So here we are again back for more Tinkerbell... If you missed Part one of the Tinkerbell Costume Tutorial ... you can find it here . In Part one we already made Tinkerbell's dress so now we are ready to tackle her wings.... and I'm not going to lie it took me a skinny second (insert sarcasm... more like a very large and extended second) to figure out exactly how I wanted to make these. Number one issue of importance to me was that I wanted wings that would be attached to the dress and would not require any type of elastic straps on Lou's arms. So I definitely achieved that but in hindsight... I would line the entire back of the bodice with some seriously heavy duty ultra firm stabilizer to lock those bad boys down and in place... but at this point my costume's done and I promise you I'm not going back :)
Supplies you will need:
1-2 yards of heavy duty fusible or non-fusible stabilizer (depending on how big you want your wings)
1 yard of solid white costume satin
1 yard of shimmery sheer fabric
two old metal hangers
thread
So you know from previous tutorials ... I definitely like to live on the wild side and experiment with sewing projects ... I never know in the beginning if the idea in my head will really work in reality ... but I like to think positive thoughts go a long way towards achieving success :) So we that in mind focus on how fabulous you are... and grab a marker ... or highlighter as you can see (or can't see ;) ) I grabbed... it was the only thing I could find the kids hoard any and all writing utensils. Next grab your stabilizer and free hand a wing... if that feels intimidating just leave me a comment and I can send you my wing. You can draw any wing you want... I made two different pieces per wing... the top (which is about twice the size of the bottom) and then the bottom. Make sure to draw a tab several inches long on your wing (in the picture above its the portion of the pattern that my scissors are laying on) ... later on this will secure the wings to the dress. Now go ahead and cut your pieces... you want 4 top pieces and 4 bottom pieces to make this sucker super stiff. Sew two top pieces tog and two bottom pieces together for each wing leaving the tab portion open (do not sew the tab closed we need it open to be able to slide a metal hanger inside later in the tutorial)
As you can see I know have my wings cut out... now lay your wing pieces down on your fabric and trace around your stabilizer with a 1/2 - 1 inch margin for your seam. You should have 4 pieces of the solid white fabric for the top of the wing and 4 for the bottom of the wing. Do the same for the shimmery fabric. Just in case you are lacking in basic math skills as I am I will do the hard adding for you ;) ... you should now have 8 total pieces of fabric for the top and 8 total for the bottom
In this next step we are going to sew the wings together ... so you need to make a stack of fabric like this for all four wing pieces...
1) stabilizer pieces on bottom
2) Solid white fabric facing right side up
3) Shimmery fabric facing right side up
4) Shimmery fabric facing right side down
5) Solid white fabric facing right side down
Pin your fabric onto the stabilizer with the fabric hanging over the edge 1/2 to 1 inch on all sides. You want to line your needle up so that you are sewing closely around the edge of the stabilizer but do not sew on the stabilizer. Sew all the way around leaving the several inches of the tab free so that we can turn the fabric inside out once we are done.
Now that you are done sewing all four wing pieces... turn your fabric inside out and push your stabilizer portion inside as well... it will be a snug fit.
Next take two metal hangers, unfold the hook portion and mold the hanger until it is the the right size to slide inside the top portion of your wing but still keeps the tab free.
After your hanger is secured...line up a bottom wing with a top wings tab so that the bottom tab is on top of the top tab... sew a straight stitch over both tabs to secure the two wing pieces together. Next cut two squares of stabilizer that are 1-2 in longer in length then the the tab of the top wing, and then 4-6 inches in width. Cover both of these squares with shimmery fabric you could also use your green fabric to cover these instead which I wish I would have done... (two pieces right sides facing ... sew along the edge leaving a few inches open on one side... turn right side out and slide your stabilizer square inside... then sew the open side closed.
Grab one of your shimmery squares and cut two long slits equal to the tab on your wing... leave the other square un cut.
Push your wings tab through each slit. Now sew a straight stitch down the right of the slit (right next to the wing) to secure the bottom wing tab going to the right underneath the square... flip the wing over and sew directly to the left of the slit and wing to secure the top wing tab to the left underneath the square. Do that exact thing to the other wing as well.
Put your uncut square inside the back bodice (in hindsight this is why I would have lined the whole bodice when making the dress with stabilizer to eliminate this step)
On the outside of the costume in the middle of the dress back, line up the wings with the stabilizer square in the inside of the dress so we have lots of support for the wings and wont risk tearing the dress. Pin these pieces together.
Because this is a lot of stabilizer and fabric to sew through to keep my sewing machine from getting jammed ... I had to manually hand turn my needle while pushing the fabric through. Sew a straight stitch straight down the middle and then two more straight stitches down each side of the stabilizer squares. PARTY TIME! Tinkerbell wings complete!!
Only one step left... Tinkerbell's shoes! Check back later for part three! Thanks so much for stopping by! Let me know if you have any questions or need any help :)
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