40 Butterfly Stitch Braids Hairstyles To Try In 2024

Butterfly stitch braids are stitch braids that are fluffed out to mimic a butterfly like pattern.

While they’re not a new hairstyle, butterfly stitch braids are trending again and we’ve got all the details you need.

Not fond of cornrows? You’ll love passion braids aka knotless butterfly braids.

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Products and the type of hair you need for butterfly stitch braids:

Freetress french curl braiding hair.
Regular pre-stretched hair.
Rat tail comb.
Crochet needle.
Sew in needle & thread.
Gummy professional hold gel.

How to do butterfly stitch braids

There’s three methods you can use to do butterfly stitch braids. Namely:

The braid and fluff method.
The sew in method.
The crochet method.

Let’s jump right into it.

Butterfly stitch braids tutorial: Braid & fluff method

In the braid and fluff method, freshly washed and straightened hair is parted according to the number of cornrows you’d like to have.

These could be 4, 6 or 8.

PS- Unlike most hairstyles where straightening or stretching the hair prior to braiding it is optional, for butterfly stitch braids, the straighter the hair the better the end result will be.

Some stylists will go as far as silk pressing the hair first to ensure the silky smooth texture of the braiding hair matches your actual hair but this is not necessary.

Once you decide how many braids you want to have and the stitch braiding method you want to use, apply some gummy professional hold gel on your parted section and start your stitch line.

Gradually feed in small amounts of your French curl or regular braiding hair as you move along the length of the braid ensuring your grip isn’t too tight.

A tight grip will make it difficult to fluff out the hair later on.

After you’re done with plaiting your cornrow, fluff out the braid at the sides then tie a knot at the end of the braid and use a rubber band to secure the section where the braid ends and the curly end starts.

Something like this.

Things to note

When using this method, make sure your client’s hair is under the braid that way you’ll only fluff out the braiding hair and not the natural hair too.
You can use French curl braiding hair, wavy braiding hair or regular pre-stretched braiding hair.
If you opt to silk press your hair before getting this style, use French curl braiding hair or wavy braiding hair for a better texture match.
If you don’t want to press your hair or straighten it too much, use regular braiding hair.
Regular braiding hair will not give you the whimsical fluffy shiny butterfly braids look that you’ll see on the pictures in this post.
If you don’t want to use braiding gel, use a wax stick.
Butterfly stitch braids are not a long term protective hairstyle. This style will last anywhere from 1 week to a maximum of 2 weeks.

Butterfly stitch braids tutorial: Sew in method

In the sew in method, you’ll need to braid the hair twice then sew it.

In part 1, you’ll start by parting the hair and applying your gel or wax to sleek it down and tame flyaways.

You’ll then section out a small piece of hair where the cornrow is supposed to begin and split it into three parts.

After splitting it into three parts, you’ll start braiding it like you would a regular plat.

This is meant to give the beginning of the cornrow a natural look.

You’ll then gradually feed in small bits of your French curl or wavy braiding hair, increasing the amount only as you move along the length of the braid.

Remember to loosen your grip as you move along the length of the braid to make it easy to fluff out the hair later.

Just like in part one, you’ll finish braiding the cornrow, tie a knot at the end then use a rubber band to secure the section where the braid ends and the curly hair that’s left out starts.

The stitch cornrow will then be fluffed out on each side as desired using your fingers or the rat tail comb.

Once you’re done with this part, you’ll move on to part two.

Part two is where you’ll braid the rest of the natural hair into a regular stitch cornrow all the way to the bottom.

PS- If you don’t want to use the stitch braiding method, do a regular cornrow in part two.

After you’re done with the cornrow, you’ll take your butterfly braid and sew it onto the cornrow at the bottom.

The end result of part one and two should look like this.

After sewing it in, the end result should look like this.

Things to note

Sewing down the butterfly braid on a regular cornrow eliminates the problem of a texture reveal when fluffing the hair out in the braid and fluff method.
Unlike the braid and fluff method, the sew in method will give you more longevity.
If you’re not fond of stitch braids, you can do a regular cornrow underneath the sew in.
Just like in method one, you can use regular braiding hair, French curl or wavy braiding hair.
Regular braiding hair is recommended if you don’t want to straighten/stretch your natural hair too much or silk press it. Should you opt to silk press it, use French curl or wavy braiding hair for a better texture match.

Butterfly stitch braids tutorial: Crochet method

In the crotchet method, a regular stitch braid (ideally a small or medium one) is done first.

The French curl or wavy braiding hair is then crocheted in top to bottom.

The crotched in hair is then braided loosely and fluffed out as desired to create the butterfly effect..

Like this.

Butterfly stitch braids crotchet method.

To create a boho look for all of these butterfly stitch braids looks, leave out small pieces of hair depending on the method you used in select places along the length of the cornrow.