Need ideas for feathered wings

I'm making my DGD an Angel for her first halloween. Dad is going to take
her around and he's going to be the devil..that ones easy, and the base
angel costume is easy...where I'm having trouble is with the wings. I've
looked at the costume shops and the craft shops. No one locally has any
infant sized angel wings, so I'm going to make some. I'd like some
advice on how to do this. My basic idea is to take some wire like a coat
hanger, and bend it to be the top edge of the wing's shape, then take
some material (probably bleached muslin) cut to the shape of the wing
with about an inch at the top to fold it over to make a casing for the
wire. Then I plan to glue down the shaft end of the feathers to the
material, and maybe take a stitch or two through the shaft as well. I'd
work from the bottom to the top, over lapping the feathers sort of like
shingles on a house.

Does that sound like it will work? Any improvements that can be
suggested? I figured I might be able to take a $3 maribou boa and use
that as the very top of the wings, over the casing. Another place I'm
having trouble is with getting enough feathers. I've checked at a ton of
craft stores in the area, and they all sell these little .25 oz packages
for like $1.50. The wings don't have to be very big as we are making
them for a 3 month old...but I still think I need a bigger bunch of
feathers....any suggestions?

"FtForger" wrote in message
...

I'm making my DGD an Angel for her first halloween. Dad is going to take
her around and he's going to be the devil..that ones easy, and the base
angel costume is easy...where I'm having trouble is with the wings. I've
looked at the costume shops and the craft shops. No one locally has any
infant sized angel wings, so I'm going to make some. I'd like some
advice on how to do this. My basic idea is to take some wire like a coat
hanger, and bend it to be the top edge of the wing's shape, then take
some material (probably bleached muslin) cut to the shape of the wing
with about an inch at the top to fold it over to make a casing for the
wire. Then I plan to glue down the shaft end of the feathers to the
material, and maybe take a stitch or two through the shaft as well. I'd
work from the bottom to the top, over lapping the feathers sort of like
shingles on a house.

Does that sound like it will work? Any improvements that can be
suggested? I figured I might be able to take a $3 maribou boa and use
that as the very top of the wings, over the casing. Another place I'm
having trouble is with getting enough feathers. I've checked at a ton of
craft stores in the area, and they all sell these little .25 oz packages
for like $1.50. The wings don't have to be very big as we are making
them for a 3 month old...but I still think I need a bigger bunch of
feathers....any suggestions?


That's about what I did for wings for my DD a couple years ago. I used
spray glue on the fabric then quickly stuck the feathers in there. Went
much faster than using normal glue.

I found bags of feathers at Wal-Mart. Can't remember how much they were. I
know they were smallish bags too, I had to get around a dozen. But they
were cheap. Like $.50 or so...I remember that part because I was thrilled
to find them so cheap. If all else fails, you can use rows of maribou
instead of feathers.

HTH

Sharon

--
---
"Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of time and just annoys the
pig."

mamahays wrote:

"FtForger" wrote in message
...

I'm making my DGD an Angel for her first halloween. Dad is going to take
her around and he's going to be the devil..that ones easy, and the base
angel costume is easy...where I'm having trouble is with the wings. I've
looked at the costume shops and the craft shops. No one locally has any
infant sized angel wings, so I'm going to make some. I'd like some
advice on how to do this. My basic idea is to take some wire like a coat
hanger, and bend it to be the top edge of the wing's shape, then take
some material (probably bleached muslin) cut to the shape of the wing
with about an inch at the top to fold it over to make a casing for the
wire. Then I plan to glue down the shaft end of the feathers to the
material, and maybe take a stitch or two through the shaft as well. I'd
work from the bottom to the top, over lapping the feathers sort of like
shingles on a house.

Does that sound like it will work? Any improvements that can be
suggested? I figured I might be able to take a $3 maribou boa and use
that as the very top of the wings, over the casing. Another place I'm
having trouble is with getting enough feathers. I've checked at a ton of
craft stores in the area, and they all sell these little .25 oz packages
for like $1.50. The wings don't have to be very big as we are making
them for a 3 month old...but I still think I need a bigger bunch of
feathers....any suggestions?



That's about what I did for wings for my DD a couple years ago. I used
spray glue on the fabric then quickly stuck the feathers in there. Went
much faster than using normal glue.

I found bags of feathers at Wal-Mart. Can't remember how much they were. I
know they were smallish bags too, I had to get around a dozen. But they
were cheap. Like $.50 or so...I remember that part because I was thrilled
to find them so cheap. If all else fails, you can use rows of maribou
instead of feathers.

