Feathers are beautiful and they are actually stronger and more resilient than they look. Feather Expressions feathers are acid free and archival safe. You will enjoy using them in all your crafting projects.
All feathers have a quill, a shaft, a tip, plumage and downy, the fluffy plumage near the quill.
CURLING & HEALING
Curling feathers is really easy. All feathers can be curled with a simple butter knife. Use the blunt edge of a the knife to curl the shaft of your feather. Place the feather between your thumb and the knife and gently curl moving from the quill to the tip.
To curl a feather with a stiffer shaft simply break the shaft against the blunt edge of the butter knife at regular intervals.
Sometimes feathers can have a split in the plumage. Ruffled feather are easily healed by gently pulling the feather between your fingers moving from the shaft toward the tip. This process can be enhanced by various methods of steaming the feather either with a tea kettle or a clothes steamer.
CLIP, SHORTEN & SHAPE
There are several methods for shortening and shaping feathers. The easiest way is with ordinary sharp craft scissors.
You can cut the feather shaft to shorten the feather and use only the tip. Here we are cutting the shaft of our ivory turkey flat to use the smooth tip. It is easy at this point to strip away excess plumage from the shaft for precise positioning in your project.
Here we are shortening a flamingo turkey marabou. It is as simple as snipping exactly at the desired length.
These pheasant tails have also been shaped using scissors. We prefer to cut the feather against the grain which provides a little more resistance.
FUNDAMENTALS OF ATTACHING FEATHERS
Feathers are versatile and will stick to anything. Most adhesives will provide a strong bond but it is best to select the adhesive that relates to your project. Glue dots, staples and punching have no drying time. A low temp glue gun works well for home decor projects.
We recommend Aleene's Tacky Glue for a long lasting hold against metals or if you are layering feathers.
Use a toothpick to apply a thin line of glue along the shaft of the feather. A second feather can be layered using the same technique.