How to Make Feather Wings

You can make your own feather wings with these simple step-by-step instructions and a few craft supplies. The wings illustrated here are 16 inches tall and 12 inches at the widest point. Make your frame larger or smaller as needed by cutting longer or shorter lengths of wire. You can find all the supplies to make feather wings at your local hobby and home improvement stores.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• 16-gauge craft wire
• Wire cutters and needle-nose pliers
• Measuring tape and marker
• Thin fabric
• Scissors
• Double-sided tape
• Feathers
• Needle and thread

1. Make the frame for your feather wings with 16-gauge craft wire. Cut two 41-inch lengths. Measure and mark the wire at 16 inches and 28 inches from one end of each piece. Hold one wire at the 16-inch mark with your needle-nose pliers and bend it in an "L" shape with a rounded bend, not a sharp bend. Hold the wire at the 28-inch mark with your hand, and curve it back to the beginning tip of the wire.

2. Hold the end of the curved section of wire with your pliers and twist them to make a hook. Hook the curved section onto the straight tip, and close the loop. Make a hook at the tip of the straight section over the hooked wire, and close it. Repeat Steps 1 and 2 with the remaining section of wire.

3. Cover each of your feather wing's frames with thin fabric that matches the color of your feathers. Measure two sections of fabric 30 inches long by 36 inches wide. Run a line of double-sided tape along the inside perimeter of each wing's frame. Attach one end of the fabric to the tape, and wrap it around the frame. Finish wrapping the fabric with more double-sided tape where the fabric overlaps. You can also attach the fabric to the frame with a whip stitch if you like.

4. Lay the two covered frames side by side with the straight edge of each wing touching. Mark the face of each wing so you'll know on which side to sew the feathers. Puncture two holes through the fabric on each wing, 7 and 9 inches from the top of the straight side.

5. Attach the feathers to the fabric at the bottom of one wing. Place the feather stem in the corner of the fabric just above the wire. Stitch the feathers onto the fabric in a row. Measure one half the length of a feather up from the tip of the feather stem. Begin stitching your second row of feathers here.

6. Continue to make your feather wings by sewing on rows of feathers, all facing the same direction and layered. Avoid sewing the punctured holes closed. Cut feathers in half to make the top row so that the stems will not be visible. Repeat Steps 5 and 6 on both sides of each wing.

7. Connect the wings together with 6-inch strips of 16-gauge wire. Cut the strips and insert one halfway through each of the holes on one of your wings. Bend the strip around the wing wire and thread the remaining wing through both wires. Wrap the wire tightly, joining the wings together.

Tips & Warnings

• For a quicker set of feather wings, only cover one side of each wing with feathers.

• When stitching the feathers onto the wings, only sew through one layer of fabric.

References

• Making Feather Wings

Resources

• Michaels Craft Store
• 16-Gauge Craft Wire