How to Make Feather Earrings and Necklaces…

by jennine on April 7, 2009

The feathers were calling me from down the street. I didn’t want just any pretty feather, but something darker… I had been marveling at the giant crows in the neighborhood as of late, their shiny black feathers and black beaks seem so contradictory to the delicate spring blossoms. I would guess, black feathers would be more of an autumnal thing, but leave it to me to be a little off step. Black feather jewelry is really hard to find… I personally like it because it seems less hippy-ish and more edgy while still highlighting the beautiful motif.

Over the weekend, I stopped in the local craft store and picked up a couple packets of black feathers, I wanted to make earrings out of them, as I haven’t been much inspired by any earrings I’ve been seeing lately, and the ones I am inspired by…welly they cost a pretty penny, so we’ll get them later. I found with some sterling silver earring hooks, some sliver plated copper wire and some wire cutters, I was able to make a few pairs of earrings and a few necklaces. I’m not a jewelry maker by any means, and my method is a bit rough… but I actually really like the visual effect of my lack of skill.

This is what you’ll need: 1. Feathers 2. Scissors 3. Wire cutters 4. Wire 5. Earring hooks, or necklace chain
So here’s a quick tutorial on how to make your own feather jewelry… I’m still learning how to do this whole video thing…


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{ 35 comments }

Jessie April 7, 2009 at 4:00 am

Cool, thanks for the tutorial. I should try that soon, especially because both my feather earrings broke…

Edith April 7, 2009 at 4:05 am

I absolutely ADORE those!

I have about nine pairs of earring hooks from when I had to fix a pair of earrings, so I might have to make some.

To make the supplies even cheaper, you could get the hooks on Etsy – my ten pack cost 30 cents and a dollar for shipping and that was from Australia to Deutschland!

ElectricAlyce April 7, 2009 at 4:53 am

…I LOVE YOU!!! I’ve been thinking of this for a while but didn’t think it was possible without expensive equipment, So thank yoooooouuuuuu :D

SarahPersonae April 7, 2009 at 5:42 am

Beautiful!! I’m especially loving the necklace. Thank you so much for sharing this.

Ashe Mischief April 7, 2009 at 6:15 am

I love them! They’re so simple but bold. The last pair seems like a great way to incorporate old earrings you may not wear anymore, that is missing a mate, etc.

Retro Chick April 7, 2009 at 7:45 am

They look amazing!

I’ve always steered clear of feather jewellery as it’s seemed a little hippyish to me and I don’t really dress that way, but those look brilliant!

Hmm, I am feeling inspired to make feather jewellery, must find a craft shop over Easter

fritha louise April 7, 2009 at 8:05 am

I’m feeling really inspired to make these now. They look amazing against your hair!

apricot tea. April 7, 2009 at 8:52 am

Oh, I love them as a necklace. I think I’m going to try this myself. :] Thanks for the tutorial, Jennine!

Corrie April 7, 2009 at 9:39 am

I really like the detail of how the wire wraps around the feather.

Oh and…you. are. gorgeous.

Amy April 7, 2009 at 10:02 am

Lovely! And you really are just so pretty.

...love Maegan April 7, 2009 at 10:18 am

oooh, I love it with the hoops! so fab!

Sal April 7, 2009 at 10:41 am

Brilliant! What a great tutorial. Even a craft-know-nothing like myself might be able to whip up a pair.

Vanessa April 7, 2009 at 11:17 am

Those are gorgeous! Thanks for the tips! ;)

jennine April 7, 2009 at 12:05 pm

❤ jesse…oh man, i have a whole pile of broke earrings!
❤ edith…great tip! i’m going to do that next!
❤ electric… i was surprised too…but to tell the truth, if it required all that, i wouldn’t have done it!
❤ashe i have so many singles… same thing with socks!
❤ retro, you and me both!
❤ fritha, probably better against your light hair!
❤ apricot, i can see you with a loong feather necklace, the longer the better
❤ corrie, that was a surprising bit for me too…crazy huh?
❤ amy *blush*
❤ maegan, the circles are my favorite…
❤ sal, you and me both. i’m a total craft school drop out
❤ vanesa you are welcome.

capitolagirl April 7, 2009 at 1:40 pm

Completely love them :)

The black is so stylish and looks awesome paired with the hoops!

