Winging It

Happy New Year!

(Insert a paragraph about how 2020 has been terrible and 2021 is going to be so much better, blah blah blah. You’ve heard it before, you can fill in the rest.)

The deadline for the Foundations Revealed competition is fast approaching, which means I really need to finish my costume. So the next piece I decided to tackle was the wings! If you remember from a few months ago, I made a mockup fairy wing out of wire and crocheted mesh. It looked good, but I ran into trouble developing a harness. The wire was just too flimsy, and I couldn’t source the right wire for the job. Alas, the design had to be scrapped, and I started over. To avoid the wire issue, I wanted to make a shawl to give the impression of wings, rather than attempting another standalone structure. It wouldn’t look as “realistic,” but I figure that a fairy visiting people’s houses would probably use some sort of illusion or glamour on herself anyway.

The poor original wing just couldn’t stand up to the pressure of use (or as it turns out, having boxes collapse on it in my closet...)

Since this costume is inspired by the Dream Fairy poem, there were a few requirements for Wing Design 2.0. The colors and shape should be reminiscent of a Luna moth’s wings, and it also needed “silver spots”. At first I tried to make my own design, but that just wasn’t working out (props to all the pattern designers out there) so I turned to my favorite source of historical patterns instead: archive.org. Soon enough, I happened upon a half-square shawl from the 1885 book Knitting and crochet. A guide to the use of the needle and the hook (available here). To me, the lozenge shapes look like a stylized version of the veins and scales of a butterfly’s wings, and it wasn’t hard to lengthen the half-square shape to better reflect the Luna moth’s long trailing tails. I picked out some lace yarn in pale green and burgundy and set to work.

This pattern was actually pretty quick and easy to work up. It’s colorwork, but you only use one color per row so there’s no need to worry about carrying strands. And since it’s mostly garter stitch, it was perfect for mindless knitting while watching TV. The original pattern called for a crocheted border on top and tassels along the sides, but I extended the border all the way around and just used tassels on the ends. The edges needed that extra bit of stability, in my opinion. And it turned out sooooooo long! It feels so dramatic and elegant to wear, I love it.

The last step was to add the “silver spots upon her wings” like the poem says. In keeping with the fantastical themes of this project, I interpreted the spots as small flowers crocheted with silver thread. I couldn’t figure out a good way to incorporate them into the knitting, so I opted to applique onto the finished product. This has the added bonus of being easily removable once the contest is over; I want to be able to wear the shawl in my everyday outfits without it feeling like too much of a costume.

And there we have it: one more piece of the puzzle down! There’s lots more to do but I’m almost finished with the chemise and drawers, so expect those soon. And until next time, stay crafty!