I Made it Monday Twelve Days of Christmas Turtle Doves and Geese Costumes

I Made it Monday

Two weeks in a row. It's almost a record. 

Two Turtle Doves and Six Geese a Laying

Boy oh boy, did I do it this time. Without any prompting I mentioned to the music teacher at my daughter's school that I could sew. That's right, I let the cat right out of the bag. I emailed her some pictures that I took at a performance and when she replied to thank me I kindly replied back that she was welcome and oh, by the way, I can sew. I could almost see her reaction by how quickly she replied back to confirm what was said. Sew? Like on a machine? Yep, that's when I knew she was going to keep me busy. When I told my husband at dinner that night I thought he was going to die of laughter. Why would I do that? What was I thinking? Did I have any idea what I was getting into? And the answer is, yes, I absolutely did. I mean, I didn't know what would be asked of me, but I do know that my daughter absolutely loves being able to say, "My Mommy made that," and I love to hear it when she does. I also love it when the other students thank me or ask questions or give their input. I grew up in a sewing family so I sometimes forget that many kids have no exposure to sewing at all and I like to share my craft. A few weeks went by and you guessed it, an email came asking for simple 12 Days of Christmas props for turtle doves and geese. The rules were that there be no headpieces and that it be easy to put on and off between songs. Here's what I did.

After searching Pinterest and Google I found a few tutorials for bird wings. I didn't do a very good job of photographing the process (read, I didn't take any pictures) but it wasn't that hard either. My biggest source of reference was another blog post by Natasha Jane over at NattyJaneSews. Her tutorial is written in four parts that are linked below. I tried laying my feathers out in the curving pattern that she shows but decided to go with just horizontal lines. Not only did this save time but it also saved materials and was perfect for my wings intended purpose. To prevent fraying but keep the wings lightweight I used a very lightweight iron on stabilizer on my feather fabric. I admit, this did add an extra step, but I didn't want to use felt or any other non-fraying fabric. Not only would it be heavy but it tends to be pretty expensive too. I also had help. My high school senior needed volunteer hours for National Honor Society and was able to use the hours that she spent helping me (she cut all 800+ feathers) toward her volunteer time since it was for a local elementary school.

No two sets are alike but each set is symmetrical. I used a combination of black, gray, silver and white for the geese.

For the two turtle doves I used a mixture of white and silver. 

 

All eight magnificent sets.

I can't say that I would jump at the chance of making eight sets of wings again but I do look forward to helping with the spring musical, whatever that means.

Be sure to follow me on Pinterest, as well as Facebook, and find my designs at Applique Time. Check back next week to see my next I Made it Monday post. 

Regards,
Bridgette

Natty Jane Sews Tutorial Step One 

Natty Jane Sews Tutorial Step Two

Natty Jane Sews Tutorial Step Three

Natty Jane Sews Tutorial Step Four