DIY: Feather Necklace

This Fashion Week, I found inspiration in all of the great white pieces on the runway. I’ve always been a big fan of the little white dress, but what I loved this season was how designers really got creative with monochromatic plays on texture (Rebecca Taylor, Rebecca Minkoff and Nicole Miller all did a great job with this). Lace overlay, oversized eyelets and perforations — and yes, even feathers — were all trending this week.

I’m currently in the process of packing up most of my little white dresses, but for now, a fall-friendly take on the trend is this feather necklace, inspired by all the prettiness I saw on the runway (and this necklace on Barneys New York’s Instagram.) Try pairing it with something in the same color family (like my creamy sweatshirt) for a look that’s classic and cool.

Materials:

• Paracord
• 3 small compression sleeves
• 3 8mm end caps
• 3 jump rings
• E6000 glue
• Sharp Scissors
• Tape
• Pliers
• Feathers

Begin by taking five feathers and forming a little bundle. If your feathers are long (over four inches), you may need to trim the tops as I did here.

Apply a generous heap of E6000 glue to the top of your bundle.

Top off with an end cap.

Repeat two more times. Using your pliers, add a jump ring to each bundle, forming three feather “charms.” Allow time to dry.

Thread your paracord on a compression sleeve and then add one of your feather charms. Tip: this is easiest if you seal the ends of your cord with tape!

Thread the cord back through the other end of the compression sleeve.

Repeat twice.

Knot each end and seal the cord by melting the ends with a lighter. Then voila! You’re done!

this story is brought to you by vapor-distilled smartwater, who found unique inspiration for their water by looking up to the sky. we hope the change in perspective this piece offers will help inspire you.