Tutorial: Re-usable Straps for Dress-up Wings

Does that title make sense? It may not make sense.

So, 24 hours before the Trashion/Refashion Show, the little kid's gigantic vintage embroidery hoop rainbow fairy wings were still being tied to her back with shoelaces (in fact, as I discovered when we watched a DVD of the fashion show with relatives this weekend, the emcee announced the shoelaces as part of her garment, even though I'd ditched them by then--oops!). It worked, but it was uncomfortable, and not really a workable solution since the next day she'd need to be in those wings for hours without a break to rest her back. I'd thought and thought and thought about a better solution for months, without finding one.

And then, 24 hours before the fashion show, I thought of it.

Basically, it's literally just two straps that turn the wings into a backpack!

For each strap, measure your kid up and over her shoulder, around and under her armpit, and back again all the way around to make a full circle. Put your flat hand against her shoulder blade and measure over the top of it so that the length will be able to accommodate her future dress-up wings, and add another 1.5" to accommodate the snaps.

Cut two lengths of at least 3/4" wide webbing to this measurement.

Using a snap setter, set two sets of snaps on each length of webbing--

--so that you can snap each length into a circle:

Let a kid set the whole thing on fire:

Seriously, webbing is made of artificial fibers, and it's very thick, so melting the raw ends is the best way to finish them and keep them from fraying:

To use the straps, simply snap each one around the kid's shoulder/armpit, enclosing that part of the fairy wing so that it's attached to her back. The straps work together to distribute the weight of even these hefty wings backpack-style, so actually pretty comfortably--

--and you won't have to worry about the wings slipping out of place even with vigorous movement:

Not only was this arrangement so much more comfortable, but it allowed me to place her wings exactly where I wanted them in seconds, rather than the futzy tying and adjusting that I had to do with shoelaces, so the kid could even have her heavy wings removed for even short breaks, because I knew that I could put them back on again perfectly right away when she was needed again.

The little kid really likes to construct her own fairy wings, out of tree branches, two unassembled flat-rate postal boxes stuck together, or pretty much anything along with lots of hot glue, markers, and stickers, so these dress-up wing straps have come in handy loads of times since the fashion show, allowing the kid to take about ten seconds to put on any dress-up wings that she creates, instead of having to painstakingly design a way to wear them (generally involving duct tape) with every single invention.

P.S. Want to follow along with my craft projects, books I'm reading, road trips to weird old cemeteries, looming mid-life crisis, and other various adventures on the daily? Find me on my Craft Knife Facebook page!