DIY: Feather hair accessories

Self-made feather hair band

When we got back from Peter's run late last night, I took out a bag of stuff I had purchased while I waited 5 hours for him to finish.  He ran 50 kilometers so that was a pretty good time, but the last, oh, 4.5 hours were pretty tough.  I tried to do all my errands, walking around to different shops and getting some much needed greeting cards. 

I dumped out the contents of my shopping bag on the kitchen table and Peter, bent over in agony and chowing down on like 70 eggs, laughed at me.  "You bought really weird stuff," he said, looking at the two bottles of fabric softener, bag of feathers, elastic, bubble bath, Chapstick, soap and sweatpants.  But, let's face it, I had to kill 5 hours.  Something weird is bound to end up in my shopping bag.  In this case, I believe it was the feathers, elastic and pinch clamps that seemed a bit strange.  But, I had a plan. 


I have been seeing feather hair accessories everywhere for quite some time now.  And, I have been wanting them myself.  But,  I haven't really wanted to spend money on them or known where to get them.  I read somewhere that you could just use fishing lures from an outdoor store, but those often have little shiny metal things on them, don't they?  Plus, where am I going to find a fishing store in Coburg?  So, when I was wasting time at the run and I saw the crafts aisle of the local general store, I felt inspired.  What if I made my own feather hair accessories?

So I did.  And here is the how-to, plus my results.  Happy crafting. 


Materials: 

Just some of the materials. Notice that the elastic is in the shape of the elastic of a hair band, but it's longer and not connected like a rubber band is. 

Pinch clamps, from jewelry making aisle.  

Scissors
Sewing kit (with needle and black thread)
Needle nose pliers
Feathers in various sizes and colors
Bobby pins
Elastic string
Pinch clamps









Instructions for hair band: 

1) Pick out two feathers, one slightly longer than the other, that go well together.  Layer the shorter one on top and the longer one on the bottom. 

2)  Making sure the loop of the clamp is facing up and away from the feathers, place the ends of the stems of the two feathers into the pinch clamp and pinch it closed so that they are tight inside. Use the pliers to close it tighter. 

3) Cut a piece of elastic about 8-9 inches long (or longer if you have thick hair and need to make a big band).  Tie the elastic into a circle (like a regular hair band) big enough to wrap tightly around your hair twice.  Leave one end out and longer like in the picture below. 

4) Place the loose end through the hole in the top of the clamp.  Position the clamp with the feathers about a millimeter from the knot so that the feathers hang just slightly.  Tie a knot around the hole so that the clamp and feathers are now tied to hair band. 

5) Ta-da, you have a super new cool hair tie.  Use it in a ponytail, a half up do or in a braid! 


Instructions for bobby pin

1) Repeat steps 1 and 2 from above, perhaps using smaller feathers than you used for the hair tie. 

2) Slip the hole of the pinch clamp over the bobby pin so that it's on there well. 

3) Thread a needle with black thread and use the thread to tie the clamp permanently to the bobby pin (or don't so that you can use the bobby pin again without the feathers). 





4) Ta-da!  You have a new fun bobby pin.  It would be pretty in an up-do, especially a messy one.