DIY this delicate feather fascinator for cheap

I have been longing for a delicate feather flower fascinator for the big day, but I don't have any room in my budget for one. I have searched high and low on the internet and never found a tutorial for anything near what I wanted, so I delved into a series of trial and error experiments and finally ended up with a product that I love.

What you will need:

• Feathers — shown are standard craft feathers purchased at the craft store ($2.00 for a pack of approximately forty) you really only need 8–10 GREAT feathers
• One beautiful button
• Scissors
• Small needle and thread
• Large needle or pin
• Small circular cut out of felt — similar coloring as feathers
• Hot glue gun
• Floral styrofoam, round (or a small cardboard box will work)
• Alligator clip or comb

STEP 1:
The small circular cut-out of felt will serve as the base of the flower. Cut a small hole in the center of the felt round so you can easily push the shank of the button through the felt and flower later.

STEP 2:
Putting the large pin through the precut slit, pin the felt to the styrofoam. This helps to preserve the buttonhole and provides a stable base to glue on. If you do not have a circular surface, it helps to draw a circle on the work surface so you have a guide to keep your flower symmetrical.

STEP 3:
The feathers I purchased, which are pretty standard bulk craft feathers, have two pretty distinct segments: the fluffy bottoms and the barbed tops. Clip the tops off of the feathers. The tops will serve as the petals.

STEP 4:
Depending on how large you want your flower to be, peel off the bottom layers of the feather to create a more uniform size among the feather tops.

You can also trim the tops and sides of the feathers with scissors to create more distinct shapes for the petals.

STEP 5:
Lay the feathers down on the base and do a practice set up before beginning any gluing. It will help you spot any glaring issues, such as not having enough feathers, or wildly misshapen feathers that need to be trimmed. This is also the time to determine how short you need to trim the stems of the feathers so there will not be too much bulk in the middle, while still having ample feather tip to glue.

STEP 6:
Using a hot glue gun, place small beads of hot glue on the felt and lay down the feathers one at a time. Using very small amounts of glue and gluing on one or two feathers at a time works best. Hot glue dries too quickly to do more than one or two at a time. Add on more layers or more delicate plume feathers for added texture and style.

STEP 7:
Once the glue is cool, remove the pin and delicately press the shank of the button thru the pre-cut slot. Use the small needle and thread to sew the button securely to the back of the felt. Using the felt base, sew the flower to an alligator clip or comb.

 

Looking for some DIY fascinator inspiration?

…or maybe making your own DIY feather fascinator seems like too much of a pain in the bootay? Here are some of our faves from Etsy…