

Sometimes I leave this loose depending on how much movement I want in the next tie point.

The remaining length and needle, move out along the feathers rachis away from the quill end to secure another tie point.The thread and knots should be tight and secure these will serve as the attachment points to the hat. Tie the long end with the needle, looping it around the feather, and securing with a double or triple knot. Leave approximately 6 inches or more of the two threads as trailing end.A hat pin or large veil pin works well for attaching feathers to hats.Ĭlose up of attachment point 1 and 2 with tie threads. I have seen complex arrangements that are pinned. With feathers set in tape, I will pin then stitch them into the hat.įor attaching less than 3 feathers or felt prep’d feathers pinning is a reasonable method. When stitching/tieing feathers in, I will use a loopy bow for the first pass before finalizing with double knots.Order the feathers of complex arrangements and keep track of the sequence.

I generally will take a picture and, if possible, have the person try the hat on to check the placement. Planning the feather placement is especially important for complex arrangements like 16th-century German hats. Figure out the preferred spots for the feathers and directions they will need to point based on the style you wish to achieve. Start by placing the feathers in the hat on a form or model.Top to bottom, small black ostrich drab, medium white ostrich drab, and medium natural ostrich wing feather. They are a wholesaler, so you either have to buy a ton of feathers, or go in with several people. Swalef & Son as my feather supplier, and you can find more information about types of ostrich feathers available to purchase there if interested. Additionally, I will refer to ostrich drab or wing feathers. I do not have extant examples or a list of historical sources for these methods however, it employs methods and materials available in most periods.įor this article, I have created a simplified drawing with some feather terminology in avian biology, the terms are much more involved and vary by type of feather, e.g., primary flight, contour, tail, etc. For the sake of this presentation, I will just be discussing attaching feathers to wool or other cloth hats. Other creators, like Whilja’s Corner use similar methods too and their sites are listed in the Awesomesauce References at the end of this article. There are many more ways to attach feathers and obtain the desired look. This blog article will describe the methods I use to attach feathers to hats and covers some techniques for shaping ostrich feathers. Landsknecht style dockenbaret with ostrich feathers, side view.
