The use of feathers has been used to add drama, style and glamour to what would otherwise be a normal or boring ensemble. In Project Runway season 6, Carol Hannah won the Bob Mackie/Christina Aguilera challenge. Her use of feathers helped to transform an ordinary black sequin dress into a cutting edge design that won the judges votes.

As we all know, the use of feathers is not something new. Most of us have seen it on the runway for the past few seasons from designers such as Roberto Cavalli or are beginning to see them in mass retailers such as H&M and TopShop. However, most of the feather skirts and dresses that take over the runway come with a hefty price and the one’s that are a reasonable price just end up looking like cheap knock-off’s. The best option is to do it yourself. Working with feathers is easy and by creating a do it yourself piece you can customize it any way you like to make it your own.

To make a feather skirt is simple. The materials you will need are a pattern for a tulip skirt, 1-2 yards of a wool or polyester, 5-6 yards of feather attached to bias tape, approximately 1 yard of 2” wide elastic.

First start with a basic tulip shape skirt in a wool or polyester for structure. Save the waist band until last since you will need to cover the bias on the feathers.

Once you have the body of the skirt constructed begin to attach the feathers to the skirt, 1 row at a time, starting from the bottom. You should leave 1.5”-2” between each row.

Once you are finished attaching the feathers, sew the elastic band to the top of the skirt covering the bias of the feathers. It is an easy and affordable way to add a touch of glam into your wardrobe.