How to make a pair of Angel Wings

introHow to make a pair of Angel Wings

In this Instructable I will explain how to make a pair of wings which could be used to make a costume to dress up as an angel, bird, or anything else with feathered wings (for example certain species of dragon).

The motivation for this outfit was 1) I like to make a spectacle of myself, 2) I was going to the local Surfers Against Sewage fancy dress ball, the theme being recycling. I decided to go as a recycled human being. This evolved into 'Recycled Elvis', although I actually looked more like 'Recycled Morrissey'. You can see me on their website;

http://www.sas.org.uk/events/ball2006/gallery_2006_night_2.htm

I am somewhat of a perfectionist and wanted to make the wings the best that they could be, hence I spent around 70 hours on them. There are many shortcuts you could take to do it in much less time.

It's rather difficult to rate the expense and difficulty of this project; I spent about 200 pounds on the wings and another 200 pounds on the rest of the angel outfit, although you could do it for next to nothing with a bit of effort. I will explain as we go through. As for difficulty, it is not technically complicated but it does require a lot of patience. In this Instructable I have described most of the simple practical and mathematical techniques used to make the wings; I have assumed very little previous knowledge and ability. Please be patient with these passages if they do not apply to you.

If you do decide to make wings from this Instructable please make sure that you read all of it carefully first, then read well ahead of the point you are working from in order that you pick up all the relevant points before you go ahead.

You will find out later how I attached the wings, but I can say that I danced the night away and a particularly irritating man tried to pull the wings off but they stayed on. I fell over he pulled so hard.

step 1Key Features

Key features of the wings; 1) They are made of real feathers 2) They are articulated and so fold up and down in a fairly realistic fashion. 3) (My favorite part) they ha…

step 2Research

I spent quite a while studying photos of various birds wings on the internet. I decided I wanted the wings to look like those of an ibis, so typed 'ibis flying' into Googl…

step 3Materials

You will need; 1) Feathers. I used hand-selected 12-inch long white turkey flight feathers from Ostrich.com, the only ones I could find on the internet which were suitabl…

step 4Tools

You will need; 1) Safety goggles for when you are working with anything sharp. Protective gloves would be a good idea also. 2) Hairdressing scissors for a good finish on…

step 5Sizing the wings

I wanted the wings to have as wide a wingspan as possible, fold, and also allow me to sit down as we were traveling to the ball by car. I did this by sitting down on a cha…

step 6Making the Frame 1

The first image shows what you are aiming to make. I have used the image of the completed frame throughout the Instructable as it shows each part clearly and because it he…

step 7Making the Frame 2

Next we are going to make the articulated segments which allow the wings to open out without leaving a gap.Cut 4 triangles from the card. They need to be reasonably stiff.…

step 8Making the Frame 3

Next we are going to make the wing formers. Make four rings from the wire. Mine are about 1/7 or 1/8 of the depth of my wing in diameter, but it will depend on the type o…

step 9Making the Frame 4

Now we will cover the frame in fabric. I started by taking the whole sheet of fabric, making sure the weave runs parallel to the leading edge spars and gluing one edge of …

step 10Feathers

I bought the best quality feathers I could find; the box of 1250 came to about 180 pounds, but you might be able to find feathers elsewhere for much less. Try the internet…

step 11Feathers 2

Each wing needs to be covered with feathers front and back. Picture one shows the completed left wing at the back and the half finished right wing at the front. it really…

step 12Feathers 3

The leading edge is the next part we will tackle. Picture1 shows how there is a space over the elbow of the wing. I found the best way to cover this with feathers was to…

step 13Joining the Wings together and adding the Backplate

Ask a friend to measure the distance between the points shown in the first picture. These are where the wings will appear to join on to your body. You are looking for t…

step 14More Feathers

Next we will cover the back plate in feathers. This requires some attention to detail. The first picture shows the front of the backplate where you can see how I trimmed …

step 15Attaching the Wings

The wings are now finished! Next I asked Helpful Mike to hold the wings up and mark on my back with a pen where the hooks and the string at the bottom of the base board lin…

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Nov 19, 2009. 1:54 PMinstangel says:

LOL at stilleto comment