Rowena April 7, 2009 at 3:12 pm

Wow!

kathrin@twoforfashion.de April 7, 2009 at 9:12 pm

Sell them on Etsy for those who are too lazy (: xxkathrin

ChiChi April 8, 2009 at 2:15 am

Keep up the great work. You’re fabulous.

Hope all is well.

Best!

freya April 8, 2009 at 8:34 am

amazing! you so creative Jennine!

Frankie - Swell Vintage April 8, 2009 at 2:14 pm

This looks amazing! Great tutorial, thank you x

Eyeliah April 8, 2009 at 7:16 pm

What ag reat diy, thanks so much. i may just make something similar. :-)

Foley April 9, 2009 at 1:04 am

This is gorgeous! Especially the way the wire wraps around the feather! Thank you very much for the nice tutorial, sometimes we don’t think of doing this kind of easy things…

Renata April 11, 2009 at 6:40 pm

That was great. I’m just wondering how to addapt it for a hair accessory. It would look so great.

najeema April 12, 2009 at 10:30 am

Wow, you did a great job. I love the black feathers!

ostelios April 13, 2009 at 3:50 am

great pix ;)

Alicia/InstantVintage April 24, 2009 at 10:09 am

Your DIYs are the absolute best. BEST!!!

SimaG June 24, 2009 at 5:24 pm

I LOVE YOUR NEW EARRINGS!
This looks amazing,great tutorial, THANK YOU FOR SHARING.

johnny August 6, 2009 at 10:03 am

i liked this it was gr8 to make very simple 4 kids

Norma November 1, 2009 at 11:02 am

Thank you so much for video tutorial, I have been trying to decided how to use pheasant feathers to make earrings, feel much more confident now!

shush February 28, 2010 at 2:30 am

Wow! this is beautiful. Very inspiring!
.-= shush´s last blog ..How to Make Your Own Swarovski Crystal Beads Earrings updated Sun Feb 28 2010 2:26 am CST =-.

Mihaela September 11, 2010 at 4:40 pm

Your voice is so cute, it’s a pleasure to learn and listen to you at the same time :)
.-= Mihaela´s last blog .. =-.

sally marie fishlock November 9, 2010 at 4:50 am

Love this! Great way of making them!
x sally

FeatherObsession November 21, 2010 at 4:53 pm

For all feather lovers, please take a moment and visit my Etsy website FeatherObsession for hand-crafted feather earrings. Joy to all!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/FeatherObsession
FeatherObsession´s last [type] ..Frosted Metallic Pine feather earrings

JenJewel January 28, 2011 at 11:03 am

Great tutorial! I’ve been making feather jewelry like this for a while now. Fly fishing stores are a great spot to get high quality materials from. I’ve gone to http://www.theflyfishers.com for a ton of my feathers and have been very happy.

Nita February 2, 2011 at 9:04 pm

Yeah, great tutorial on making feather earrings. Just wanted to offer a little tip for future earring-making. My tip is: Instead of having to wrap all that wire around your feather— get some “crimp beads” and use one of these in place of the wire you’ve been using. Saves on time and money. You can get them anywhere (they are sold in variety packs of 50, 100, 200, etc.) and they come in every metal and color under the sun for dirt cheap. All you need is one. Place the crimp bead on the base of your feather (same place you’ve wrapped the wire), clamp down on the crimp bead with crimping tool or any other type tool you might have handy (needlenose pliers, regular pliers, etc.) anything that will clamp down on the crimp bead causing it to attach itself to the feather. Once crimp bead is in place, attach your fish hook to it (crimp beads come with a loop attached to one end for this purpose) and wa la! Your done. Again, this will save you having to buy and use all that wire and the crimp beads will give you a neater, more professional look. There’s also no way that your feathers will slip out and fall off like there is when wrapping wire around them. Hope this helps.

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