Totally inspired by a kid’s Fall fashion editorial {see more here: Little Punks! Cute Fall Looks for Kids it’s the last photo} who had faux feather mohawks adorning their heads, I got busy thinking about how I could replicate the look and how on earth I could get it to stand upright on my head without using a hat. Obviously a headband would face the wrong direction and I thought I’m sure for the editorial, they just pinned the feathers in, but I wanted to make one I could really wear. As I was looking through my random boxes of hair paraphernalia in my bathroom, I happened upon these Metal Duck Bill Hair Clips and suddenly my problem was solved. Not only could I clip them to my hair in any direction, they had holes I could easily insert the feathers into. Next problem to tackle was how to get them to stay without slipping!
And here’s my solution… A French Braid Faux Hawk.
Now, you could actually French braid your entire hair, but I wanted to be able to really pull the sides of my hair back tightly, and a French braid doesn’t give you that really sleek look since the hair is pulled up instead of back. There are actually many options to doing your hair for this look, but you need some sort of braid on top and down the center so your clips will stay in place.
It’s a little messy in the back, but it’s okay…
This look is obviously not for everyday wear, but I just had to make one for fun and it would actually be really perfect for Halloween {think colors}, either worn as some type of mohawk or even as part of a black bird costume or even a Mardi Gras headdress.
UPDATE 8/28: I just found this mohawk feather headband for $339 and this feather mohawk headband for $232. both attached to a headband, after I made this… so that’s an option too.
Here’s What You’ll Need…
* Feathers, real or faux, in the color of your choice
* Metal Duck Bill Hair Clips
* Hot glue gun
* Ribbon
* Scissors
* Foam paint sponges {optional}
Steps…
* Prop open your clip with your foam paint sponges {you can use anything that works, the foam keeps it from slipping}
* Choose your feathers. I used larger, straighter feathers for the 3 center spots and then smaller for the front and back sections.
* Trim the tips of your feathers to fit into the holes of your clip.
* Begin with your largest feathers, space them out so there’s a hole in between, insert them into the holes one at a time and glue them into place. Smother them with glue on the tops and bottoms, hold straight up in place until each sets, then move to the next.
* It will look something like this… remember to look at your creation dead-on so that your feathers remain nearly straight from front to back.
* Continue working and filling each hole with a feather until they’re all used up. It will be a gluey mess.
* Let dry… it will look a little sparse and something like this.
* Once all your feathers are in place, sturdy, and the glue is dry, cut out the glue from the bottom and trim your stems so that your clip can close all the way without anything it its way.
* Choose smaller feathers and carefully glue them to the sides, near the base/stems of your standing feathers. This will thicken your headdresses up and fill it out nicely.
* Cut a small piece of ribbon the length of your clip and trim the ends into V’s. If you’re not sure how to do this, simply fold your ribbon end in half length-wise and cut at an angle.
* Apply a strip of glue to the “wrong” side of your ribbon, open your clip and stick it to the bottom/center of your clip. This will cover your gluey-stemmy mess. Your ribbon will stick out on either side.
* Carefully apply glue to the side of your ribbon and push it upwards, adhering it to your standing feathers {on both sides}. This will finish your headdress and hide all the ugly glue as well as add a little more strength to it.
* You can choose to paint your clips to match your feathers as well. I didn’t find it necessary, but if you hair is dark, they may stand out more.
* You can trim your feathers down {at the tops, but do it at an angle to keep your feather shapes} if you don’t want your headdress to stand up so high. I wore one on top of my head and one directly behind it, sort of overlapping so that it looked like one. Obviously, you can choose to wear your hair up or down, etc., but you’ll need the braid on top to keep the clips in place, and it works quite well.
Voila… Voila!
Asos flannel plaid shirt | 7 For All Mankind pants | Alexander Wang boots | Vintage necklaces
and faux lashes as well
Have Fun!
* Find all my DIYs here
