Knitted in the round this is an easy pattern if you already know how to knit stranded colorwork and this pattern assumes that you do know how to knit stranded colorwork. If you have not knitted stranded colorwork before then this is an experienced level pattern.

Instructions are given for head sizes 18” (46 cm), 21” (53 cm), and 23” (58 cm). These correspond to child, small adult and medium-large adult sizes.

Fingering weight yarn. The sample was knitted with Ice Yarns Merino Gold Batik / Niceec Rainbow
BC: (background color), CC: (butterfly color)
Size 18” (46 cm), BC 79 yds (72 m), CC 39 yds (36 m)
Size 21” (53 cm), BC 92 yds (84 m), CC 49 yds (45 m)
Size 23” (58 cm), BC 104 yds (95 m), CC 60 yds (55 m)

The life cycle of the butterfly is one of the most amazing transformations that occurs in nature.
The butterfly has to lay her eggs on the right kind of leaf as most caterpillars are very specific about what they will eat. Once the caterpillars hatch, they grow quickly and eat continuously, shedding their skin (exoskeleton) several times as they grow larger.
When the caterpillar is fully grown and stops eating, it becomes a chrysalis by struggling out of its exoskeleton and emerging completely changed. While we think of the chrysalis as containing the caterpillar, the chrysalis is the caterpillar. The words pupa, chrysalis or cocoon are often used interchangeably. Both pupa and chrysalis refer to the stage in a caterpillar’s life cycle where it metamorphosises in order to become an adult.
A cocoon by comparison is a structure that the caterpillar weaves around itself, made of a kind of silky thread. Cocoons can be highly complex or simply a few scattered strands. They can help to keep the pupa or chrysalis safe and hidden or hold it into place.
Inside the hard shell of the chrysalis, the caterpillar’s body breaks down to cell level, a liquid soup-like substance, so that it can rearrange itself into an entirely new form. The transformation consumes so much energy that the pupa loses more than half of its original weight. The time a butterfly spends in the chrysalis varies greatly per species, ranging from a few days to a year.
The adult butterfly emerges from the chrysalis shell with its wet and crinkled wings folded about its body. It then pumps fluid into its wings over a period of a few hours and they expand to their full size. Some species of butterflies get energy by feeding on nectar from flowers but many species don’t feed at all. Most butterflies live only one or two weeks, but some species hibernate during the winter and may live for several months.