Alan, maybe I miss understand, but I don't see how you can accomplish 1 and 2. If you hold the fibres at 90 degrees to the stem then the bars will never line up. The way to handle the fibres if you want to use a bunch is to grip them in situ as in my first photo. Cut the fibres and pull the feather away from the loose fibres, not the fibres from the feather. This will leave the fibres in a grip ready to pinch and loop into place. It will also keep them correctly aligned.

The Black Pennel is a wet fly, not a dry. I tend to use a heavy hackle on them as my local trout prefer a "noisy" fly, one that disturbs a lot of water when pulled. That's why the hackle is swept back.

Cheers,
A.