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Created by relache (contact me)
Rachel styles herself a post-modern Renaissance woman. Click above or below to learn more.
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spread your wings & fly
The most essential part of any fairy costume or persona is a great pair of wings.
Fairy wings are good for costume parties, conventions, gatherings, street fairs, parades, Halloween, May Day festivals, stage plays and rainy days.
This lens will show you how you can make your own wings easily, or help you find a ready-made pair if you are really in a hurry.
read more about...
table of contents
Head right to whatever part of making fairy wings you're looking for most!
- FairyLore - books and research
- Faerie Photo Gallery
- Types Of Wings
- Wings For The Season - ready-made from eBay
- Instructions for making your own Fairy Wings
- D.I.Y. Wings - more methods and techniques
- Fairy Wings honored as Lens of the Day
- Wings In An Instant! - ready-made wings from Amazon
- Dyeing Or Painting Your Fairy Wings
- Being A Butterfly Fairy - photo gallery
- Fairy Wings Goes #1
- Wing A Ding Ding - lots o' links
- Fairy Notes and Messages
FairyLore - books and research
Gather inspiration to create your fairy self
You may be surprised to learn that there are more types of fairies in the world than you thought, or you may be aware and feel overwhelmed in trying to decide which type of fairy you are.
In essence, fairies are magical creatures with humanoid form, often relating to the land or the elements. They can be fictional, fantastical or absolutely real, depending on your preference. They tend to range in size from itsy-bitsy to life-size, and can be totally wild or live a sophisticated court life in fairy society. Fairies are helpful or mischievous as they themselves desire.
You can be your very own kind of fairy too, made up of the bits that you like best. Take a look at lots of fairies and write down what sort of features and outfits you really like, and your fairy will soon reveal itself to you!
In essence, fairies are magical creatures with humanoid form, often relating to the land or the elements. They can be fictional, fantastical or absolutely real, depending on your preference. They tend to range in size from itsy-bitsy to life-size, and can be totally wild or live a sophisticated court life in fairy society. Fairies are helpful or mischievous as they themselves desire.
You can be your very own kind of fairy too, made up of the bits that you like best. Take a look at lots of fairies and write down what sort of features and outfits you really like, and your fairy will soon reveal itself to you!
Faerie Photo Gallery
see the variations of wings
Here are some pictures of different types of fairy wings to inspire you and help you come up with your own vision of wings.
Buy Fairies posters and prints at Art.com
Types Of Wings
what sort of fairy are YOU?
Fantasy fairies can have any kind of wings you can imagine.Angel wings - Large, fluffy white feather wings. The classic shape is like two arches over the shoulders with the wings folding down along the back.
Bat wings - Black, skin-like wings. These are often made of fabric and attached down the arms to unfold and wrap with arm movements.
Bird wings - These can vary to be feathered to match specific birds or can just be very feathery wings.
Dragon wings - Larger than bat wings, these are often very leathery. In older dragons, they can have ripped edges or torn holes in them.
Butterfly wings - Large or small, these are often bright and patterned.
Moth wings - Rounder and paler than butterflies, these are often slightly translucent.
Fantasy wings - Make your wings any combination of the above as you wish!
Wings For The Season - ready-made from eBay
fairies, angels and princesses, get your wings here!
You can find all kids of wings on eBay: hand-crafted fairy wings, angel wings, feathered wings, pixie wings, bat wings and more. Be sure to check sizes carefully, read up on return policies and review your shipping options before finalizing any sales.
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand by
"I was looking for instructions on how to do this... I should have known to just come to squidoo!"
Instructions for making your own Fairy Wings
Without too many supplies and a little effort, you can make your own fairy wings.
Deciding what to make your wings look like often takes long than the actual wing-making part! You can make your wings look exactly like some type of real wings, or you can make up your own colors, style and shapes. It's best to work out your design ahead of time however, as that saves time and supplies when it comes to the actual crafting part of the process.For making wings, you'll want:
- 14g-16g galvanized steel wire. The wire should bend easily, but not too easily or your wings won't hold their shape.
- wire cutters
- duct tape or heavy electrical tape
- pantyhose or sheer material. Hose takes less sewing.
- scissors
- safety pins
- needle and thread
- ribbon, wide cording or elastic (to make ties for wearing the wings)
- wing decorating stuff = fabric paint, glitter, feathers, rhinestones, silk flowers, fringe, whatever!
