The idea of ​​building wings came with the Steampunk Pixie costume. These were supposed to be blue wings from the start, maybe a little influenced by Carnival Row. The shape that I had in mind for the wings however had nothing to do with this series ;-)

Since I had never done anything like it, I first looked around how others had built their fairy and elf wings and then decided on the method with wire and organza.

First I decided to build test wings with the copper-colored organza that was left over from my Time Traveller’s Ballroom. However, this test went so well that I finished sewing these beautiful golden wings, too :-)

I used copper cables as the wire here. Freed from the plastic, I had a nice, shiny cable that could be easily bent into shape. The wings themselves are each made of two layers of organza, sewn with different zigzag stitches and cut out afterwards. The wings are attached to a small cloth-covered sheet of buckram. The plate is then carried on the back with the help of elastic bands, similar to a backpack.
Since it was originally only intended as a test piece, the sewing work on the holding plate is not very clean and so I wrapped it with organza and sewn a mini wing on top so that it looks nicer. You can see what I mean by that in the gallery ;-)

Nevertheless, I am very happy that I made this test piece because the stability of the wings on the back with the shape of the small plate was not really good. I then made a few mini models to find out how I could increase the stability without making the plate much larger. These models can also be seen in the gallery :-)

With the blue wings, that is the “real” wings, I was unfortunately no longer able to use the copper cable, as the color was much too visible through the blue. So I used a different, gray sheathed cable.
This time, the holding plate is sewn so neatly that it was no longer necessary to wrap it with organza; instead, two mini-wings on top of each other were sufficient :-)

Completed: 2020

Status: in my Klamottenkiste and waiting for there to be events again where something like this can be worn

Photos: Marlena Wels (2022)
Jewellery: Sandra

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