Dying the Feathers

	This is 1 pound of chicken feathers, if you're making more than one pair of wings, I highly suggest getting bulk feathers like this since the small packages of feathers you get at craft stores can become pretty expensive. However, because these feathers are bulk they tend to need a little T.L.C. before you start working with them.
Sort through the bag and pick out about 250-300 feathers; try and find the ones that look the least damaged. The reason you're pulling the extra feathers is because many of the feathers will not look as good after they're washed. Bulk feathers smell like chicken crap, and need to be washed in antibacterial liquid hand soap to get as much of that smell out and prepare the feathers for the dye.
	Don't attempt to scrub the feathers, just swish them around in the warm soapy water for a couple minutes and then rinse them. You'll notice pretty quickly just how bad feathers can smell once you get them in the water, but after you're done, the feathers will be chicken poop free, and ready for the dye. If your feathers are pre-washed, you should still soak them in water for a couple minutes before attempting the dye, the dye will take better to the feathers if you do.
Dyeing the feathers is simple, but requires a lot of attention. Follow the directions on the bottle of dye, and be sure to wear rubber gloves and clothes you don't mind getting a little stained. If working on the stove, put down foil; or simply heat the water, then move it to your kichen sink (assuming it's stainless steel) and dye everything in that. In theory stainless steel shouldn't stain. Be extra careful if you live in an apartment, silk dye will stain your counters faster than you can say "Damage Deposit"!
	After the dye is finished, rinse the feathers then use paper towel to get most of the moisture out of the feathers. Be really careful with them at this point, they're extra fragile.
To speed along the drying process, take the larger feathers and gently spread apart the downy part of the feather. Don't worry too much if it looks matted-up, once it's dry, most of the feathers kinda, sort themselves out ^_^ Place the feathers someplace warm, but not breezy. It'll take several hours for all the feathers to dry completely, so head on to the next step.

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