Category: Feather Tips

Our Bulk Down and Pillow Feathers come in a variety of choices that are easy to understand once you know what the numbers mean. Options include: 05/95, 10/90, 50/50 & 100% down. For most customers, the 10/90 mix is a good choice for adding more fluff to pillows, cushions or other home projects. Other more expensive mixes with higher fill power ratings are of more interest to commercial buyers who manufacture their own products for resale. For products that require more warmth in colder climates such as expedition sleeping bags, a higher percentage of down fill is needed. To Give You a Clearer Picture Regarding Duck & Goose Down & Feather Mixes, Check out the Other Asked Questions & Interesting Facts Below.

Continue reading Goose Down Fill Power & What the Numbers Mean!

With so many feather styles to choose from, deciding on a particular style can be a surprising difficult task, especially if you have never purchased feathers before. The Options are Many and although not set in stone, some feathers work better for different uses. If you have never purchased feathers before or would like to know more about common uses…then this page is for you…Tell Me More About Feather Styles & Uses!

Continue reading Tips on Choosing the Right Feathers for Your Craft Project or Event

Materials Needed:

30 Imitation Eagle Feathers (15 Left, 15 Right)
Soft Fluffy Feathers – Large Marabou Work Good
Strip of Thin Leather, Cloth, or Felt
Thread, String, or Dental Floss
Shoe or Other Strong Type Glue
Horse Tail Hair or Similar
Red Flannel

Eagle Feather Preparation:

2″ Above Stem Bottom Place Several Small Feathers (Fluff Facing UpTowards the Top) Around Stem to Make Ruff. Wrap Thread Around Stems for a 1/2 – 1″ & Tie Off. Glue if Needed.

If Possible, Cut Away 1/2 of the Eagle Quill Bottom End for 1 1/2″. Bend this 1 1/2″ End Up into the Hole of the Quill End to Make a Small Loop or You can Skip this Step & Instead Wrap the Quill End With a 4 x 1/8″ Piece of Leather, Cloth or Felt Folded Over the End (This Will be Your Quill End Loop). Wrap the Felt With Thread for the Length of 2″ & Tie Off. Again Glue if Needed.

If Desired, You Can Now Add a Few Small Feathers to Make a Fluff at the Eagle Feathers, by Gluing Them to the Underside. They Should Stick Out Enough to be Seen from the Front 1-2 Inches. Her is Where You Would Add the Thin Tuft of Horse Hair to the End of the Eagle Feather. This Should be Attached on the Mid Section of the Underneath Side of the Feather by Carefully Wraping & Tying. Try to Not Disturb the Mid Section of the Eagle Feather to Much. The Tuft can be Dyed (Try Markers) & Extend Up Above the Eagle Feather Tip at Least a Few Inches.

Repeat the Above Directions for All 30 Eagle Feathers.

Headband Directions:

Make a Strip of Leather, Heavy Cloth or Felt 23″ x 2 1/2″ Sizing it to Fit Around Your Head. Sew Ends Together to Make a Headband. Divide the Band into 30 Even Spaces Keeping a Focus on the Imaginary Middle Line. Mark off 2 Dots on Both Sides of the Dividing Line for Each of the 30 Spaces. Poke 60 Holes into the Headband. These Will be Used to Lace the Feathers Onto the Headband & Should not be too Close to the Edge. It’s Important that You Leave a Space Below the Feather Tips for the Beaded Row to Fit.

Lay the 30 Eagle Feather in a Row, Choosing the Largest & Nicest for the Front Center. Be Sure to Lay Out the Left Feathers to the Left Side & Right Feathers to the Right. Switch Them Around Until You Have the Best Look. Remember, the Feathers Farthest Left or Right Will be in the Back of the Headdress.

Final Instructions:

Hold the Headband Strip, & Attach the Feathers in an Upside Down Hanging Fashion, if Possible While the Prepared Eagle Feathers are Strung into the Band. Begin at the Center Front by Putting the Lace or String in Through Your 1st Hole. Continue the String Through the Quill End Loop of the Feather, then Back through the Next Hole, Adding the 15 Feathers to the Left Side, & Then the 15 Feathers to the Right Being Sure to Work From the Center for the Right Side. Use the 2nd Row of Holes to Lace in a Reinforcement Line Being Sure to Line Up the Holes so The Feathers are in a Straight Position.

The Next Part is the Hardest. Each Feather Needs to be Spaced Evenly so That they Stand Nice & Tall Bowing Out Slightly Towards the Top. You Must Pass a Needle & Thread Through the Quill About Half Way Up the Length of the Eagle Feather. It Should be Done on the Inside of the War Bonnet so that it Doesn’t Show on the Front. If You Pre-Poke the Quills With a Needle 1st, Fishing Line May be Used. Thread Through all Feathers & Loosely Tie at the Back. Evenly Spread the Feathers Around to form the Traditional Indian Chief Headdress Look that Should Be Not More Then a 20″ Diameter.

Now Add a Beaded Band, Ribbon or Similar Type Decoration to the Front of the Headband With Thread or Glue. This Should Extend Around to the Sides but Not All the Way Around to the Back

Attach 2 Stiff Leather Circles (Ear Targets) to the Headband in Front of Where You Would See the Ears from the Front but not Over Them. Traditionally, these Circles are Larger then the Width of the Headband.

Make 2 Ear Plumes Out of Material Strips, Fake Fur, or Long Feathers Using Beads or Wraping & Lacing Over the Ends to Make a Tassel. Attach These to the Center of the Target Circles by Sewing. These Should Hang Freely.

