Learning how to make fairy wings

So I am making fairy wings for the first time. I found several good web sites that showed me how to make them. Pretty much the same information on all the sites, with a few variations. So I thought, ok I have wire, I make jewellery, I am good with my hands, I am creative, I can do this. Boy do I have a lot to learn. Yes it looks easy, and I think after I have done it a few hundred times it will be.

The first thing I learned is that they said 14 to 16-gage wire for a reason. I have 18-gage stainless steel that I use for making jewellery; it does not work for this. I spent hours wrapping the wire around and around just to get the wings to have enough strength. Now it does look good, but a lot of work. I want to make my wings different from every one else’s. Well they look different. I put so much work into them and they do look cool, I just don’t want to cover the wire wrap with nylon. So this set is going to be just wire and maybe some beads.

I went out and bought some 14 and 16 gage galvanized wire. I will be trying some new wings some time this next week. I have started making some small wings out of the 18 gage that can be used for dolls. They look nice, but I have to finish them and get some pictures done up. I will start making them people sized now. I am going to have to make a lot of them until I have some that are of the quality I want to sell.

Now I have to figure out how best to do the harness for them. I saw a few different styles and they are very simple set ups to be tied over the shoulders, some with padding on the back, some with out. We are thinking about doing a leather back harness to give it more stability and comfort. My husband works in leather so it will be a group effort. I was thinking this would also allow the wings to be mounted on the wall.

This is going to take a lot more time then I expected, that learning curve. It is such a simple design, bend some wire, add some nylons over it, tie it off, decorate, tie on, have fun. Any one can make them. The problem is making them at sellable quality. I will get there and I will let every one know when I am happy with my work.