How to Straighten and Trimm Feathers – Craft Tutorial

How to Straighten and Trimm Feathers – Craft Tutorial

Turkey feathers are naturally curved. To make them look like Eagle feathers it is necessary to flatten the feather quill without damaging the feather blade. In our example here we will use commercially dyed white turkey wing feathers.

There are a number of methods used by crafters over the years and all of them involve a heat source. So this is a project that requires your personal safety and the supervision of young folks trying it. One of the safest ways is to use a clothes iron, keeping your hands away from the heat. The work is done on a table or ironing board with an old terry cloth towel as the ironing surface.

Photo 1
Photo 1

You will have to experiment with the heat level of your particular iron, but it needs to be near the cotton range. (Photo 1) Do not use water in a steam iron. If the iron is too hot, it will quickly burn and curl the vane of the feather, so experiment on throw-away feather stock to establish your settings..

Photo 2
Photo 2

The first step (Photo 2) is to heat the quill on the underside of the feather. Stroke the tip of your iron along the quill until it is quite warm.

Photo 3
Photo 3

Then turn the feather so it is facing up. (Photo 3) Flatten the curved quill against the surface. Slightly pull up on the quill base of the feather, leveraging the middle to top against the towel surface. Now slowly stroke the quill with the tip of the iron, giving the most heat to the thickest part of the quill. With experience you will know when enough heat has built up.

Photo 4
Photo 4

As the quill straightens from this heat and bending pressure, slowly move the quill several inches to a cooler part of the towel and continue the bending pressure. Experience will show you how much pressure bend against the curve is needed. As the feather cools a bit, set the iron in it's upright resting position. pick up the feather in both hands and bend the quill sideways against the quill side curve. (Photo 4)

Photo 5
Photo 5

If the blade edges have curled slightly with this over-bending, lay the feather back on the surface (Photo 5) and lightly stroke the curled part of the vane. Turn the feather over and stroke the underside edge of the vane again. These are very light and quick strokes.

Photo 6
Photo 6

 

Photo 7
Photo 7

Quickly move the hot feather to a cool surface to bring down the temperature. We use shelve boards for this. (Photo 6) For very curved feathers, such as pointer wing feathers, before the quill cools, flex the quill backwards against the curve again and it will straighten better. You may then have to re-iron the blade edge one last time. Leave them flat overnight between two boards with weights on them. (Photo 7)

Photo 8
Photo 8

 

Photo 9
Photo 9

Trim the tips from the top with a sharp scissors, (Photos 8 and 9) so it is shaped more like an Eagle feather than a turkey feather.

These are the basics, but there are a lot of variables, such as the air temperature and humidity you are working in and your own feel of what is happening to the feather as you apply this much heat.

Expect to scorch a few along the way.

But be sure to keep your hands well away from danger of the hot clothes iron.

Straightening Feathers

Copyright: 2005 by Loren Woerpel, Noc Bay Publishing, Inc.

Last Updated on October 19, 2018 by PowWow Articles

About Paul G

Paul G is the founder PowWows.com, who wears many hats as a business coach, photographer, and collector of quirky shirts. Paul started PowWows.com in 1996 while pursuing his graduate degree. With a passion for travel, he and his family hav  traveled the world, capturing unforgettable memories and photos. When he's not coaching or clicking, he's indulging in the magic of Disney.


19 Comments on “How to Straighten and Trimm Feathers – Craft Tutorial”

  • Avatar for barbara arnold

    hi Id like to use feathers in a picture frame. What do I put as a backing to protect from bugs.

  • Avatar for Carlo Puma

    Carlo Puma

    says:

    How do you curl small white feathers?

  • Avatar for Jeannie

    Jeannie

    says:

    Pleased show how to dye and paint feathers, thank you so much.

  • Avatar for Kathryn Gholson

    Kathryn Gholson

    says:

    Thank you! You’re saving me so much time & aggravation instead of my thinking I’ll learn by the ‘hit or miss’ method.

  • Avatar for Tom Carr

    Tom Carr

    says:

    Great idea, seems faster than a light bulb which is what I always used. I’ll try it this method and see how well I do.
    Thanks

  • Avatar for Todd

    Todd

    says:

    I would like to know how to paint or dye feathers what is the best way to do so

    • Avatar for Ruth Mills

      Ruth Mills

      says:

      Thank you for the tutorials. I just started trying to make feather earrings and like that I can find info on your site. Have a wonderful day!

  • Avatar for Running Doe

    Running Doe

    says:

    wado for showing how to do these feathers

  • Avatar for Tricia Cartinez

    Tricia Cartinez

    says:

    How, or is it possible for me to dye wild turkey tail feathers white like the ones pictured in this tutorial?

  • Avatar for Sherri

    Sherri

    says:

    Thank you for the instuctions on the feathers, have tried many ways before this and failed. Would love to see many more craft idea’s.

  • Avatar for Nancy

    Nancy

    says:

    … awesome info … thanks for sharing …

  • Avatar for theresa locke

    theresa locke

    says:

    thank you for the easy directions for straightening feathers…

  • Avatar for Deborah

    Deborah

    says:

    how do you clean feathers, generally speaking, whatever kind of feathers, thank you

    • Avatar for Pat

      Pat

      says:

      sawdust will clean and add natural oil back to a feather. put in freezer overnight to kill mites

      • Avatar for NAAVAASYA

        NAAVAASYA

        says:

        WHAT IS THE STEP BY STEP TO CLEAN FEATHERS WITH SAWDUST, DO YOU RUB WITH FINGERS, BRUSH ON, AND DOES THE NATURAL OILS TRANSFER FROM THE DUST TO THE FEATHER, ETC? THANK YOU FOR TEACHING METHODS AND SKILLS. SOONER

  • Avatar for John Bean

    John Bean

    says:

    My faimly denied their heritage . This means that the only way for me to learn is to ask many questions , and often the crafts open the way . I must thank all involved in these questions being answered!

  • Avatar for Bzystpn

    Bzystpn

    says:

    Thank you so much.

  • Avatar for Debra Rincon

    Debra Rincon

    says:

    I remember this from way back when, sometimes I used to make them look so good some people couldn’t tell they were TURKEY Feathers. I used them in Crafts for a longtime. I like to see more CRAFTS on here & in the future.

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