Sewing Ostrich Feathers To A Skirt

Tips to Consider In Sewing in Ostrich Fringe Feathers to a skirt

Photo Credit : P.S - I made this

A skirt or dress that is adorned with Ostrich Fringe is an unusual yet elegant piece of haute couture. We found this tutorial from P.S - I made it and found it very interesting. This kind of dress offers the discriminating lady a chance to brandish her curves and flash her style in a frizzy yet alluring manner.  There are examples of this dress that are to be found in designer clothing stores and in websites that sell these goods; usually these, however, are sold at rather exorbitant prices.  The good thing is that you can create your very own silk ensemble with ostrich feather trim by simply procuring a basic skirt or dress and then buying ostrich fringe either in your local feather supply store or online.  However, before you can simply integrate these two base materials into an altogether different animal, you should keep in mind that ostrich feather, if handled incorrectly, can be irreparably damaged.  Herein are some steps that you can take before you sew in the ostrich feather fringe onto your silk dress.

In buying the ostrich trim, you need not only choose what color or style that looks right on you but the thickness of the trim itself.  For ostrich feather trim, they usually come in sizes ranging from 1-ply (meaning one layer), 2-ply (two layer), and so on.  Choose the right thickness that would work best for your ensemble.

The trim is affixed to a cord that is stiff and it makes for rather difficult sewing; extra effort should be made to make sure that the feather fringe is attached onto the fabric of the clothing.  If the dress is overly stretched during sewing, the cord turns on a wavy shape that prevents straightforward sewing.

During the sewing process, it is important that the fabric of the dress and the ostrich trim is directed smoothly under the sewing needle.  You can do this through many ways.  You can try basting; that is, you should set visible demarcations for the stitching and then just push the fringe in as you go parallel along the marked demarcation.  Also, the ostrich feathers often follow a direction of movement as they are detached from the cord; the easiest way for you to do this is by sewing parallel to the direction or grain of the feathers.

When washing the feathers, you can see that they are tougher than what their appearance shows them to be.  Using powdered laundry soap and grease removal solution on them will not actually harm them much.  You, however, do need to be careful not to pull at them too much and thus snap the feathers’ shafts in the process.  Dry them next with the use of a hair dryer that is set on the minimum power setting, gently ruffling and pulling them all the while.  This will allow for a quicker drying time.

If you plan on dyeing them, make sure that you do a test first to check if the cord to which the ostrich fringe has been attached to will react distinctly with the feathers themselves.  The reaction that may ensue may result in damage to the feathers, so choose your dye well.  The ostrich feathers, however, will surprisingly hold up to the effect of the dye; they will soak up all the color and emerge a different shade from what it is originally in.  You do need to use hot tap water to get maximum coloring results.

You have continuously dreamed of owning that vintage style of dress that is embellished with ostrich trim, but were unable to afford one.  Now, with a little purchase and unravelling and cutting and sewing, and some dyeing on the side, you can get to strut your stuff with all the frills attached!