HTH

Sharon



Be careful as theis lot may be too heavy for the wire.

--
Kate XXXXXX
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!

"FtForger" wrote in message
...

I'm making my DGD an Angel for her first halloween. Dad is going to take
her around and he's going to be the devil..that ones easy, and the base
angel costume is easy...where I'm having trouble is with the wings. I've
looked at the costume shops and the craft shops. No one locally has any
infant sized angel wings, so I'm going to make some. I'd like some
advice on how to do this. My basic idea is to take some wire like a coat
hanger, and bend it to be the top edge of the wing's shape, then take
some material (probably bleached muslin) cut to the shape of the wing
with about an inch at the top to fold it over to make a casing for the
wire. Then I plan to glue down the shaft end of the feathers to the
material, and maybe take a stitch or two through the shaft as well. I'd
work from the bottom to the top, over lapping the feathers sort of like
shingles on a house.

Does that sound like it will work? Any improvements that can be
suggested? I figured I might be able to take a $3 maribou boa and use
that as the very top of the wings, over the casing. Another place I'm
having trouble is with getting enough feathers. I've checked at a ton of
craft stores in the area, and they all sell these little .25 oz packages
for like $1.50. The wings don't have to be very big as we are making
them for a 3 month old...but I still think I need a bigger bunch of
feathers....any suggestions?


I would just get the maribou and tack it onto the wings. It would be easier
than trying to sew down hundreds of individual feathers and since you
wouldn't have to cover so densely, it would be lighter. But I wouldn't use
muslin as a base. I would use two or three layers of heavy netting. It would
make it easier for tacking.
--
The Vegas Beth P
(STILL missing Georgia)
Remove "removethis" to reply

FtForger wrote:


I'm making my DGD an Angel for her first halloween. Dad is going to take
her around and he's going to be the devil..that ones easy, and the base
angel costume is easy...where I'm having trouble is with the wings. I've
looked at the costume shops and the craft shops. No one locally has any
infant sized angel wings, so I'm going to make some. I'd like some
advice on how to do this. My basic idea is to take some wire like a coat
hanger, and bend it to be the top edge of the wing's shape, then take
some material (probably bleached muslin) cut to the shape of the wing
with about an inch at the top to fold it over to make a casing for the
wire. Then I plan to glue down the shaft end of the feathers to the
material, and maybe take a stitch or two through the shaft as well. I'd
work from the bottom to the top, over lapping the feathers sort of like
shingles on a house.

Does that sound like it will work? Any improvements that can be
suggested? I figured I might be able to take a $3 maribou boa and use
that as the very top of the wings, over the casing. Another place I'm
having trouble is with getting enough feathers. I've checked at a ton of
craft stores in the area, and they all sell these little .25 oz packages
for like $1.50. The wings don't have to be very big as we are making
them for a 3 month old...but I still think I need a bigger bunch of
feathers....any suggestions?

You might look at fly tying suppliers, if you have any in the area. The
feathers there will be a bit more expensive but the quality is better
than the craft stores and you might be able to buy just one bag of
feathers. There are a number of sources on the net for feathers if you
don't mind ordering. The little bags of feathers you can find at
Michael's don't go very far and aren't very high quality.
Here is a source I found with a quick google search using "feather" and
"retail" for the search. http://www.tonyhill.net/feathers.ivnu
I've never ordered from them, no association, etc.
Good luck with the costume. It sounds like fun.

Marilyn

Try this. Get 2 baby sized clothes hangers and leave them just the shape
they are. overlap the hook parts so that they make sort of an O shape. Tape
and wire them together so that they are stable. Next, just cover the wire with
bright aluminum foil!
Don't try to make a solid wing -- just wrap the wire with the aluminum foil
and leave it open in the middle. Trust me -- *everyone* will know that they
are wings! I did this for DD when she was in kindergarden and it worked out
quite nicely. I used regular sized clothes hangers tho' cuz DD was pretty big.
I don't see why the baby size hangers wouldn't work for your DGD.
As for the costume, I made DD's out of old ruffled muslin curtains I got at
the second hand store! Obviously, I was on a shoestring budget but the costume
was cute anyway! I had 3 matching rod pocket curtains all the same size.
Fortunately the length of the curtain was just about perfect. I sewed one
curtain into a tube leaving the top 6" open and put a drawstring through the
rod pocket. This was a skirt for DD.
The second curtain was the top and the third curtain was cut up to make
sleeves. I did the necessary measuring, cutting & sewing and put the sleeves
into slits on the second curtain. Then I sewed the second curtain into a tube
just like the skirt, added a ribbon doe the drawstring around the neck and I
had a really cute Angel costume for almost no money and just a little bit of
time invested! I left the back opening on the top deep enough that I could
strap those wings to DD and make sure they were stable.
The best parts is that the bottom of the skirt, top and sleeves were already
nice deep ruffles. Second best was that the neck of the top had a pretty
gather too from the reod pocket :-)! CiaoMeow ^;;^
..

