By Soni Panda x

I thought I would have another go at attempting something a little different. I wanted to create something different and as I had some craft ostrich feathers to play with, I thought I would use them to make something that is versatile and can be worn without having to glue them down to a pair of tights.

I experimented with a pair before, and if you haven’t seen that blog, then please hit the link below (opens in a new tab):

Soni’s DIY Project

I’ve also made a small video clip, which you can check out on my YouTube Channel (opens in a new tab):

Soni Panda Channel – Soni’s DIY Project (Part 2)

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The Prototype

How The Idea Came About: as I mentioned before, I wanted to create something different and unique. Something that I haven’t seen before but could work so easily for everybody. You know me, I don’t do simple and boring, which is why I wanted to create something with feathers (once again) as I had some to mess about with.

 

What I Used: so I used Ostrich feathers in black which were around 4cm-12cm long in length. I wanted to use a variety to create texture as well as levels in the bands, so it wasn’t all one length and looks flat.

For my base tights, I used Gabriella Classic Exclusive T-Band Tights (I had a spare pair in black), some black thread and elastic bands.

 

Processes: now this has taken me a while to get the hang of doing. I had to play around with the idea for a while before I could start working on it. I wanted to glue the feathers on at first, but then quickly realised that wouldn’t work with elastic. I knew sewing each one in would be so time consuming and really hard, so I opted to weave the feathers into the elastic band instead.

I measured the band so it would sit mid-thigh instead of higher up the legs. I made it so that it would fit me without squeezing my thighs.

I was on and off with doing these, as I had times where the stalks on the feathers would break off easily, they would get stuck and I would have to redo the weave, they would just be annoying and come straight back out. And think I had to do this on 2 bands!

Trust me when I say this took time, patience and a few moments of cursing here and there.

After I had completed 1 row of feathers, I added another row on the bottom, and then 1 row on top. I thought that would be enough, but then I went with a middle row that flicked upwards to give it some mega fluff around the middle. I was running out of feathers at this point and had to order some more packs.

The worst thing is that these feathers have been dyed, which means my fingertips were going black and matted and I constantly had to wash them before I could touch anything else.

After all the kerfuffle with the feathers being set in place, it was time to sew the band in place. I made the mistake of setting the feathers to how I wanted them before sewing the band – and that was a massive face palm moment.

I had to weave in and out without getting any feathers caught and make sure that it was sewn properly before I tidied it all up.

 

I also did a little video on how I got them on the legs, trying hard not to create snags whilst doing so:

 

On The Legs: well I gotta say that these do look amazing. I wanted to pair with a dress so it looks like it’s part of that rather than individual pieces.

I have to say I wouldn’t recommend shiny or semi-matte tights as the cuffs did fall down on me once I started walking around. It wanted to sit inches above my knee rather than mid-thigh. I would try these again using a suspender belt and clasp on to keep them in place under other dresses for sure.

Now as I didn’t seal the backing of the feathers, this meant that the ends were snagging up my tights at the back and creating unwanted holes. It was super frustrating not to freak out about it, but then again I did expect something like that was gonna happen.

The elastic was perfect for my thighs; I thought it might be too tight or become too loose after a while, but that wasn’t the case at all. I felt these were perfect – shame about the smooth tights helping them to slide down the legs!

I did notice some feathers were also popping out towards the end of the shoot, and I also expected that seeing as I didn’t insert some of the correctly.

I suppose all these notes are learning curves for next time!

Apart from all that, I loved them and think they looked amazing on the legs. If I had done the cuffs slightly smaller, I could easily use these as ankle cuffs or even better – boot cuffs!

 

 

My Thoughts?

I gotta say I love how these turned out, more than my last pair I did. I thought these looked so amazing and worked out so well for Halloween. I would even wear these with nude or coloured tights no matter what time of wear if I wanted something extravagant on the legs. I am glad I did give them a go as now I know what I need to do and what to avoid in the future if I was to make another pair again.