Thank you everyone for your excellent answers.
So I have tried over the last couple of days to tie parachutes with a whole host of materials thanks to all your advice and have a few follow up questions:
1. When tying parachutes using quill or feather type wings (turkey feathers, mallard etc), how do you make the wing stiff enough to use as a parachute, I tried making a thread base like on a hair or yarn wing and it just mushed up the wings or wouldnt wrap around them?
2. Is it possible to have a hackle feather that is too stiff to wrap around a parachute? Parachutes bend more than hooks and it seems like some hackle feathers are too stiff to tie around them?
Thanks