butterfly wing tutorial

I made a pair of butterfly wings for my granddaughter to wear on Halloween. I thought you might like to see how it was done, so here goes!

First of all, I bent four coat hangers into wing shapes. I used both my hands and a pair of pliers for some of the sharper corners. Then I tested some of my filmy fabrics for paint/dyeing capabilities. After that, I proceeded to cut out fabric with at least 1" excess fabric all around the wing shape. I folded it over the wire with clothespins, then with pins, making a smooth, neat fit.

I took some matching thread and sewed the fabric layers, as close to the wire as I could, wrapping the thread around the neck of the handle as I went along. Then I carefully trimmed away the excess fabric.

Sharp corners were trickier to navigate. I stitched around as well as I could and used a little fray check on the inner corners to secure.

This is how it looked after I sewed it and dabbed on a tiny bit of fray check. So far so good.

Painting was fun! I used Setacolor transparent fabric paints, which are colorfast. Other fabric paint would also work well, just make sure it's transparent and not opaque. You also don't want the paint to rub off on clothing. This is my fancy hanging system just outside my art studio, overlooking the living room. After I painted on the basic colors, I embellished further with fabric markers. This was my favorite part.

I also painted some "streamers" with lengths of the same fabric.

Okay, here's what NOT to do. I cut off the wire ends so that only the part where the wires wrapped around each other on the hanger were left, then wrapped the wires with duct tape. Then I used more duct tape to connect one upper wing and one lower wing. I attached all the wings together, criss-cross style, but the problem was that the wings became too floppy. So I removed the duct tape and went on to plan b.

I wrapped the wires together with batting and a sturdy glue. I think it was Gorilla Glue, but any strong glue should work. I further strengthened the connection with some selvedge strips I had on hand and more glue. I let this dry for a day before I went any further.

I arranged the wings criss-cross style and connected both pairs with more batting and more glue. No sharp wires will scratch my granddaughter, no way. I let this dry for another day. This made for a much sturdier set of wings. Hurray!

This photo is on its side, but as you can see I added some sheer matching layers over the batting. It was actually the fabric scraps I used to test colorfastness. Then I simply tied  the streamers onto right and left upper corners, to stream in the breeze.

At this point people often add straps of some sort, usually made with elastic. Living on opposite coasts from my granddaughter, I wasn't sure how big to make them. So I sewed three pinbacks to the center area. You can buy pinbacks at craft stores. This way the wings can be attached to any clothing. I also made a 4" padded square, made of fabric and batting, which can be used as a stabilizing base on the inside of thinner clothing, such as a t-shirt.

And there you have it! If I get a photo of my granddaughter wearing it (hint hint), I will post it here. Let me know if you try to make your own butterfly wings! There are all sorts of tutorials online, and this was my own take.

prayer flag from Vickie

Vickie made this beautiful prayer flag for me, to add to my collection. The theme is "Time to Shine," isn't it clever? The letters and number are made with rhinestones on an invisible sheet. I'd never seen that before.

I've been hard to work on multiple projects. Today my focus has been on an upcycled wearable art project, and a Christmas stocking for my guild. Pix soon. Ack, too many things in progress: two quilts, a toddler sweater, a prayer flag, Christmas ornament exchange gift, plus the two things in the previous sentence. Who has time to post when there's work to be done?!

The butterfly wings got sent off earlier this week. One of these days I will post a tutorial. They turned out great!

Samantha has so much to say

Today's post is short and sweet. Chatty Samantha in the car...

in the studio and out and about

I've been busy up in my studio. My granddaughter's butterfly wings are almost finished - they just need a little tweaking and means of attachment. (the directions I've seen are vague) I can't wait to show you! I'm also working on a small art quilt that I can't elaborate on yet. Both projects are fun.

In the meantime, I have a few more photos to share from our trip to NY. Have you ever heard of ground cherries? This is what they look like with their hulls on. I bought some at the Hamilton farmers market.

They look a little like a yellow tomato and taste a little like a cherry. A very healthy munchy!

We stayed a couple nights in Saratoga Springs, NY. Sammy is standing by one of the many fountains in the town. She was a real trooper, walking all over with us.

She got to ride on a carousel horse for the first time.

After our visit with them, we went to the Wentworth Inn in New Hampshire for one night.

I took a walk on the grounds and was inspired to take these photos. Does this qualify as an artful tour?

On Butterfly Wings and other things...

I recently got a wake-up call. I went with Joanell to the Oceanside Museum of Art where she was dropping off a quilt (as part of an exhibit including quilts from Dairy Barn! Lucky her!). When my friend happened to mention to the curator that I had had a quilt in Quilt Visions at her museum, I said "In 2002." Her wide-eyed response was that that was a really long time ago. She was young, and 10 years ago she could have been 15, who knows? But it shook me up a bit. What have I done lately?

Well, I have continued to make art quilts, although I have slowed down. I have other interests, as anyone who reads this blog would know.  Having a granddaughter has given me a different focus, and I have taken up knitting and making little clothing with gusto. Do I regret this? Of course not. I would hate to be so busy making art quilts that I wouldn't have time to make things for her. I am going to savor watching her grow up, and that's that. Quilts are still in the picture, when I can and want to make them.

My old friend Pat Raffee (Pat, are you out there?) gave me some advice during another moment of self-doubt, and I have had a few over the years. She said something like, make what pleases you. If you only make quilts that you hope will please judges and others, you end up with a pile of quilts that you may not even like. This advice has served me well over the years, so thank you, Pat. I will continue to make what pleases me.

Now I'm going to go upstairs to work on butterfly wings that Samantha can wear for Halloween. (tutorial will happen, eventually) In the meantime, here's a video to enjoy.

visit to North Brookfield

We recently visited my daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter in Central NY. Sammy is wearing a dress that I made her earlier this summer. The oven you see is where my daughter makes ALL her baked goods.

We went to the Utica Zoo one day.

Samanatha loves the animals at the zoo.

This fox played it cool.

Jack going to the garden to gather veggies for farmer's market.

Sammy and grandpa at the Hamilton Farmers Market.

Sammy and Grammy.

Sammy and Mommy

We enjoyed spending time in NY. A few more photos and a couple of movies to share, soon.

rituals, art studio

I've gotten behind in posting photos from my camera, as opposed to photos from my phone. Here is a photo of me back in July, at the Long Beach Quilt Festival with my quilt, "Photo Booth Hijinks," that is in the Rituals exhibit. It will also be in Houston.

 

 

 

 

Not long ago, I cleaned out my art studio. Here are some photos of it, relatively neat.

It felt great to organize and purge.

A nook, which was much worse before. Not Quilting Arts Studio worthy, but much better than it was. :-)

Next I will post some photos from our trip to NY.