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Post by esther on Feb 15, 2011 8:36:03 GMT -5
Where do you ladies buy ostrich feather from to trim hats with? I bought one from JoAnn Fabrics and was a bit dissapointed with the quality of it. The feather was small, not very full and somewhat mangled. Where do you find the nice, tall, poofy plumes? Thank you.
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Post by dawnluckham on Feb 15, 2011 10:02:06 GMT -5
Well, I live in farm country in Ontario, so probably that won’t help you a lot. We can’t bring feathers across the boarder – going/coming from either direction, I believe.
In my area there are people who raise Ostriches, Peasants and Peacocks so getting feathers (nice feathers) from farmers is always a possibility.
I’ve also seen very nice feathers in Michael’s Crafts and in Hobby Lobby. This is sometimes a hit or miss thing. I’ve been in the stores looking for feathers and they’ve got very little to offer and then sometimes I go in and they have lovely feathers.
Just a hint: In period and in modern millinery circles, they often combine skimpy feathers to create full feathers. There is a method of making two feathers look like one. (I don’t know how to do it, but I’m sure if you search for info you’ll find some help there.) You can also curl the plumes (the same way you curl paper or ribbon) making some spectacular feathers. I have done this and it’s so much fun and it makes the feathers look amazing!
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Post by theachristine on Feb 16, 2011 12:10:36 GMT -5
I get all of mine from www.ostrich.com! They have a huge selection, can dye them for you and are of great quality, though a bit more expensive than craft stores. If you sign up for their email list, they will send you coupons every now and again. I highly recommend them.
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Post by Mme de Beaufort on Feb 17, 2011 12:35:02 GMT -5
Believe it or not, I've discovered that the local Fly-Fishing shop has been an excellent resource for feathers of all kinds, including an array of beautiful ostrich feathers in myriad colours. It was an accidental discovery, but I go there pretty much all the time when I'm hatting.
You should see the crazy feathers they have there for making flies. They have skeins of those cascading rooster-feathers, feathers from exotic creatures, dyed feathers, it's insane. My local fly-fishing shop has a whole wall dedicated to feathers, as well as several free-standing shelves.
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Post by lastbloom on Feb 17, 2011 17:44:43 GMT -5
In case you would like to salvage your craft store feathers (I recently had the same experience and was appalled by how sad my feathers were!), Lynn McMasters has a tutorial on creating a plume from several wimpy feathers. Click on the link to "articles" and it will be on the bottom right hand (scroll down) under "How to make an ostrich plume" or something similar. You basically wire several feathers together.
LynnMcmasters.com
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Post by bennettgirl on Feb 22, 2011 17:16:58 GMT -5
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Post by esther on Feb 23, 2011 8:28:05 GMT -5
Wow, that eBay seller's prices are really inexpensive! I'll have to remember that for next time.
I ordered 5 online from a place called feathermart. They are nice quality, but I thought they'd be whiter than they are. They're more of an off-white cream color and still in their "natural" state.
Does anyone know if they would have bleached the feathers white during the regency or would they have been a more natural color? I've seen them dyed different colors or striped in fashion plates, but have never see any reference to how the white feathers would have looked.
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Post by bennettgirl on Feb 24, 2011 0:11:49 GMT -5
i'm sure they belached feathers, if you have the know how to dye then i'm sure it was possible to bleach them. in nay case you can bleach them yourself with peroxide and hair bleaching powder. i've never done it but i read about it seems pretty simple basically like belaching your hair.
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