Angels are a very popular theme for costumes on both Halloween and Mardi Gras. To help you, we have put together some instructions with which you can easily make angel wings. Whether made of fabric or paper - the wings are simply unique and can also be used as decoration after the holidays.
You can make your own wings as an accessory for children and adults. This not only depends on the design, but also on the size of the wings. So you can modify any of our instructions to get the right size. Below you will find out how you can recreate these DIY ideas using real feathers and what materials you need.
– Foam board
– 150 goose feathers (approx. 15 to 20 cm long)
– 2 meters long and 2.5 cm wide white ribbon
– 1 pack of artificial down feathers
– Hot glue gun
You will need a foam board from which you will cut five oval pieces if youMake angels yourselfwant. Two of them are 20 x 10 cm, the other three are 10 x 5 cm. Using scissors, cut the ribbon in half and poke four holes into one of the smaller oval shapes as shown in the picture.
Now thread the two ribbons through these holes. The ends should always point in the same direction. These straps will later be used to tie the wings to the shoulders. Place the piece with the ribbons on top of the other oval pieces and draw its perimeter. Then apply hot glue to this area and then glue the piece with the ribbons onto the others.
Some of the feathers are first shortened. Use a craft knife to make a slit in the oval foam panels. Do one at a time rather than all at once, starting with the top half of the wings, the larger oval pieces. Put some glue on the quill and then insert the quill into the slot. This will give you the first, outermost row of feathers.
You don't need to shorten the springs for the second row. Simply stick them directly onto the oval piece. Five feathers should be enough for this size wing, but you can estimate this yourself if you make the wings yourself. Once you're done with that, you can move on to the lower wing parts.
For the lower parts, simply repeat the steps just described. However, the middle piece, which was equipped with the straps, does not receive any feathers. Use hot glue and allow each row to dry thoroughly before moving on to the next. Then always work your way from the outside in. Each new row of feathers should overlap the previous one so that the keels are no longer visible.
The feathers should also gradually become smaller. In the end you only need half of each spring. Once the glue has dried properly everywhere, you can try out the wings. The straps run from and below along the arms and are tied at the front. Look forward to a radiant smile on your daughter's face.
Cardboard is also very suitable as a basis. You can use any packaging for this. You will also need lots of coffee filters, glue, a pen, scissors, a hot glue gun and felt. Cut two mirror-inverted wings out of the cardboard. The tabs are important so that both wings can be glued together. Two straps should also be put through the tab to tie the wings tightly. Then stick the felt material on one side. Paper (in this example music paper) can also be used as a substitute for the material.
Now it’s time to decorate the wings. Use coffee filters for this purpose. You can see roughly how you should fold them together in the first picture above. However, the individual filters do not always have to be one hundred percent the same. Glue the first filter to the bottom tip of the cardboard side (the felt side facing the back) and work your way up from the bottom.
To be on the safe side, you can lay out each row before gluing the filters in place. After all, you don't want to end up with any empty spaces through which the cardboard can be seen. Allow the finished wings to dry.
Feel free to use wire too. You use this to design the “scaffolding”. For this example you will also need any lace fabric, as well as a needle and thread in a matching color. Place the fabric on the frame and trim off the excess fabric. Then use the needle to sew the fabric together along the wire.
You can also do the opposite, i.e. sew the fabric together first and then cut off the remains. This is more advantageous for beginners because the fabric can no longer slip and you can create an even edge. Before you design the middle piece as you like, you can add an elastic band that you can later use to tie the wings to the shoulders. You can also sew or pin the wings onto the costume.
These wings are a combination of the cardboard and lace wings. Cut out the wings again from cardboard. Instead of sticking coffee filters on them, use strips of lace fabric that you attach in rows. Start again at the bottom and work your way up. A great idea for the centerpiece is a pretty ribbon. In principle you can use a wide variety of things.
You can add some variety by using different colored lace. Alternate colorful and white lace and combine with some feathers here and there.
Old curtains or a tablecloth are suitable. Instead of cutting out two individual wings, cut them both out together. So that they can stand upright, sew wire onto the upper ends, which you can also attach to the costume at the same time.
