How To Make Wings Costume

Whether your kids need a costume for Halloween, for a fancy dress party, or even a school play, sometimes it is better to make them ourselves. Wings are a great costume piece as many kids enjoy thinking their wings will make them fly.

They are also very versatile. You could leave them in the dress-up box for your kid to enjoy at any time. They are a great and simple way to make your child feel dressed-up even if you put them over their regular clothes. 

So, instead of going to a costume store and buying a pair of wings, it’s good to be able to know how to make wings costume. We’ve created a step-by-step guide on how to make a variety of different wings. 

How To Make Wings Costume

Let’s take a look at how to make a wings costume at home:

Paper Plate Angel Wings

Follow these steps to make a paper plate angel wings costume for your kids. This is a great option to be able to reuse any spare paper plates. It is an eco-friendly option, compared to buying them. 

Supplies Needed

To make these wings you will need:

• Elastic
• Hot glue
• 14 large paper plates
• Scissors
• Paint for decorating.
• Tape

Step One To Make A Paper Plate Wings Costume

First, cut the paper plates so you end up with twelve crescent shapes. Then glue these crescent shapes together so they are slightly layered on top of each other. You want to have most of each plate exposed and layered so they look like wings. 

Step Two To Make A Paper Plate Wings Costume

Next, stick the wings onto the back of a whole paper plate. The front of the paper plate will be the part that everyone can see, so you will eventually decorate this part of the plate. 

Step Three To Make A Paper Plate Wings Costume

Now, with another paper plate poke four holes into it. The holes should be in the shape of four corners of a rectangle or square. So two on top of each other and then you repeat on the other half of the paper plate. 

Step Four To Make A Paper Plate Wings Costume

Then poke through the elastic and secure it on the front of the paper plate with hot glue and tape. Then glue the front of this plate onto the wings to disguise the tape you have used to secure the elastic.

You should now have a paper plate with the front exposed on the outside, the two lots of wings sandwiched between another plate with the back exposed. There’s now only one step left to learn how to make a wings costume.

Step Five To Make A Paper Plate Wings Costume

Decorate your wings however you would like. You could paint them all different colors. A great idea would be to collect and wash feathers, then glue them on the wings. This is a good option for those of you wanting to use natural materials.

If you can’t find feathers you could buy them. To turn the wings into a forest fairy, you could get leaves, sticks, and flowers to glue onto them. 

Bird Wings Made With Cardboard

If your kid wants to be a bird, you can simply make wings out of cardboard for them. Follow these instructions to find out how make a wings costume. 

Materials Needed

To make these bird wings you will need:

• Cardboard (lots of it)
• Hot glue and hot glue gun
• Scissors 
• Tape
• Craft knife
• Elastic
• Decorations such as paint or feathers (this is optional). 

Step One To Make A Cardboard Bird Wings Costume

The first step is to measure your child’s arms when they are stretched out, also known as their wingspan. 

Step Two To Make A Cardboard Bird Wings Costume

Then you want to cut out a wing shape that is the same size as your child’s arms when stretched out. The wing shape should be similar to a rectangle, except on one of the longer sides of the rectangle, it starts to curve near the end to meet the other long side. It is sort of like a stretched-out semi-circle. 

Then cut a smaller version of this shape that would fit in the middle. 

Step Three To Make A Cardboard Bird Wings Costume

Attach the two wing shapes together using tape, with the smaller one in the middle of the larger one, on top of it but only at the bottom of the larger. You should now have a larger section in the middle of your wings. It is larger in the middle in terms of width and surface area.

Step Four To Make A Cardboard Bird Wings Costume

Then you want to attach the elastics to the other side of the wings, using hot glue. These will be the shoulder straps. Secure a piece of cardboard on top of where you have glued down the elastic ends. You will also want to secure an elastic loop near the end of the wings, where your kid’s wrist will be. 

