How to use our Wire Bird Legs

Our wire birds legs have been so popular, we thought you might like a photo tutorial.

You can buy our wire birds legs here

We also have a video on how to attach the bird legs here

You will need:  

  • Wire Birds Legs
  • A bird which was finished
  • Clear drying glue
  • A sharp point such as an awl, thin knitting needle or you can use your felting needle
  • Pliers (optional, if you are bending the legs)
  • Felting needle and wool the same colour as where you are attaching legs (optional)
  • Patience!

When you buy the legs from us, they arrive straight (left). If is fine to use them as they are, or you can bend them for a more natural look (right). If you are bending them it is best to do it with pliers. Bend the leg backward at the ankle, and forward at the 'knee' (bird knees go the other way to a human knee!).

If you have bent the legs, check that the bent part is in line with the middle toe when looking from above. Bend both legs to the same shape.

The legs can be wrapped with brown florist tape, or painted for a more realistic look. We have wrapped our kingfisher legs with orange florist tape.

You will glue the legs in underneath your bird, slightly towards the back. There will be a space of approx 2 - 4 cm between the two legs, depending on the size of your bird.

Hold the leg against your bird to work out where and at what angle you will make the hole. In the image you can see the hole will follow the line of the chest.

Use your sharp point to make the hole. If using your felting needle push it carefully all the way in to the fatter part of the needle. I usually wiggle the sharp point to enlarge the hole slightly, be careful if you are using your felting needle. As you pull the sharp point out have your leg ready to go into the hole, on the same angle as the point came out. Put both legs in.

Check that your bird stands up and that the feet are fairly flat on the table. Here you can see that the back leg doesn't sit flat. 
To adjust this bend the top of the leg forward until the foot sits fairly flat. You may have to play a little with the legs and adjust them. This is where patience comes in handy! 

When you are happy with the legs, pull them out just a little way, then put glue on them. You don't need a huge amount of glue. Push the legs back in and turn them to spread out the glue. Stand the bird up, checking the position of the legs, and leave to dry.

Trousers: When dry, you can add wool 'bloomers' if you like to give the legs more stability, simply by wrapping a little wool around the top of the leg and felting into place.