This pretty fairy will bring a touch of magic to any occasion. At Christmas she can grace your tree, or suspend her above a birthday cake to preside over the celebration. Why not hang her in front of a window where she will be brought to life by passing sunbeams? Her body is made from a wire frame, which holds the delicate glass head in place. The dress is knitted wire, the glass slippers are beads, and her wings are made from a plastic bottle.
You will need
Seed beads: silver and green, Beads for shoes/heart/eyes
Wire: enamelled in pink and silver
Fabric
metal foil (thin)
Two frosted glass droplets
Wire: galvanised 0.7mm, 1.1mm and 1.5mm 3mm
4mm needles
Silver thread
Plastic bottle
Glass star
Scissors
Step by step
For the dress, thread 220 seed beads onto pink wire and 1,964 beads onto silver wire (add a few extra beads to allow for errors). Cast on 44 stitches using 3mm needles and pink wire. Knit one row with no beads, then knit four more rows, adding a bead in each stitch on each even-numbered row; knit another ten rows, again adding a bead in each stitch on each even-numbered row. Change to 4mm needles and continue. Knit 1 row with no beads, then on the next and every alternative row, add a bead in each stitch; decrease 1 stitch at each end of the next and every following 4th row, until there are 38 stitches (10 rows). Again, knit 1 row with no beads. On the next and every alternate row, add a bead in each stitch; decrease 1 stitch at each end of next and every alternate row until there are 24 stitches (6 rows). Knit 1 row with no beads, then, again, on every next and every alternate row, add a bead in every stitch; decrease 1 stitch at each end of next and every alternate row until one stitch remains. Cast off and push the finished triangle into shape with your fingers.
Cut a triangle of backing fabric and foil the same size as the knitted triangle. Now, to make the head, stick two frosted glass droplets together wit strong glue. The groove between the pieces will hold the body in place later. Draw the face on using a metallic pen. For the body, wrap lengths of pink wire around a knitting needle to make a long coil. Cut the coil into 2.5cm (1") lengths. Thread a bead onto one end of each wire coil at a 45 degree angle and bend the end of the wire to secure it in place. Thread the unbeaded ends of each coil onto a length of 1.1mm wire, bend it backwards, and twist round the leg to secure.
Group the coils into a cluster and position them on the centre of the wire. Wrap this around the glass head; the wire will fit neatly into the groove between the droplets. Twist the wire together at the neck position to secure. Spread the wire ends into a V shape, allowing sufficient length for the dress and legs. Thread a shoe bead onto each wire, bending the beads to a 45 degree angle. Wrap the remaining wire tightly around each leg.
Cut a length of 1.5mm wire and form a double ended spiral, by bending both ends of wire in the same direction so that the spirals face each other. This will become the arms and hands. Attach it near the top of the body by wrapping 0.7mm wire tightly around the arms from wrist to wrist. Then cover the body frame with the triangle of foil, then sandwich it between the knitted dress and the backing fabric. Stitch these together around the edge with silver thread.
Wrap a piece of 0.7mm wire around a glass star and thread seed beads onto the remaining length of the wire to make the handle of a magic wand. For the fairy wings, fold a piece of paper in half, and draw one wing from the fold. Cut out and unfold the paper, this will give you a template of two wings. Draw around the pattern onto a plastic bottle and cut it out. Make four holes in the centre of the wings. Spray paint the wings a different colour, or just give then a frosted edge with glitter paint.
Attach the wings to the fairy's back by stitching a big cross-stitch through the holes with thin wire. Attach the end to the fairy's hand by binding the end of the wire wand around it. Suspend a heart bead from the other hand with thread. Gently stretch out the hair coils.
© Aceville Publications Limited 2004
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