Tutorial: Fairy Wings

This year for the Scarborough Renaissance Festival I decided to dress up as a woodland fairy. I had never made fairy wings before, but this YouTube tutorial by Emily Autumn was SO helpful! I basically followed every step so I recommend watching it. In my tutorial I have posted photos of my progress and added a few tips so you can become a fairy, too!

Here are some of the supplies you’ll need to begin making your fairy wings: panty hose, scissors, electrical tape, and wire cutters. I bought some wire at Walmart, but honestly I recommend you use a coat hanger instead. The wire I used did not hold up well in the wind at the festival. I also suggest you buy full length panty hose instead of the knee-length kind like I did. This way you can make bigger wings. I was limited to smaller ones because my hose didn’t stretch as far.

So first you make your shape out of the wire and leave a little wire tail at the end. Stretch your panty hose over the wire being careful not to bend it. Then attach your tails together and secure it with electrical tape.

Do the same with the bottom of the wings.

Now that we have our shape it’s time to paint! I used a sponge with acrylic paint and chose colors that reminded me of the forest.

I recommend you paint both sides of your wings. I was surprised how much of the wings you could see from the front of my body, and the panty hose looked splotchy on the other side without a second coat.

After you’re done painting, use tacky glue to create a swirlie design of your choice. Then sprinkle glitter onto the glue. If you don’t want a lot of glitter on the rest of your wings then make sure to wait until your paint is dry to do this step.

Next, wrap some ribbon over the electrical tape and glue it in place.

Then, glue some fake leaves and flowers in the center.

To wear your wings, measure the length of a ribbon to fit over your shoulders like a backpack. Then tie the ribbon around the wire in the middle of your wings. You’ll need some help putting them on, however. My mom had to hold the wings to my back as I tied the ribbon over my arms. 

I loved wearing my wings to the festival and even met some other fairies! Their wings were beautiful!!!

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial!

And be sure to check out my Faux Corset Tutorial here.

~Fairy Blessings!~