PAX, Tia Mary ^;;^ Queen of Kitties
Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about their
WHISKERS!!
Nothing is complete without a few cat hairs!
Online Photos at http://community.webshots.com/user/tiamary

I would not use maribou feathers around a 3-month old baby. They are a
serious choking hazard.

Karen in Ohio

FtForger wrote:

I'm making my DGD an Angel for her first halloween. Dad is going to take
her around and he's going to be the devil..that ones easy, and the base
angel costume is easy...where I'm having trouble is with the wings. I've
looked at the costume shops and the craft shops. No one locally has any
infant sized angel wings, so I'm going to make some. I'd like some
advice on how to do this. My basic idea is to take some wire like a coat
hanger, and bend it to be the top edge of the wing's shape, then take
some material (probably bleached muslin) cut to the shape of the wing
with about an inch at the top to fold it over to make a casing for the
wire. Then I plan to glue down the shaft end of the feathers to the
material, and maybe take a stitch or two through the shaft as well. I'd
work from the bottom to the top, over lapping the feathers sort of like
shingles on a house.

Does that sound like it will work? Any improvements that can be
suggested? I figured I might be able to take a $3 maribou boa and use
that as the very top of the wings, over the casing. Another place I'm
having trouble is with getting enough feathers. I've checked at a ton of
craft stores in the area, and they all sell these little .25 oz packages
for like $1.50. The wings don't have to be very big as we are making
them for a 3 month old...but I still think I need a bigger bunch of
feathers....any suggestions?

"FtForger" wrote in message
...

I'm making my DGD an Angel for her first halloween.

Why don't you take a look at www.orientaltrading.com You can buy a cute
little set of angel wings for $4.95. Each side of the wing is two parts and
since this child is 3 months old you could scale them down by using a top or
bottom half of the wing. This will eliminate futzing with wire, harness
attachments, feathers and the like and a lot cheaper than what you could do
it for yourself. If you are set on having wings lovingly produced by
grandma's own hands they also have bulk feathers at a very good price.

Since this child is 3 months old she will have to be in the arms of Dad the
whole time, at least I've never seen a 3 month old of hanging onto the hand
of an adult and trotting along the sidewalk to Trick or Treat, so you need
to think of how all this stuff is going to be attached to baby so Dad can
keep a reasonably secure hold. Maybe you should rethink this and make Dad a
stork costume and let him haul the kid around in a pink blanket sling,
perhaps a bit more appropriate *wink, wink*

Val

No one locally has any
infant sized angel wings, so I'm going to make some. I'd like some
advice on how to do this.

I made myself some wings about 4 years ago with coat hangers, pantyhose,
purple turkey feathers and glue and thread.

I shaped the wires, pulled panty hose over them, which made them look pointy
like devil wings (I aimed for that effect). Then I glued and sewed hundreds
of purple turkey feathers on and made a harness of some shiny black ribbon.

Just make sure they are not too heavy for the little one! I ended up taking
mine off. Then again 4.5 feet of wings are very heavy!

If you take a look at the wings in the stores most of them use elastic
harness type things. I would model it after those.

Best of luck!

Which reminds me, I have to make costumes for three.......Better start soon!

Michelle Giordano

Does that sound like it will work? Any improvements that can be
suggested?

I have one more idea. I was reading some of the replies and noticed alot of
people were concerned about weight and feathers choking the baby. I was
wondering if tulle wings sprinkled with silver glitter might not be cute as
well? If you really have your heart set on feathers you could make a head
wreath (what are they called?) with maybe white roses and feathers?

I made them for my kids when I got married. I found some flowers that were
all in a line, kindof like a mini wall swag, and they could be attatched to
other strings of flowers, so I just put two together in a circle, added
ribbon and voila!!!!

Michelle Giordano