To start, bend the wire into the overall shape of your wings. You can make a figure eight with the wire, or you can make two separate loops and attach them to each other. At that point, you can either leave the wings as round shapes or re-shape them as you wish. For large or elaborate wings, you make larger loops to have more material to manipulate. Use the tape to fasten the loops into closed shapes and/or to fasten them to each other. This taped part is the "spine" of your wings so make sure it's strong but not too bulky. Pay attention to how big your wings get. Too wide and you'll have problems walking around. Too long and you'll have trouble sitting down when wearing them. You can also take thinner gauge wire and twist two pieces of it around itself to make a thicker piece strong enough to use as a wing form.
Once you get the basic wings assembled, you then cover them. If you are using pantyhose, you cut each leg off the waistband/panty section and stretch it over the wires. Be very careful or you can accidentally put runs in your wings. Patterned or sparkly pantyhose can make the wings fancy. If you are using a flat piece of sheer material, trim the fabric to be the same shape as the wing form, but just about a 1/4 of an inch larger is size. You then wrap the slight edge over the wire and stitch the material onto the wing frame with hand sewing. Make sure to use the lightest material you can, so your wings don't get too heavy. Sewing material over the spine is optional, but some people like to use elaborate or heavier materials for this part when they choose to decorate it.
Next, add the straps for wearing. This way, you can still sew and bend the wings to shape without hurting any of the art. Most people like having four straps to fasten their wings: one going over each shoulder and one going under each arm, then tied across the chest. Don't make your wings tie across the front of your throat because you can hurt yourself if you snag your wings. Wings can also be sewn onto the back of clothing. Having a friend who can hold your wings in place while you work out the straps is very helpful! Whether these straps attach to the wing edges or the spine part is up to you. Which option do you think fits and/or looks best?
Then, once the wing shape is set and you can attach them to yourself, decorate them to your heart's content. Be careful again to not make the wings so decorated that they bend out of shape or make your upper back sore when you wear them. If you have bits of wing decorations left over, a thin wooden dowel can easily be made into a matching fairy wand.
D.I.Y. Wings - more methods and techniques
Incredible tips and tricks for making your own wings
Here are more variations for how to make your own wings that I found on the web. If you are looking to make wings that vary from what I've described above, you'll probably find the how-to somewhere below. Check out the "no-sew" method, or see the amazing bat wings!
- How to Create a Fairy or Princess Costume
- How to Create a Fairy or Princess Costume
- How To Make Fairy Wings
- Making your own fairy wings can be easy, even if you don't know how to sew! Here are instructions for how to make no-sew fairy wings and more variations.
- Umbrella Bat Costume: Now more anatomically correct!
- from Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories - this IS the coolest! Use old umbrellas to make a fantastic bat wing costume where the wings are anatomically correct (they hang below the arm).
- FamilyFun: Fancy Fairy - and More Family Fun
- An easy-to-make fairy costume
- make fairy wings on 43 Things
- Join an online group of people who all want to make fairy wings
- Make your own fairy wings for the May Day Festival!
- With a few basic supplies and your own creative spirit, you can make your own fairy wings to wear to the May Day Festival... or just to flit around town!
- Coolest Fairy Costume Ideas
- A fairy can't do without her wings, so I've also whipped up a few diagrams and easy step-by-step instructions to make your fairy costume wings:
Fairy Wings honored as Lens of the Day
This lens was picked as the
Lens Of The Day
on September 22, 2006!
Wings In An Instant! - ready-made wings from Amazon
Ready-made wings for winged beings in a hurry...
Here are some wings that are ready-to-wear! Be sure to check sizes and measurements before ordering. Remember to allow enough time for your wings to be sent to you if you have a specific day that you need them. Sometimes really big wings take more time in shipping or can be sent by ground only.
Dyeing Or Painting Your Fairy Wings
A good question from a fairy wing lens reader!
"I'm making my own wings for my wedding this fall, trying to make fall-themed wings. I'd like to dye the stocking, as I've seen some wings that look hand dyed in certain colors. I tried using arylic paints but it looks weird on the stocking, do I use fabric paint?
How you paint or dye your wings depends on the material being used to make the wings themselves. Acrylic paints will only work well on solid materials, like the nylon sheeting used to make the ones that I'm wearing in the intro photo.
I have an MFA in Textiles, so I can tell you for sure in order to dye fairy wings, you have to use dyes made to work on the specific fiber of the material you are using. I suggest avoiding anything with polyester in it, as for that you need hydrochloric acid to open the fiber molecules and make a color bond... nasty stuff!
