Butterfly: A Pretty, Lace-Knit, Beaded Strappy Dress Knitted in Fine Mohair

There is something almost magical about the moment a knitted lace garment comes off the needles and you hold it up to the light. The stitches catch and release the brightness, the yarn blooms softly, and what looked like a dense tangle of loops on the needle reveals itself as something gossamer, delicate, and alive. Butterfly is exactly that kind of pattern. Named for the creature it evokes — weightless, winged, adorned with quiet color — this strappy lace dress is knitted in fine mohair and finished with beads that catch the light like dewdrops on a web. It is a pattern for knitters who want to make something truly beautiful, something that feels as lovely to wear as it does to create.

Whether you are knitting Butterfly as a summer evening dress, a layering piece over a silky slip, or a special occasion garment for a milestone moment, this pattern offers the rare satisfaction of a project that rewards your patience at every stage. The lace is rhythmic and readable once you have settled into it, the mohair is forgiving and romantic, and the beads give the finished piece an extra shimmer that elevates it from handmade to heirloom.

What Makes Butterfly Special

Lace knitting has a long and storied history in the fiber arts. From the fine Shetland shawls of the Scottish islands to the intricate faroese pieces passed down through generations, lace has always been the technique that pushes knitting toward something closer to art. Butterfly draws on that tradition while remaining entirely wearable and contemporary.

The strappy silhouette is modern and flattering across a wide range of body shapes. The spaghetti-style straps, worked in a simple twisted cord or a narrow i-cord depending on your preference, leave the shoulders bare and let the lace do the talking. The bodice flows into a skirt section worked in a slightly more open repeat to give fullness and movement. When you walk, the skirt sways. When you stand still, the beads catch the ambient light and do a quiet shimmer that is understated but utterly lovely.

Fine mohair is the ideal yarn for this kind of design. It has a halo — that soft fuzz that extends beyond the main strand of the yarn — that blurs the outline of each stitch in the most flattering way. Rather than making the lace look muddied, the halo on a well-chosen mohair gives the whole fabric a diffuse, dreamy quality, as though the dress is slightly out of focus in the most beautiful possible sense. Mohair is also surprisingly warm for its weight, which makes Butterfly useful across more of the year than you might expect from a strappy dress.

Yarn and Materials

For Butterfly, you will need a fine laceweight or fingering-weight mohair, ideally a mohair-silk blend, which gives the yarn both its luminous halo and enough strength to hold the lace structure cleanly. Good options include yarns in the style of Rowan Kidsilk Haze, Drops Kid-Silk, or any similar 70% mohair / 30% silk blend in a laceweight. The pattern is written for approximately 400–500 meters per 25 gram ball, and depending on your chosen size you will need between four and seven balls.

For the beads, you will want seed beads in a size 6 or size 8, threaded onto the yarn before you begin knitting (or added section by section as the pattern directs). Choose beads that complement your yarn color — clear or aurora-finish seed beads work beautifully with any pale or neutral mohair, while darker metallics add drama to deeper shades. For a 100 gram project in a medium size, you will typically use somewhere between 300 and 600 beads depending on how heavily beaded you prefer your work.

You will also need a crochet hook small enough to thread your beads onto the mohair without splitting the yarn, a pair of 3.25mm or 3.5mm circular needles (or the size needed to achieve gauge), a tapestry needle for finishing, and blocking wires or pins, because blocking is not optional with lace — it is the step that transforms the fabric from something crumpled and slightly mysterious into the open, structured, ethereal piece it is meant to be.

A note on gauge: because mohair is elastic and the finished fabric will be blocked aggressively, gauge swatches for lace patterns should always be washed and blocked before measuring. A dry, unblocked swatch will give you completely different numbers from a wet, blocked one, and this dress is fitted enough at the bodice that getting gauge right matters.

Skill Level and Who This Pattern Is For

Butterfly is written for intermediate to experienced lace knitters. If you have completed at least one lace shawl or lace yoke project and you are comfortable with yarn-overs, decreases (both k2tog and ssk), and following a charted or written lace repeat, you have the skills this pattern requires. The beading technique used — pre-threaded beads placed with a crochet hook at specific points in the repeat — is introduced at the beginning of the pattern with clear step-by-step instructions, so even if you have not beaded before, you will be guided through it carefully.

The pattern is not recommended for beginners, not because the lace is impossibly complex, but because working with fine mohair on small needles demands patience, good lighting, and the ability to tink (knit backwards) or use a lifeline without panicking when something needs to be corrected. Mohair does not unravel as cleanly as a smooth wool, so prevention — in the form of careful reading of the chart and regular lifelines at the end of each complete repeat — is always better than cure.

That said, if you are a confident beginner who has tackled a few scarves and simple accessories and you are genuinely drawn to this pattern, do not rule yourself out. Knit your gauge swatch, use lifelines liberally, work in good light, and take it one repeat at a time. Many knitters have told me that a project they were slightly afraid of turned out to be the one that took their skills to the next level.

Construction Overview

Butterfly is worked mostly in the round from the top down, which means you will try the dress on as you go and can adjust the length of the bodice and skirt to suit your own proportions without any complicated pattern modifications.

The process begins with the straps. Each strap is worked as a narrow strip of twisted lace or simple i-cord, depending on your preference, and the two straps are joined at the front and back to form the underarm cast-on for the bodice. This avoids any seaming later and means the transition from strap to bodice is clean and almost invisible.

