Fairy costume: make your own fairy wings

Make your little girl’s day by crafting these simple fairy wings for her to wear while enjoying imaginary play. These homemade fairy wings will make a great addition to your little one’s fairy dress ups.

What you need:

• 2 x wire hangers
• 2 x pairs of pink tights
• Masking tape
• Small piece of felt or scrap of fabric

Optional extras:

• Glitter paint
• Tulle puff  or fake flower
• Stick-on jewels and rhinestones
• Hot glue gun
• Needle and thread

Activity:

Watch the video to see homemade fairy wings for a fairy princess costume take shape.

Bend one wire coat hanger into the shape of a wing.

Do this to a second wire hanger as well and lay them on top of each other to see that they match up and are roughly identical in shape.

Place each wing on the table with the coat hanger hook facing inwards. Now twist each hook around the other to join your two wings together. This takes a bit of muscle but you should make sure they are:

• secure enough to stay together when your fairy jumps and twirls
• wound around tightly so that no sharp ends are sticking out.

To cover the gnarly wiry bit in the middle, use a small piece of felt or scrap of fabric. Wind it around and then secure it with masking tape to make a nice padded centre that won’t poke into your fairy’s back.

Cut both legs off a pair of tights.

Cover each hanger with a leg of the tights, gathering the extra fabric in the centre of the wings.

Secure the tightened fabric in place with masking tape at the centre of the wings and then wrap the extra tights fabric around the middle and tie it off. Trim the knot nice and neatly.

To cover the knot, place either a fake flower (from a discount shop) or a homemade tulle puff onto the centre of the join. You can sew it in place or use a hot glue gun.

Now use the other pair of tights to make arm holders for your wings. Just cut each leg off and attach it in an armhole-sized loop to either side of the centre join.

You can leave your fairy wings like that or you can decorate them with jewels and glitter. (For children aged under three, leave the wings simple and unadorned or be very careful with any small bits you use.)