There are brands of dye made for home and craft use that will dye nylon well. I avoid RIT brand dye myself, as it's a composite dye and useage of it is hit or miss. For dyeing nylon, I prefer to use Jacquard brand dyes. The instructions come right on the little powder container. Many of the larger chain craft and art stores carry their products.
Paints that are designed to work on fabric are what work best on materials that are sheer and stretchy, although be cautious about heat setting, as pantyhose will melt if you actually try to iron it. Since fairy wings are occasional wear, most of the time you can get away without heat setting the paint. There are fabric paints that are described as "flowable" and this is the effect you want, something that paints on but acts more like a dye (which soaks in).
You will want to test what you are doing on some spare fabric as it will often take a bit of practice to figure out your painting technique. Thinning the fabric paint and applying it very lightly is often the only way to keep the wings from looking too caked or clunky when painting. Many professional wing makers use airbrushes to apply painted effects, but that's often too much equipment for the casual wing maker.
Starting with material that is one of the colors you want is better than starting out with something that needs to be entirely dyed. That way you only have to work on adding accents. When painting on wings that are already on their wire forms, put some tissue paper or paper bag between the two layers so you don't paint right through and stick the two wings layers together.
Being A Butterfly Fairy - photo gallery
butterfly wing inspiration and ideas
A lot of fairies who want their wings to be colorful take their inspiration from pictures of butterfly wings. The variations in colors and shapes and spots are nearly endless. You can even combine the wing profiles and colors that you like best to make your own one-of-a-kind fairy wings!
butterfly wings by *andee*
tiger wings by jaki good
colorless butterfly
Borboleta by joaobambu
Butterfly Crazy #3
Salt by creativity
Blue Morpho Wing
Papilio rumanzovia
Tiger Swallowtail
Butterfly Wings
Little critter
Tucson Botanical Gardens
Fairy Wings Goes #1
This lens hit the #1 lensrank spot on October 31, 2007!
Thanks to all the Faeries & Squids for your support!
Wing A Ding Ding - lots o' links
Get Yourself A Pair Of Wings
Sources for fairy wings and fairy costumes. Some of these sites deal in mass produced items, and some will do one-of-a-kind custom construction.
- Faerie Wings
- Wings at AnniesCostumes.com, your source for costume fairy wings.
- The Butterfly Source
- Buttfly and fairy wings.
- Fairy Wings and Things
- Wings, horns, wands and crowns.
- Amy Brown FaeryWear By Gypsy Moon
- Amy Brown FaeryWear is the culmination of many years of involvement in fantasy
art and bringing the mysterious atmoshere of other worlds into the realm of fashion. - FairyLove.com
- World-famous makers of magical fairy wings! Specialists in made 2 order custom fairy wings, fairy wings for weddings, fairy gift items, apparel & more
- Welcome to the home of magic wings.
- A celebration of faeries, angels and all things sparkly and magic.
- Art of Wings
- Top Quality, Handmade, One of a Kind Wings and Faery Wearables! You've never seen wings like these before!
- Wings from Bump In The Night Productions
- This item is a creation from the female half of Bump In The Night, for fairy fans who are tired of the fluffy nylon and glitter store bought wings. Inspired by the best faerie artists such as Brian Froud, David Delamare and Arthur Rackham, they are a completely different type of wing. Each pair is made to order - you pick the color, size and style. No one pair is exactly alike, as they are all completely hand made.
Fairy Notes and Messages
Thanks for visiting my Fairy Wings lens! Please vote for my lens (by clicking the stars at the top of the page), or leave me some comments or feedback here, letting me know what you thought of this lens. It really helps me make it better!
(just so you know, HTML has been disabled for this guestbook and spam comments will be deleted)
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faithmckay
Great lens! I liked that you listed off the different types of wings. I'm a fan of the wings at "Art of Wings" "fairy wings and things" and "fairylove.com", too! Great shops! Posted April 26, 2008 |
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DiMcDonald
LOvely colorful lens on fairy wings. I used to make fairy wings myself to sell to children in the days when I made crafts. 5 Stars. Posted April 22, 2008 |
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enslavedbyfaeries
Awesome lens!! 5 stars from a fairy lover! Posted April 21, 2008 |
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relache
KadabaCo, a little "leg work" on the internet should let you find fancy pantyhose anytime of the year. Remember to search for pantyhose, stocking and hosiery as all three keywords will bring back different results. Posted April 07, 2008 |
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KadabaCo
Merry Meet Rachel! Awesome, easy to understand (and do) instruction! Where can one get sparkly or decorated panty hose? (I can only find them around halloween) 5*'s! Posted April 07, 2008 |
