After much time finally got this done! I made this tutorial for those who want to cosplay w/ feathered wings but don’t have the money to buy professionally made ones. I’ve seen a few pairs online go for more than 100 dollars, so I’m here to show you how to make your own wings!
Ok so we’ll need some supplies before we start.
I bought all of the material (not including hot glue, scissors, and wire cutters) at my local craft store for under 30 dollars.
Be sure to get foam sheets, feathers, and ribbon in the same color. The size of you foam sheet should be big enough to fit one wing.
Also, don’t underestimate the amount of feathers you need!!! I’ve made this mistake and it’s not fun!
Also make sure you have a pattern of what you want your wing shape to be. I’ve sketched out some references, but you can find my printable templates here: http://tumblr-is-better.blogspot.com/2015/05/printable-wing-template.html
After figuring out what I would like, I drew the bigger pattern onto my foam. Trace and cut.
Pretty flimsy, right? Here’s how to add more stability:
I placed the wire on the edge of the foam sheet for one wing. Then I added hot glue over the top of the wire and cover it with the ribbon. This helps by covering up the wire so it doesn’t poke while being worn, and so that the wire stays put. It also makes for a nice place to glue feathers over.
It doesn’t have to be neat, since there will be feathers over it.
Save your scraps of foam.
From the scraps, I cut out two identical ovals. The length of each should be the same as the base of each wing.
I attached them to the wing, and added wire and ribbon around the edge. This base for the wings works better than making the wings as one piece. The base should sit right on your shoulder blades, making the wings look a lot more realistic.
Make sure they are attached at a slant, ribbon facing the inside. The side with the ribbon will be the inside or the “front” of the wing.
If the area where the wing attaches to the oval is flimsy and doesn’t stay in place (which is totally normal) bend a piece of wire into an “L” shape and glue it onto the part of the wing that slants downwards. Don’t forget to cover it in ribbon as well! (Sorry for bad lighting)
Now the time consuming part.. Feathers! I used an assortment of different sized feathers. Always start from the bottom layers and work your way up to the top.
Don’t cover the base with feathers. That will be done later.
Bend the wire in the wings to shape them how ever you like!
As for attaching the wings together, you will need elastic. I used clear elastic so the bands in between the wings were not visible. It turned out pretty well, but you might want to find fabric elastic that fits the color of your costume (if you’re wearing one) because clear elastic tends to break easily and it never lays flat.
I measured the distance between my shoulder blades. The wings do not have to rest on your shoulder blades, if they need be elsewhere, it will still work.
I cut two holes through the base using scissors and an exacto knife in the places that best fit my liking. Be sure that both holes on the first wing match up with the other wing. The holes should be directly through the ribbon, and behind the wire.
I did the same for the arm bands, but I made the holes farther apart.
When stringing the elastic through, don’t underestimate how much it can stretch. It’s better to have it shorter in the place between wings, so don’t be afraid.
Once through, I secured the elastic like so. If you’re using clear elastic put a layer of glue over the top of it. Clear elastic doesn’t stick to hot glue by itself. :/
Before attaching the arm bands, I measure the distance from my shoulder blade, around my arm, and back to the shoulder blade.
After the elastic is in and attached, I continued to cover the base with feathers.
Largest wings that I’ve made with this technique had a six foot wingspan. You can make these as big as you’d like.
I also didn’t give exact measurements since everyone’s will be different!
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