How to Make Paper Feathers

I went on a little bit of a decorating frenzy for Halloween, and now I can’t stop!

I couldn’t get the idea of making some feather decorations for Thanksgiving out of my head, and I realized a gaggle of paper feathers would be the perfect #turkeytablescapes project!

These are super easy, and they look so pretty in a group.

I put a cluster in a floral arrangement, but there really are unlimited ways to use your feathers. Use them as gift tags or place holders at the dinner table. Hot glue a bunch around a wreath. Glue them around a mason jar and add a tealight inside. Thread them on some yarn and hang from a chandlier or make a garland!

Step 1
Gather materials! At the very least, you’ll need:

• paper- I like to use scrapbook paper because it comes in a lot of pretty colors, prints, and textures. You want something slightly heavier… you don’t want floppy feathers!
• craft knife or scissors – I mostly use a craft knife because I think it’s faster, but I always keep a pair of scissors handy as well.

Optional Materials:

• cutting mat
• glue gun
• floral wire

Step 2
Cut a feather shape out of your paper. It can be fat, skinny, short, or tall. I just freehand it. I like to make all different shapes or sizes, but if you want a uniform size, you can make  a template and cut them all the same. It all depends on what you want to do!

Step 3
Score along the center of the feather on the back side of the paper- use something pointy but not super sharp. I like to use the tip of a closed pair of scissors or the end of a mechanical pencil with the lead retracted. You could also use a chopstick or a bamboo skewer.

The line doesn’t have to be super straight- sometimes I do curved lines, squiggly lines, or straight lines. Again, I want variety!

Step 4
Gently fold the paper along the fold line. Fold towards the back of the paper.

It gives a little extra dimension to the feather.

Step 5
Make a series of cuts along one side of the feather. I try to cut about half the distance from the center fold. The cuts should be angled towards the tip of the feather.

Step 6
Make the cuts all the way down one side of the feather. They should be as close together as possible, but they don’t need to be super uniform. I just hack away at it with the knife like a psychopath. Be careful, though! Don’t lose any fingers.

Step 7
Repeat for the other side of the feather.

Step 8
I suppose you could stop at this point if you like the way it looks, but I like to go an extra step.

I find this is easier to do with scissors, so here’s where I switch. Cut along the sides of the feathers again, except this time, instead of an angled cut towards the tip, I do more of a 90 degree cut.

Step 9
Repeat this the same way you did with the first round of cuts. Again, I just go at it quick and random. CUTCUTCUTCUTCUT! If there are spots that need a little extra attention when I’m done with the psycho cutting, I go back with a little more attention to detail.

Step 10
Now that’s a pretty snazzy feather, if I do say so myself! Depending on what you want to do with your feathers, you could stop here.

I wanted to use mine in a floral arrangement, so I added stems…

Step 11
Put a few globs of glue on the back of the feather along the fold line.

Step 12
Put the wire stem into place- be careful not to burn yourself!

Step 13
Rinse and repeat!

I combined my feathers with a cool pitcher style vase and some autumn floral pieces from Jo-Ann.