The bodice is worked in a close lace repeat that gives structure and shape. Short-row bust darts are included for sizes where they add comfort and fit, and these are written out clearly in both the main text and the chart notes. Waist shaping is achieved through a combination of decreases and a slight tightening of the lace pattern, and is subtly worked into the lace repeat so it does not interrupt the rhythm of the pattern.

Below the waist, the pattern transitions to a more open lace repeat that adds visual fullness and allows the skirt to flare gently. The hem is worked in a picot bind-off or a simple lace cast-off, both of which are described in full. Beads are concentrated in the hem border repeat and scattered throughout the skirt lace, with the bodice carrying fewer beads to keep the top of the dress visually lighter.

The finished dress is designed to sit just above the knee in the standard length, but the pattern includes guidance for lengthening or shortening the skirt, and there are notes on working a cropped version that ends at the hip for those who prefer a top rather than a dress.

Sizing and Fit

Butterfly is worked in eight sizes, designed to fit a range of chest measurements from approximately 30 inches to 52 inches. The pattern is written with positive ease in the skirt and negative ease at the bodice — meaning the skirt is slightly roomier than your measurements and the bodice fits close to the body — which gives the dress its characteristic silhouette of a fitted top and a flowing, swishy skirt.

Full finished measurements are given for each size, including chest, waist, hip, length from shoulder to hem, and strap length. A fit guide in the introduction explains how to choose your size based on your measurements and preferred ease, and there are notes on adjustments for different torso lengths and cup sizes.

Lace Pattern Notes

The main lace repeat used in the bodice is a twelve-stitch, sixteen-row repeat that creates a pattern of small leaf or petal shapes arranged in a diagonal lattice. The repeat is given both as a written row-by-row instruction and as a chart, and both versions are included in the pattern download.

The skirt lace opens up to a sixteen-stitch, twenty-four-row repeat that creates larger, more open motifs — more butterfly wing than petal, with big yarn-over sections that create dramatic open diamonds flanked by delicate twisted stitches.

Both repeats use only the following stitches and techniques: knit, purl, yarn over, k2tog, ssk, sl2tog-k1-p2sso (a central double decrease), and the bead placement technique described in the beading section. There are no cables, no complex colorwork, no provisional cast-ons. The complexity comes from the rhythm and placement of these simple elements, and once you have worked one or two complete repeats, most knitters find the pattern becomes almost meditative.

Blocking and Finishing

Blocking a mohair lace garment is one of the most satisfying experiences in all of knitting. You begin with something that looks, honestly, a bit like a confused cloud — vaguely the right shape, with all its lace squashed together into an indistinct fluff. You soak it gently in cool water with a little wool wash, press out the excess water without wringing, and then pin it out firmly to your measurements on a blocking board or foam mat.

As it dries, the transformation is remarkable. The lace opens. The beads find their positions. The halo of the mohair settles into its proper softness. The whole piece relaxes into exactly the garment it was meant to be. Allow twenty-four hours of drying time, ideally with some gentle airflow, and do not rush this stage.

Finishing details include weaving in all ends securely (mohair ends can be split and woven in opposite directions for extra security), attaching or adjusting strap length if needed, and a final press with a damp cloth if you want to set the beaded hem border precisely.

Styling Butterfly

One of the great pleasures of this dress is its versatility as a styling piece. Worn alone over bare skin on a warm evening, it is undeniably beautiful and a little daring — the lace is not sheer enough to be immodest but it does not hide much either, so wearing a simple slip dress or body beneath it is both practical and elegant. A nude or flesh-toned slip allows the lace to read clearly; a contrasting colored slip makes a completely different visual statement.

For cooler weather, Butterfly layers beautifully over a fine turtleneck or a long-sleeved base layer, suddenly becoming an entirely different garment — more structured, warmer, still completely lovely. Paired with wide-leg trousers and a simple heel, it works as a skirt. Cropped to hip length, it becomes a top or a layering piece for smart-casual occasions.

The beading means it is naturally at home for special occasions — weddings, garden parties, anniversary dinners — but the lightness of the mohair and the ease of the silhouette mean it never feels stiff or overdressed. It is the kind of garment people ask you about, and when you tell them you made it yourself, there is always a moment of genuine disbelief that something so beautiful came from a pair of needles and a length of yarn.

What Is Included in the Pattern Download

The Butterfly pattern download is a PDF formatted for easy printing or on-screen reading. It includes a full materials list with yarn quantities by size, gauge information, abbreviations and technique instructions, full written pattern for all eight sizes, a charted version of both lace repeats with chart key, step-by-step beading instructions with photographs, sizing and fit guidance, blocking instructions, and styling notes.

A Note on the Design

Butterfly began as a sketch for a dress I wanted to wear to a summer wedding several years ago. I wanted something that felt handmade in the best possible sense — not a rough approximation of something bought, but a garment with genuine beauty that could only exist because someone made it stitch by stitch with care and attention. I wanted the lace to feel like it had weight and history, and I wanted the beads to make it feel like a celebration.

I hope that when you knit Butterfly, you feel some of that intention in the pattern. I hope you find the rhythm of the lace enjoyable. I hope the moment you block it out and see the finished fabric for the first time gives you that small catch of breath that handmade things can give. And I hope that whoever sees you wearing it understands, at least a little, what went into making something that beautiful.

Ready to Start?

The Butterfly pattern is available as an instant PDF download from this Etsy shop. You will receive the full pattern file immediately after purchase, and you are welcome to reach out with questions at any time via Etsy messages. If you make a Butterfly, please do share your finished project — there is nothing that makes a designer happier than seeing a pattern become a real, worn, loved garment in someone else’s hands.

Happy knitting.