Step Five To Make A Cardboard Bird Wings Costume

Then you want to cut feather shapes from strips of cardboard. It is best to keep the feathers in strips rather than individually cut, so it makes attaching them easier. 

Step Six To Make A Cardboard Bird Wings Costume

Then you want to glue your strips of feathers on the wings. It is best to start at the bottom of the wings, so you can layer the next row of feathers on top. In the end, you should have a pair of wings that have layers of cardboard feathers on them. 

Step Seven To Make A Cardboard Bird Wings Costume

Now it is time to decorate your wings. You could paint them, leave them plain, or even get real feathers and stick them on the cardboard feathers. 

Cellophane Fairy Wings

If you want your child to have some beautiful iridescent fairy wings then follow these steps to make them at home.

Supplies Needed

To make these fairy wings you will need:

• Aluminum craft wire (12 gauge) in any color
• Clear spray adhesive 
• Posterboard
• Cellophane in any color
• Sharpies
• Pencil
• Wire cutters
• Needlenose pliers
• Strong wire or a coat hanger (something you can bend)
• Heat gun

Step One To Make A Cellophane Fairy Wings Costume

The first thing you want to do is to design your wings on your poster board. If you need help thinking of a design then copy one from online, there are loads. Make sure you are sketching your fairy wings in the size that you want them to be. 

Step Two To Make A Cellophane Fairy Wings Costume

Now it is time to make the skeleton of your fairy wings. Start with one half of the wing first, once you have completed that side, repeat for the other wing. To do this you use the 12 gauge aluminum wire. 

Carefully place the wire in the shape of your fairy wings on your poster board. Start with the largest line and cut the wire so it is slightly longer than what you have drawn. This is so you can curl the ends of your wire inwards to avoid sharp edges being exposed. 

After you have cut and shaped the first wire, you can start cutting the smaller wires. Cut each wire slightly longer than what you have drawn so you can attach them to each other. 

This process is as simple or as hard as the design you have copied. Essentially, you want to use the wire to place over the lines you have drawn. Then attach the pieces of wire to each other by using the pliers to wrap the wires together. 

Any wires that have ends exposed need to be curled so no sharp edges are exposed. At the end of this step, you should have a wire version of the drawing you sketched. You should have two separate wire wings. 

Step Three To Make A Cellophane Fairy Wings Costume

Now it is time to attach the wings to each other. To do this you need to bend part of the stronger wire into the shape of the letter ‘M’. Then the need to take the outside lines of the ‘M’ and curl around the wire of the wings at the point you want them to be attached. 

This is usually done around the middle of each wing. Now instead of having the letter ‘M’ you should have two wings that are joined together with a shape that looks like a ‘U’ in the middle. 

This ‘U’ shape is what you will use to attach your wings to your kid’s clothes. It is similar to a paper clip. 

Step Four To Make A Cellophane Fairy Wings Costume

The next part is to add the cellophane. For one wing, cut two pieces of cellophane that are slightly larger than the wing. Then you should spray the clear adhesive on one of the cellophane sheets you cut out. On that cellophane sheet, place the wire wing on top of it. 

Spray another layer of the spray adhesive on top of this cellophane sheet and wire combination. Now place the other cellophane sheet on top of the wire wing so that the wing is sandwiched between them. Cut all the excess cellophane leaving around a quarter of an inch spare. 

Repeat this step for the other side of the wire wing. 

Step Five To Make A Cellophane Fairy Wings Costume

Now it is time for the fun part. Keep your heat gun around 8 inches away from your wings and heat the cellophane up. Make sure you get every part of the wing but move quickly. If you keep the heat gun in an area for too long it will create holes in your cellophane. 

Now your wings costume is complete! 

Final Thoughts

Making a wings costume at home for your kids is fairly simple and there are so many different designs to follow. You could use natural materials and eco-friendly materials to make your wings. 

Hopefully, we have helped you find the right design for your kids wings costume and taught you how to make a wings costume at home quickly and easily.

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