crochet around the mesh. I made them in worsted cotton with a 4.5 mm hook, which gives a firm, open lace that hangs well and keeps its shape. The squares are joined with a slip stitch seam worked on the wrong side, and the seam leaves a thin raised ridge on the right side between the squares, a neat frame around every butterfly.

The cover is a grid of 5 columns and 5 rows, 25 squares in all. Three columns cover the top of the bed, four rows run from the head to the foot, and the last row and the two outer columns fall over the sides and the foot. The finished cover measures about 100 by 100 inches, and it drops about 20 inches on both sides and at the foot, which takes it nearly to the floor. A scalloped edge of 170 little rounded shells runs along both sides and across the foot.

The set includes two long shams, each with one big butterfly in a mesh of 31 by 21 squares and a small scalloped trim, and two square pillows with the same butterfly, which stand behind the shams. In the photo the pillows behind are white. I made them in red as well, so that every pillow on the bed is crochet and every one belongs to the cover.

This is an intermediate pattern, mostly because of the counting. A filet chart asks you to count stitches in threes for hours at a time. The reward is that the stitches themselves are very simple, only double crochet and chain. Expect about 5 to 7 months of evenings for 27 squares, 2 shams, the pillows and the edge. A good plan is one square a week. When you have finished the first square, you have learned the whole pattern, because the other 26 are exactly the same.

I love this cover for its bold red and its quiet drawing. Red can be loud, but when the whole bed is one color it becomes calm and rich, like the curtains in an old theater. The butterflies give the eye a place to rest, and the mesh around them keeps everything light. I can picture it in a room with pink flowers, soft cream walls and morning sun, exactly as in the photo.

I love filet crochet because it is a picture made from counting. There is a special pleasure in following a chart and watching a butterfly appear one row at a time. For the first few rows you see only mesh. Then the first blocks of the wing tips appear, and suddenly you can tell where it is going. By the last wing rows you can see the whole butterfly, and you cannot stop.

I love that every square is the same size and the same picture. When you are tired, you do not have to think about anything new. You pick up the hook, find your row on the chart and work. When you are fresh, you can try to work faster, or read the chart without looking at it. I also love that you can lay the finished squares side by side and watch the cover grow. Here is what I enjoy most about this pattern:

• One simple chart that repeats in every square
• A single color, with no ends to sort
• Squares small enough to carry anywhere
• A scalloped edge that makes the cover look finished

Working in a single color is a gift. There are no color changes, no yarn to carry and no stripes to keep in mind. You can take a square to the park, to a waiting room or in the car. The only things you need are the hook, one ball of cotton and the chart on a small card.

I love how well filet drapes. Because most of the cover is open mesh, it is much lighter than a solid blanket of the same size. It falls over the edge of the bed in soft folds, it dries quickly after washing, and in summer it can lie over the sheet without making the bed hot. In winter you can put it over a quilt, and the red looks wonderful against a cream blanket.

This is also a cover for giving. A butterfly is a symbol of change and of new beginnings, and I can see this as a wedding gift, a gift for a new home or a gift for someone who has come through a hard year. If you make it, sew a small label in one corner with your name and the date, because covers like this are kept for a very long time.

Finally, I love the way it looks from across the room. The butterflies seem to fly up the bed toward the pillows. The first time I saw the whole cover laid out, I stood there for a while without saying anything.

Red is the dramatic choice, but filet butterflies look beautiful in any single color. For a classic bedroom, try ivory, which makes the lace look like an old tablecloth. For a deep, quiet room, choose navy or forest green. For a sunny guest room, use butter yellow or soft sage. For a fresh, young look, try dusty rose or lavender. Use a cotton with a little sheen, because it shows the stitches best, and keep the same color for the whole cover and the pillows.

You can also play with two colors in a simple way. Work the three border rounds of every square in a second color, so that a red butterfly sits in a cream frame, or an ivory butterfly sits in a navy frame. It looks like a framed picture, and it needs no carrying of yarn, because the border is a separate round. Use the second color for the scalloped edge too.

The squares are 20 inches, so every size is easy to count. These are the grids I suggest, written as columns by rows, with the last row at the foot:

• Twin: 4 columns by 5 rows, 20 squares, about 80 by 100 inches
• Full or queen: 5 columns by 5 rows, 25 squares, about 100 by 100 inches (as written)
• King: 6 columns by 5 rows, 30 squares, about 120 by 100 inches

A smaller version makes a lovely throw. Join 2 columns by 3 rows, 6 squares, for a throw of about 40 by 60 inches, and work the scalloped edge on all four sides. Join 4 squares in a row for a bed runner of about 20 by 80 inches. Both are good ways to try the pattern before you commit to the whole cover, and either one makes a fine gift.

For a baby, an open mesh is not safe, because small fingers and toes can get caught in the holes. Make a solid version instead: work every row as double crochet in each stitch, so the square has no holes, and let the butterfly show in a second soft color, using the chart as a guide. Make 2 columns by 2 rows, about 40 by 40 inches, and use it for play and for cuddles, never for sleeping.

The pillows make a project of their own. A single butterfly square sewn to a solid back makes a 20 inch cushion, and a sham front made from the wide chart makes a long lumbar pillow. Both are a good way to test the chart before you start the cover, and both use up the end of a ball.

The pattern uses worsted cotton and a 4.5 mm hook. For a finer lace, use size 5 cotton and a 2.0 mm hook. The squares will shrink to about 11 inches, so a queen needs 9 columns by 9 rows, which is 81 squares. If you prefer a plainer finish, replace the scalloped edge with a simple round of single crochet. Always make a test square first, block it, measure it and recalculate the grid.

Finally, think about the edge. A scalloped edge suits a romantic room, while a plain single crochet edge suits a modern one. If you want a quieter finish, stop after the single crochet round. If you want a richer one, work a second round of shells on top of the first. Whatever you choose, keep the same red and the same hook, so that the edge matches the squares.