Thread: dillemma with wings...

I have these beautiful wings that I custom ordered from Ayshe....they are gorgeous and I highly recommend her stuff....
problem is that the neckband is really uncomfortable....the neck thing doesnt stretch and I feel like I am choking...it is all velcro...so I was going to cover it w/ some red crushed velvet fabric that I have....then I noticed the part that the wings is attached to is actually separate from the neckband...so I am trying to decide if I should remake a neckband w/ elastic..but I am not sure where to start....

any tips???

Be careful that the elastic neckband doesn't stretch-contract, stretch-contract, too much when you're moving the wings. I honestly don't have a clue if that would be a problem or not, but it was my first thought...

I like Ayshe's velcro neckband better than the elastic neckbands I've had. Often times, those are too tight - at least I can adjust the velcro...

Erm ... I remade an elastic neckband for a pair of wings that I took up a while ago. I couldn't give you exact instructions on how I did this because I entirely made it up as I went along.

What I can tell you is that it was unbelievably easy and took me about 1 1/2 hours to complete. I based my approach on various other 'elastic in casing' structures that you can find in any old dress making pattern.

My tip on elastic or any other neckbands is not to get blinded by concepts of stretch and fit. I think these things get too tight when people measure out elastic that is way shorter than the circumference of their neck and then stretch if to fit. I'd suggest that you want to measure our elastic that is only very slightly less than the measurement around your neck.

By doing this you avoid too much stretch and the associated problems such as a tight fit and the stretch-contract issue that zorba has raised.

The majority of the stretch in an elastic neckband should be for comfort and ease rather that stretching to fit.

thanks everyone...last night i made like Khadiya said...and casing and out of the stretch crushed velvet fabric and put in the elastic....I sew on a hook on one side and temp. attached it to the wings w/ a clip..I can't tell if I like it better or not..LOL

I bought some gorgeous wings from bellydancestore.biz, but they were for a 10 foot tall person with a 3 inch neck. So they took a lot of work. I'm still working on them, in fact. I'm glad to hear there are other wings that aren't one-size-fits-all!!!

I regularly 'extend' the original neck-pieces from wings by adding a gorgeous beaded, gemmed applique (sewn to one side, with a snap or velcro on the other) that is backed with felt. It gives the neck piece a very luxe look and serves to make the band large enough no to choke or mark the dancer while she wears it!

Originally Posted by Gia al Qamar

I regularly 'extend' the original neck-pieces from wings by adding a gorgeous beaded, gemmed applique (sewn to one side, with a snap or velcro on the other) that is backed with felt. It gives the neck piece a very luxe look and serves to make the band large enough no to choke or mark the dancer while she wears it!

That is what I did. I also moved the wings-they were bunched up in the back and pulling them forward where they were supposed to be took a lot of pressure off my neck and the neck piece wasn't insanely small then, just tight.