Feather Hair Extensions

I'm friggin' loving this trend right now.  I think it's because I like to wear my hair down a lot these days (YAY for the impending autumn!) and feather hair extensions are more casual than feather fascinators.

I had a bunch of feathers, beads and clips kicking around, I decided to make some.

I bought the bright teal feathers on eBay; aren't they fabulous?! 

I slapped these little sale tags on them, and now they're hanging out in Tango, my favourite fashion boutique in Peterborough.  What does the 'H' stand for?  Handmade? Hair? Sure! 

I made sure to keep one :)

Dyed Feathers

Recently, a fellow blogger asked me to make her a fascinator: eggplant coloured flower, teal feathers.  Awesome pairing!  Eggplant satin - no problem.  Teal feathers?  Uhhhhh.....

I wasn't sure where to find such a thing without making a trip to Toronto.  There are feathers available at craft stores but they just weren't the right colours. 

Well, I figured that all the feathers for boas and crafts are dyed somehow, so I did some online research.  The first site I found talked about acid dyes.  That just seemed....scary.   Especially with a 10.5 month old in the house who somehow gets into E V E R Y T H I N G. 

I've used Rit fabric dyes before, (their colour remover is most excellent for keeping whites white) so I went on their website and found a tutorial on how to dye feathers.  Huzzah!

I used white and Guinea feathers that I bought from Michael's.  The Guinea feathers were kind of a waste of time, they didnt' seem to absorb much colour no matter how long they were left in.

Rinsed feathers drying.

They looked so great with the flower, but I wanted a few with more contrast, so I did some later with a lighter teal.

It was hard to let this fascinator go!  I'm so glad that I ventured into dying feathers, it's going to save me a LOT of money!

From what I understand, acid dyes will give a more intense colour.  Maybe one day I will fiddle around with that.  For now, I'm happy with the all-purpose dyes.

Satin Flowers Tutorial

There are a few different ways to make satin flowers, and the craft blog world is full of 'em.  This method is fairly easy and involves fire (more grown-up crafts should, in my opinion), so it's not for the kids to do on their own!

Round up the following:

• Satin fabric.  It must have polyester in it or bad things will happen.  (Seriously, if it's cotton or silk the fabric will just burn instead of melt.)
• Fabric glue or hot glue
• Plastic shank button (ie, the ones without the holes through them)
• Sharp scissors
• Lighter or matches and a candle

If you don't have a stash of satin fabric, I have a criminal mastermind-ish way for you to get some for free.  Most fabric stores will give you free samples of anything you want, and one strip is wide and long enough to make 3 or 4 flowers!

Score!  Free fabric samples.

Here we go:  Step 1

Cut circles out of the fabric.

To make my life easier, I folded a square of fabric into quarters and cut out a wedge.  I used three different sizes; the largest 'petal' is about 8 cm in diameter and the smallest is 4 cm.  I would recommend cutting at least 6 petals for each flower.

Step 2

Burn, baby, burn.  Using a lighter, or a candle, heat the edges of the satin until they start to melt.  The petals should start to curl a little.  If you use a candle, be warned - the flame can get really hot.  Don't scorch your petal! 

 

Step 3

Working from largest to smallest, layer petals with a few drops of glue in the centre.  Fabric glues and hot glue both work well.  Firmly press the petal stack down for a few seconds and let dry.

Step 4

Cut the shank (the bottom of the button) off with sharp scissors.  Or, if you have them, cuticle trimmers.  That's what I used...it works VERY well.

Step 5

Glue the button top to the centre of the petals.  Once again, press firmly and let dry completely.

White with guinea feather and tulle

Ta-da!  I attached this flower to a hair clip (using hot glue) so that it could be attached to a headband or directly to hair.  Have fun!

Bi-coloured blue

 

Purple

 

Gun-metal grey with bead cluster

Fantastic Flowers

Do you remember this ad from 1992?  That flower press (very similar to my cuttlebug) made my Christmas list that year, but it never turned up under the tree.  I think my parents vetoed that gift knowing that my 9-year-old-self would probably make 3 flowers and never use it again.  I believe I received a Walkman instead.

This post is really about satin flowers - made by me - but with dangerous things like sharp scissors and fire.  I'll show ya how to do it...later.  **UPDATE** Tutorial HERE!

The flower, feather and netting are on an interchangeable clip.  Confession: it's not something I invented.  I totally copied Miss Plunkett, so I'd feel a little guilty spilling their secret.

Rowan was begging to try the blue one on.  Yes...begging....

What a good sport he is!

The recipients of these flowers are my two new little girlfriends.

Leah

Kennedy

I hope the girls share with their mums!