Notes: Although Eagle Feathers are Traditional, Dyed Turkey Feathers can be Used as Well. Color Combinations are Your Preference & You can Get Ideas by Doing an Image Search on Google. Also, the Indian Chief War Bonnet Below does not Include the Marabou Fluffs.

SmileyMe.Com…Sells Imitation Eagle Feathers for This Project!

So you want to make a feather Christmas tree? These are all the rage & a hot item these days…a perfect family project for gift giving, selling, or keeping. Christmas feather trees are easy to make & a great conversation piece. Options are many & if you have a little craft sense, a good eye, & have previously put together a fake Christmas tree, this should be an easy craft project for you!

Marabou Feather Tree (easy)

This an easy craft project for small children & the options are endless in how the final look will be. Use whatever color & style small feather that you prefer. (turkey marabou work well)

Begin by making a cone shaped base. This can be done with a stiffer paper & staples or glue or if you want to skip this step, buy a styrofoam cone. this tree can be any size desired.

Use a glue gun or other type glue to begin adding feathers close together to the base in rows proceeding up to the next row as each one is finished. Feathers should be glued at the stem in an upside down fashion with the natural curve of the feather facing down & out. This will give your tree a fluffy look similar to the branches of a regular tree. Feather sizes can be staggered to give a more natural look or exactly the same. Always be sure to cover the previous glue row as you proceed to the top so that all you see is the feather fluff.

Children will love this simple feather tree project & can have even more fun by decorating these with pom poms, sequins, bird seed, or whatever they desire.

Pine Cone Feather Tree (easy)

Using the instructions above, a feather chritmas tree can also be made using a large flat bottomed pine cone. Just glue as many feathers as to each tip of the pine cone working from the bottom to the top.

Old Fashioned German Feather Tree (hardest)

The basic concept goes like this. you need the following:
Main stem or trunk which can be made from a wooden dowel with or without drilled branch holes or heavy guage wire. Either will work but it is suggested that wooded dowels be used for taller trees.

Branches made of wire stems covered with feathers continuously wrapped along the entire length. Branches should be in several lengths using the larger ones as you move to the bottom of the tree, again similar to the fake christmas tree layout. Each section of the tree should have a few or many branches of similar size depending on the fullness of the tree desired.

a heavy base made of a chuck of wood or heavy flower pot filled with concrete, plaster of paris, or stones strong enough to support your Christmas feather tree.

General Supplies:
goose biot feathers
gauge wire (18-24 gauge is suggested)
wooden dowel
clay pot filled with cement, plaster, or stones
floral tape
glue gun & glue sticks
other tacky craft glue
brown crepe paper streamer

Optional:
holly berries, beads, or other craft item for branch ends.

German Feather Tree Kits that include everything needed to complete your very own feather Christmas tree can be found at: https://feathertreekits.com.

Directions:
Use of goose biot feathers are traditional but could be substituted with other feather styles that have a flexible stem such as turkey marabou.

1st – decide how tall you would like your christmas tree to be & cut the 18-gauge wire or dowel for the center stem to the length desired.

2nd – decide how many branches you want to have for each row. old fashioned feather trees have 3 or 4 branches on each tier, & 5 or more on the bottom of taller trees. personal preference is key here. drawing your tree on paper may be very helpful in determining what works for you. each branch should have a 5″ unwraped end which will be wrapped around the tree trunk later. in other words, a 2″ branch should be made with a wire that is 7″ long. each row should be approx. 2″ longer or more as you proceed to the bottom of the tree. also remember to feather the top few inches of your trunk stem.

Instructions for making branches:
If you are including a holly berry at the tip of each branch, place your berry wire along side of your wire & wrap both together with floral tape. You can do this with any type of bead or decoration as long as it is set on a wire 1st & floral taped on. Do this for every branch & the trunk top. use glue on floral tape end if desired.

Floral tape the tip (thinner end) of the feather to the branch next to the holly berry & tack glue. The long end of the feather should be hanging off along side of the berry. This will seem backwards but you are basically tucking the feather tip in under the rest of the feather that will wrap around the wire. now you can begin wrapping the feather around the branch by starting to wind the feather right next to the holly berry in a somewhat tight & close manner. Try not to leave any spaces or gaps as you continue to wrap the feather in the direction of the other end. an average feather will only cover 1″ or so of the branch. be sure to floral tape the end also catching the next feather in under the tape as done previously. Secure the final feather with floral tape & tack with glue if necessary remembering to leave a 5″ unwrapped wire end.

Tree assembly:
Layout your trunk stem placing the branches alongside keeping them evenly spaced from row to row. mark where the branches should connect on the stem. Now place the unbent highest branches along the stem (evenly spaced around stem) wrap a length of 12″ plus wire around the stem & continue to wire in a spiraling down fashion to be sure & catch the entire 5″ excess of the section of unfeathered wire.

You can now add a layer of brown crepe paper starting just below the branches & again spiraling down over the wired trunk. Continue to add the remaining rows of branches & crepe paper till your christmas feather tree is completed. be sure to tack glue as needed.

If using a clay pot with cement, mix enough cement to fill it almost to the top. Place the truck of your tree into the cement while still wet & brace or hold as needed. Another option is to poke something into the cement making a hole big enough for the trunk to be added later. Wood blocks can be drilled accordingly.

Now & finally…the fun part, bend the branches down to reflect that old fashioned heirloom feather christmas tree style!

Important note: Feel free to do a sample branch or smaller sample tree just to get a feel for this project & don’t be afraid to use glue or longer wires since these can be cut later.

Glitter Christmas Tree (medium)

For a modern look, make a glitter tree using the instructions above for the old fashioned feather tree but instead of feathers, wrap metallic Christmas garland around the wire frame. You could also do the same thing with marabou feather boas  to get a fluffy look instead.