This turned out to be a fun and "learn on the fly" type of project. I took step by step photos in case anybody's interested, but the main ones are here.
First thing to do was bead the medallion, using fabric stabilizer. Now I've done this technique before but it was more a freeform style, and for the medallion "look" I figured it was harder so off to the internet where I printed a page to guide me through it. What I learned from that was either buy a book on medallions/ Indian beadwork, or trust my own eye; because copying every single bead made my design a bit off and I admit it is. However for a first try and its' intended purpose Im happy with it, but Ive since ordered a couple of books to aid the next attempt.
The beadwork took the longest, naturally, but Im hoping as I get more familiar it too will get faster. Next up was the feathers, so I raided my fly-tying stash for some nice ones that would work, and trimmed turkey feathers to be rounded on the ends. the others are hackles for fly tying....
...and used my fly tying thread to make a few wraps to secure the smaller feathers to the large ones. A dot of elmers glue was enough to secure at this point. I also cut off some of the small feathers' shafts to eliminate bulk under the leather.
Both feathers waiting, it was time for leather. I cut 2 strips about 1/2" wide or so, and about 16" long, I didnt measure, just eyeballed it. I also cut 2 circles to fit the beadwork.
I dont know how authentic this method (below) is, but it's what I chose to connect the feathers and make the ties to hold it in the hair. I just made it up as I went. First a dab of E600 on the back to start things, and laid 2 colors of embroidery floss so the skiens were next to the feathers and the tails were on the feather shaft. More E6000 on the shaft and I wound the leather down about an inch. Then chosing which color of floss, began to wind that tightly, first around the feather to make the same bulk as leather, and then onto the leather itself. This makes the glue squish at the seams but that's ok, it's gonna hold the thread too.
For changing colors add a dab of elmers to help hold the thread at the back of the feather, and start winding the other color, burying the first color's tail. Do NOT cut the floss yet! It is like those freindship bracelets I did as a kid, but not quite.
To end the floss and make a neat appearence: When I had what I wanted of the floss, I go to the back of the feather, make sure I have E600 on the feather shaft, and lay the thread tightly underneath the leather, then wrap the leather as usual, effectively hiding the ends of floss.
When I reached the end of the shaft, I made an extra "winding" beyond it. Made sure it has E600 inside, and squished it flat, or fold it over. Immediately I had to sew it to the leather circle, once the glue dries it will be a pain to deal with, so figured out the placement of the feathers and begin sewing. I used Outdoor thread I got at Wallymart and a few stitches also on each side of the shaft to help strengthen that area. Keeping in mind that how it's sewn is going to affect how the feathers hang, frequent checking how they look is important!
Place the second circle of leather on the first, and press it to see where the ties lay. Marking with a pen on the second circle of leather where they are, so I know where to cut 2 slits for the ties to go through. Thread the ties and then E600 the leather pieces together. I used a butterknife to push the leather down around the feather shafts so they were covered and not "gappy" in that area.
Next I carefully alligned the beadwork to the front and E6000 the back of it to the leather. Sometimes more rounds of beads are added to finish the edges using picots or whatever a person wishes, but being this is going to be on a horse I dont want the edges to get caught on horsehair and threads break, so I am skipping that step for this particular item, and will see how it fares in use.
To use it, all I have to do is start a braid in my horse's mane, and then using the ties as part of the braid continue on and secure the end. My horses are used to this kind of fuss, but if anyone wants to make thier own to use --Make sure your horse is used to such things, because the feathers have weight but will still fly around! If you are nervous he may spook, get him used to the concept by using wide ribbons or such rather than something you just spent hours on, and when he is no longer fazed by it then try your art piece. I cannot and do not accept any liability for any accidents, what's presented here is simply something I made for my horses and the steps needed to create the item.
When it ever quits raining round here I will have the horses model it properly :)
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