I can't remember where I saw this 'trick', probably several different places, but I've been using it sucesssfuly for quite a few years.

When tying in feathers for a wing or a side, use multiple feathers and tie them all in at once.

Tying in multiple feathers one at a time can be a pain to do, and they can be hard to control. I've found that if you group them all together, they behave properly as a group and the flies not only look better, but they come together faster.

If I'm going to tie in a feather wing on top of a fly, I'll lay the feathers on top of each other in the proper order and with the curvature aligned as I'd like them on the fly, then pick them up and tie them in as a group. Once you get a few wraps on them, you can then adjust them into proper position as a group and lock them in place. Same with feathers tied on the side of the fly (you do have to do each side separatey). Stack them as you want them to look on the fly, then tie in all together.

This seems to alleviate the twisting or veering out of position problem you get with odd shaped feather shafts.

Buddy