Regency Fairy... A wing Tutorial

My friend Katherine and I are in the sad position of being a pair of historical costumers in a landscape full of cos-players and fantasy costumers. To be honest though we have both costumed characters from movies, but for the most part, it's all about historical technique and construction.

She and I go to the Ren Faire most years. We try to make costumes relevant to the time period. We had planned on making rural Flemish gowns this year.. But wool?!?! Multiple layers?!? At 100'? Oh no. I just can't.

So Katherine and I were joking
around and came up with the idea of wearing light and airy Regency Gowns to Faire, but because it's Faire (not the most historically accurate event) wearing fairy wings had real appeal.

Being the big nerd that I am, I did a search for Regency Fairies and found this book..








It's a lovely little book, full of Regency Faries. I used the pictures in this book as a starting point for my wings.

As luck and serendipity would have it my friend MirthFairy is very knowledgeable in the construction of fairy wings. She even started her own fairy guild at the Ren Faire! She agreed to give Katherine and I, a crash course in wing making. It was very fun and educational... Plus I set out a pretty Tea. :)








No... I don't bake. Pic-link :)

With the information I learned and the magic of google I hitched a plan, and surprise surprise it was rather successful!

Like I said, I wanted my wings to have a realistic insect like look...
I found on etsy, and eBay... artist making printed wings on transparency film, for ball jointed dolls. They have dragonfly, cicada, and moth like veins through the wings. I was worried though that if I printed wings in a human size and tried to mount the printed transparency on iridescent cellophane the ink would smear... messy. So I decided cut work would do, even if it's not as realistic.

HOW TO MAKE CUT WORK FAIRY WINGS

You will need:

a self healing cutting mat
exacto knife
Hammer and a board to hammer on
steam iron
small box to spray adhesive
A needle tool... Or a thin screwdriver.

spray paint (black) for metal
spray adhesive
black shower curtain liner
clear cellophane
iridescent cellophane
galvanized wire


First thing you'll do is draw your pattern... Or copy mine. :) you might want to copy 2 as a guide for placing your cut work.









Sorry about the glare...
I drew mine on old Christmas wrapping paper.

Next you'll need to bend your wire frame.









Then smash the center section with a hammer... Best part of this project! HULK SMASH!







Paint the frame... Do this outside so you don't asphyxiate yourself. :( .... Hang it out on the line so it will dry... And eat lunch now. :)








Now layer your wing diagram over 2 layers of shower curtain
























Now cut out the wing








The cut wings will look kinda like this
















Set up your adhesive station








And spray!!! But don't go crazy breathing is good... And its wicked sticky.








Your going to apply this cut shape to a layer of clear cellophane... This is kinda tricky. I'm good at this kind of tedious arranging... But if you aren't I suggest that you print out a pattern of the original drawing and use it as a guide. You can use a needle tool or a small screwdriver to manipulate the cut work.... it's infinitely better than your fingers! :)

Next you'll spray the correct wire wing section with adhesive also spray the cut work/clear cellophane assembly with adhesive withe the cut work side up...and apply the cut work side to the wire wing. Cut another section of clear cellophane and encase the wire wing. Turn on your iron... And using a TEFLON COVER!!!! I don't think it's possible to do this project without this... If you don't have one experiment with your iron on different settings to see what sealing and god forbid MELTING effects you will achieve... Otherwise use a heat embossing tool.









Once you have all the cut work applied use your iron or heat embossing tool and shrink the cellophane to the wire frame.

Now... I wanted my wings to have an iridescent effect... You don't have to do this part if you don't want to....

Spray the wing








Apply the iridescent















Iron... I messed about with steam for texture.









Trim off the extra cellophane.









Now the middle wire section is a mess... So cover it up with some fabric, and bows... And maybe a big ol silk rose. :) mine ties on with ribbon... Mine came from The Ribbon Store... Do go there!

All done!

I maybe might wear this dress... or make another... we will see! :)



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The first of three Victorians

I like that title... sounds like a historical romance novel. :) But in this context it's just as it sounds. I need three victorian dresses... and I've just made one.

I need a gown for the Victorian Grand Ball, a day dress for a reenactment, and a tennis dress for a contest.

Actually the day dress is practically done... it just needs:
closures
trim
skirt attached
but that's a blog for another day.


To be honest, the ball gown was going to be a MUCH different dress. I was planning on making a dress from one of my favorite Tissot paintings. I have everything to make it... but the weather got hot, and I started thinking that dancing in long sleeves might be a new kind of hell... and opted out. Also, I found a dress on ebay that is so very lovely in it's simplicity, I just had to try my hand at it.

Isn't it lovely? I love how the watered silk makes the statement. I wore off white and gold to last years ball, and only white reads "wedding" to me... although I'm not so sure it did the victorians. Regardless... I couldn't find moire in white. In fact the only watered silk I could find were so expensive I was a bit shocked. I'm a budget costumer. I very rarely go over $20 a yard, and do my best to keep projects under $100. So I was about to give it all up and try to alter the Tissot idea so that the skirt was the same, but with a ball gown bodice, when I found a vintage length of rayon moire... 5 yards! $30. Although I'm a on a budget, fabric content is kinda a big deal to me. So a dilemma. I bought it... because a $30 dress?? and also, buying vintage fabric is good for the environment. Not really sure how... but yah, environment. Plus, it's red. :)

My finished dress:

 

It's a pretty dress... and I like it very much. I've ordered some ribbon to add to the shoulders in long bows... and a ribbon for lacing, both in red.

Next post I'll give you the pattern for the corded petticoat underneath. Also a tutorial for making double, and single piping, and some examples of early victorian ball gowns.