How To Make Butterfly and Fairy Wings

Making your own fairy wings can be a fun project to do with kids, or a great way to get the exact look for a costume you are creating. The definition of fairy wings has grown beyond just simple fairies to encompass all sorts of wings with variations existing that are appropriate for angels, butterflies and gothic bat wings.

And they've gone beyond just being a Halloween feature. Fairy wings are good for dance clubs, spring festivals, rainy days and Burning Man. You can't go to a sci-fi or costume convention without seeing dozens of variations. And I've even know of a bride or two who made fairy wings part of their wedding dress.

The biggest fear most people have when it comes to the idea of do-it-yourself wings is having to sew. FEAR NOT!... What you'll find here are some great "no-sew" ways to make your own fairy wings!

There are a couple of ways to make fairy wings for those of you in a hurry or who don't have too much in the way of sewing skills. The basic things to think about are how durable you want your wings to be, how big do you want to make them and how many times are they going to be worn.

If you need quickie wings for an event or party, you can make them from paper or cardboard and just decorate the surfaces. Large pieces of oaktag (manila folder paper) can work. You can find rolls of this material at better art stores. You can also use the sides from big cardboard boxes (to get larger, quickie pieces). You can tape the wings together to make the spine (try brightly colored duct tape), and then add some string, elastic or fabric straps to wear them. If you don't want the spine to be completely flexible, a short piece of 1" PVC pipe can be used. Measure from a few inches below your neck to a few inches above your waist to determine length. Cut as needed and sand the edges smooth or tape over them with brightly-colored duct tape. Tape the wings to the spine and then decorate everything to match.

If you'd like to make larger and more elaborate fairy wings, here's a great method for making shiny, iridescent wings using cellophane or even sheet plastic. For these wings, you'll be gluing a lot instead of sewing.

Start with some 14g or 16g wire. You can make the outline of your wings, or you can also make some veins and curls for inside the wing. I wait until I've got each wings covered before I attach them to each other as it makes it easier to work on them and lay them flat at this stage when they are unattached to each other.

For glue, I like to use a strong craft glue that dries clear. Other good options are colored glues that match your wings, or glue with glitter in it. Make sure the glue works on plastics and metals so that it will hold the wings together. Do not use hot glue if working with cellophane as the heat of the glue will melt the wing material.

Lay out one wing form and carefully apply a thin amount of glue to the part of the wire that is facing up. Gently lay the cellophane material over the glue so that the wing has a skin on one side of it. Turn the wing over so that the cellophane side is now down and the wire side is up. Again, carefully apply the glue to the wing wire and then lay a second piece of cellophane over that. You have now sandwiched the wire forms in between two layers of cellophane. When the glue is dry, carefully trim off any extra cellophane so that your wings take shape. If you make your wire forms very elaborately, sometimes you can even trim away interior shapes and spaces to make cut-out in your wings.

Tape or glue the two wings to each other to make a "spine" and add straps for wearing. If the wings are made to be worn with a corset or a tight bodice, you can make the spine part so that it slides into the garment and holds the wings on without shoulder straps.

Now you can add any glitter, feathers or other decorations to your wings if you want.