Large standing Ostrich plumes have always intrigued me, and reproducing the look is a challenge. Adding them to hats are not as difficult as adding them to a turban which was another popular way to wear them in the Late 18th early 19th C. As part of an article on turbans I made a set of ostrich plumes for such a headdress. See Below.
The feathers
Every plume has to be made up of at least two ostrich wing feathers. They should be matched and cut to the same length. The full size wing feathers have shafts that are thicker near the base. (closer to you in the drawing.)
Using an X-acto blade you need to remove some of the shaft on inside for one of the feathers. (The inside is the side that has that dent running down the shaft.)
For the other feathers you need to remove material on the back side of the shaft so that they match and create a channel as seen here. The second feather is shown flipped over on top of the first. After the extra material was removed.
Use matching thread to bind the shafts together. Then you need to sew the rest of the length together.
The support-headband
In order to support the plumes you need something that can be securely added to your head with stiff wire that the feathers can slip onto now there is a hollow channel for the wire.
I used a 3/4″ wide strip of buckram which had millinery wire sewn on each edge then sized to so that it would sit but not slip down the models head. I also sewed a tube of fabric that was about 1.5X longer than the strip to cover it. Before sewing the strip into a circle, I slipped the tube over it and pushed it to the side so I could sew the strip closed and sewed the mount for the feathers to the base of the headband. This how to twist and bent a ~14″ piece of millinery wire (medium weight) to create two standing shafts about 1/2″ and 1″ away from the headband. Make sure the feathers can slide over the twisted wire.
When the wire is secure the ends of the fabric tube is slipped together to hide the buckram.
Adding the headdress/turban to a long curled hairstyle
The headband is slipped onto the head and all the curls in the center are pulled thru the headband and allowed to fall over the back half of the head band.
Then a long narrow silk scarf is wrapped around and around the head going under those curls that were lifted thru the center of the headband. Add a pin in the center front.
Sometimes the wrap goes in front of the feathers and some times in back. This will also help to support the feathers. If you have any worries about the stability of the feathers you can have another person sew a swing tack between the shafts of the feathers, about 1/2 way up with a matching thread. This is really an indoor headdress it would not survive a windy day outside. Because the feathers are so light I found it very secure and the feathers did not slip side to side at all. Below is a slide show of the entire process from preparing the wig, to putting the wig on, to adding the headband, to wrapping the turban, to adding the pin then, adding the ostrich plumes.
