Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Give Her Wings

How great are these?

Great enough to dig out (read: have David dig out) and dust off the sewing machine, that's for sure!
I chose a set of coordinated fabrics because I am not cool enough to put my own together.  Too many to choose from.  Where would I even start?!

I chose a solid backing fabric that matched one of the lighter colors in the family (I'm on a grey kick right now) and a coordinating satin ribbon  and thread in an accent color (the dark teal really stood out to me).

I measured Aine's 'wing span' by measuring from the center of her neck to her wrist.  I trimmed the edges of the backing fabric with pinking shears.

To make the feathers, I modified Eri's pattern slightly.  I wanted 5 scallops for each length, and I wanted each length to be 9".  So each scallop was a little under 2".  Once I had my pattern cut out of card stock, I cut the heck out of some fabric!!

Then I took a break and went to SeaWorld....


Another modification I made was to zig-zag stitch each scalloped piece before sewing them on to the wings.  A little on the OCD side for my instant gratification self, but I wanted them to hold up should they find themselves in the washing machine.  It is highly likely they will need to be washed at some point.  Less likely they will actually get washed.  But at least I know it's ok if they do.

I started at the bottom, rounded part of the wings and worked my way up to the top.  In some places, I cut the scalloped pieces down to twos and threes to fill in smaller openings.  I alternated fabrics so that the end result is a bit of a mottled effect.

Once all of the feathers were attached, I trimmed the overhanging pieces and zig-zag stitched down the straight edges, so that the ends wouldn't fray.  I measured a length of satin ribbon long enough to tie a large bow around my neck and marked the middle with a pin.  I placed each wing about 1/2" from the center point and attached them with a very tight zig-zag stitch in two places for each wing.

Then I cut two shorter lenghts of ribbon, folded these 'awareness ribbon' style, and pinned them to the superior-distal (like that?) corner of each wing.  I double-stitched these on for security too.  Then used my mad hair bow-making skillz and melted the free ends of the neck tie ribbon with a lighter to prevent unraveling.

She LOVED them!

And then she decided she wanted to be a chicken.

8 comments:

  1. Bravo! I like yours better than the original, they are stunning!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Bri, they are gorgeous! Way to go!

    ReplyDelete
  3. nice job! i saw this on pinterest several times and you are the only mama i've seen make one! nice work.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thank you, thank you, ladies! I am still impressed with these wings every time she takes them out to wear. And I'm SO glad she is still loving them.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I read the original post, and couldn't understand how they stayed up on the shoulders! Now, I understand. Thanks.

    BTW--have you washed them? Just wondered how they would stand up. I have THREE grandaughters that probably need a set of wings.

    ReplyDelete
  6. i have been so excited about these! it is a thrill to see someone has made them ;) i'm wondering if the weight of the wings pulling on the ribbon around her neck would bother her? it doesn't seem to phase your girl. any thoughts?

    ReplyDelete
  7. I wondered about them pulling on her neck too...and apparently needlessly; she'll wear them for hours & never complain about it!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I have just made a set of these too, although I didn't zig zag- am going to spray with "fabulon" ironing spray and cross my fingers...
    I have attached the neck ribbon in the same way, but tie it up by passing it over her shoulders/collar bone and under her arms and tie at her back, so it doesn't pull on her neck.

    ReplyDelete