DIY T-Shirt Butterfly Wings

My oldest daughter came to me a couple days ago and said that she wanted to dress up as a butterfly for her Spring concert at school; instead of simply wearing a yellow, green or brown t-shirt as her teacher had suggested she could do.

With not much time before her concert and it only being a Spring concert, I figured that I could make her something that would work. I didn't want something too flashy, as I wanted her to be able to blend in with her classmates.

It is actually quite simple to do...

To make the wings: Take 2 XL  adult t-shirts, which can be found at Michael's, Hobby Lobby or Walmart {I used old black t-shirts from my husband's closet, which was a win-win for me, I got free shirts & he got rid of 2 of his old shirts} 

I cut each one as shown using each sideways shirt as a wing

Sketch a butterfly wing design onto a piece of poster board {I stared at my computer screen as I sketched to get the correct shape}

Cut out the design to make a stencil { You will flip the design over when painting the 2nd wing-so you will only need one stencil}

Lay the stencils out onto one of the wings. Be sure to have the curved piece of the t-shirt at the top left of the stencil & spray with spray paint

I used Yellow Krylon Short Cuts spray paint and once that was dry I gentle brushed over with FolkArt Extreme Glitter acrylic paint. What girl doesn't like a little glitter?

Gently remove the stencil - pulling directly upwards so not to smudge the paint.

Flip the stencil over for the 2nd wing and repeat. {This will allow you to have identical wing patterns}

Now, it's time to get ready to sew...First, cut the front center then sew along the following lines shown

I completed the sewing by cutting a "V" shape in the middle of the back section.  

Lastly, using left over strips of your unused t-shirt to sew finger loops which will help hold the wings down the arm. You will attach them at the end of the top seem.