well on the powwow trail much of our regalia has lots of feathers. (watch a video of a mens traditional dancer, men's fancy dance, and strait dancers and you'll see exactly what I mean)
So here is how I was taught to preserve and care of feathers
lay them out in a space where they can be spread out like a bath tub. spray from a distance, with lysol, lots of lysol. the lysol will drive off or kill mites, ad disinfect the feathers. leave them there for 24 hours then put them in plastic baggies or bundle them with a string and hang them
After painting on a feather try spraying from a distance with hair spray. it will help keep the paint from flaking off. do not touch the feathers until dry or they will clump or separate.
for jewelry or hanging them you can do several methods
you can use a needle to penetrate the shaft then then pull a string, sinew, or fishing line through and wrap it several times before tieing off and adding a touch of glue to secure it
you can tie the thread on and slide a pony bead (or appropriately sized bead) on over the thread and feather to secure it.
there are also metal findings, clasp like things you can buy at hobby stores that you crimp onto the feather with the thread to hang it. This is great for smaller feathers and delicate decorations or jewelry.
it is possible to set feathers in resin or laminate them but I have not figured out how to do it without messing up the feather structure in the process
