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The wing harness is mainly canvas and elastic. Here we have two layers of painter's canvas sewn into a pocket about 6 1/2" by 4 1/2". Before stitching up the sides, sandwich a chest-strap made of broadcloth (about 1 1/2" wide and your chest-size + 4" long) between the layers. Don't forget to leave the top of the pocket open. |
| Measure out 4 feet of elastic and cut in half. Create 2 loops and then sew them together in a "V". This will become your shoulder straps. If you have broad shoulders, add more elastic, but this should fit most ladies out there. Once that's done, tack it to the pocket opening with a couple of stitches. |
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On the ends of the chest straps, sew your velcro. Make sure that the hook-side and the loop-side are on opposite sides of the straps. |
| With wire-cutters, cut away the "hook" at the top of your wire coat hangers. Use the needle-nosed pliers to bend the wire into the wing shape you see on your right. At this point try to keep the wires as flat as possible, only bend in 2 dimentions. Don't cut any excess until you have bent both wires and matched them up. |
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After you're done bending, use the wire cutters again to trim away any excess wire. The left over wire makes great pokers to keep nosey boyfriends or sibling away from your work area ^_^ The criscross that you see towards the bottom of the wires is important to keep the wings from collapsing in on themselves or falling to far forward. |
| With the remaining broadcloth, cut out 2 wing shaped triangles and 2 extra pieces to create a loose pocket for the wire to fit into. Don't make this pocket too tight or your wings will end up looking flat and unnatural. Stitch it together, leaving the base open to insert the wire and stuffing. Do some quick zig-zag stitching along the bottom edge to prevent fraying. |
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Stuff the wing ridge with polyfill, this will probably cause the rest of the fabric to become less taught. This is actually for the better as you'll see in the next step. |
| You should have an idea of how these wings are going to look now. If there is anything you don't like about the shape of your wings, now is the time to change it. Once you're satisfied with the shape, bend the wire so the wings will come away from your back a bit, about 20 degrees should do it. |
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Finally, hot glue the wing frame into the harness. Don't be afraid to use the glue, I emptied at least 4 sticks into my harness. Squeeze the glue into the bottom of the harness pocket first and work your way towards the top. Make sure the wires stay crisscrossed inside the pocket as you glue. You might want to wear gloves during this step as it can get pretty warm on your fingers. Try and mush the glue into all the nooks and crannies of the pocket, this will make it cling together better. Once it's all glued and cooled, use a couple of stiches to close up the top. |
