Yesterday, I made up some fabric fairy wings. I was inspired by a photo of some wire fairy wings on Pinterest and decided I wanted to try it myself and add some fabric.
Elle picked out the fabric and we are going to make some more with lace fabric and other pastel fabrics. I do love how these turned out. I didn't know if the image I had in my head would be able to come alive and it took me three hours to figure it out and make, but I am pleased with the overall result and as i make more, I will hopefully be able to make them even better and faster!
You will need:
Some ironed fabric
Florist or garden wire
Scissors
Ribbon or lace
Pins
Thread
Needle
Pliers
What to do:
1. Start to shape your wire. This can take a while to get the right shape and size that you wish. You could also use another pair of fairy wings if you any to use as a template. I twisted the end around the shaped wire to hold it all in place. I used the pliers to squeeze the ends of the wire flat. Do the same for the other side. I just used the first one as a template for the second wing to make sure the sizing was the same and the shape. I then spent a good ten minutes playing around with both shaped wings to make sure they were how I wanted and both the same.
2. Lay the wire wings on the fabric and cut around. I left a good enough gap around because you are going to fold the fabric over the wire. It doesn't matter if you have a lot of excess fabric as you can trim it once you have sewn the fabric.
3. Fold over the fabric, pinning it as you go. I used as much pins as i could to hold the fabric in place. I found this helped me so much more when it came to the sewing.
4. Sew around the fabric as close to the inside of the wire as possible to keep the fabric tight. I left the wire showing at the back to make it easier for me to then add the connecting wire. Once you have sewn around both wings, trim off all the spare fabric.
5. Take another piece of wire and create a connecting wire between the two wings. I just twisted the ends of the connecting wire around the exposed wires already on the wings. I then wrapped some ribbon around the wire and then tied a lace bow to hide the wires (and also to just make them pretty).
6. Take two pieces of ribbon or lace and make two straps. The way i did mine was by using the middle part of the wings as a base, wrapping the lace around and tying the ends together in a bow. You can secure yours if you prefer once you have measured how tight the straps need to be when you have tried them on the person they are for, but i wanted these to fit both my girls so I wanted to loosen or tighten as I pleased.
They look so pretty and they also look just as nice hanging in a child's room as a feature. You can make them any shape you wish and any size. Please let me know if you do make them. I would love to see photographs!!
Keri-Anne is a wife, mama and story teller. She loves photography, tea parties, building forts and lace dresses.
Blogs at: Gingerlillytea
Twitter: @gingerlillytea