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Permalink Reply by Hat Academy October 21, 2012 at 6:22pm

From the twittersphere...

@hatacademy store feathers in a cool dry place away from sun. Bleach and dye weakens. Use essential oils (lavender, etc) to deter pests.

— Nicky Ninedoors (@NinedoorsTease) October 21, 2012

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Permalink Reply by Elaine Mergard October 22, 2012 at 11:40am

Hi Lisa, Not sure if you are referring to splitting while stored or when curling feathers??

Feathermite is a problem with natural feathers but I have never had problems with dyed imported feathers being attacked as they are irradiated to come into the country. I had them attack feathers stored in a box on a shelf but never feathers in a drawer. Nicky's suggestion of lavender or even camphor is good deterrent. When using natural feathers be thorough washing hands after handling due to bird disease (sidicosis)

The trend today is to allow them to split when curling but if you need them to stay slick you could experiment with hairspray to make the threads stay together. -Elaine

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Permalink Reply by Cara DeLaRosa-Harrison October 24, 2012 at 2:12am

Also - I have tried a fine aerosol hairspray on peacock feather eyes and was not pleased with the result. I am yet to try sealing with a matte acrylic spray but that is my next trial. :)

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Permalink Reply by Cara DeLaRosa-Harrison October 24, 2012 at 2:10am

I attempted to store some of my pieces inside a container, with one moth ball sealed inside a plastic bag - the feathers absorbed the smell. Yuck. I then took a cotton ball and saturated it with lavender oil and sealed that inside a plastic bag along with my items. My feathers smell great and it does work to deter pests. Regardless of your choice, I thought I should mention that the feathers absorb the smells. :)

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Permalink Reply by Lisa Klekner October 25, 2012 at 4:23pm

Thank you ladies. It is the peacock eyes in particular that I find difficult to keep slick. I'd thought about sealing the back of them with a light adhesive spray and some netting or a light weight fabric.

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Permalink Reply by Ellen B Kahn October 28, 2012 at 1:58pm

I know some people put their feathers in the micro wave oven to kill anything that may be alive. But try Krylon Matte Fixative and don't get carried away.  . Ely

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