How to get started in Wig Making (and an update)

I had a comment to my last post by Biodagar asking:

I'm super keen to learn wig-making, but I don't know that I'd have the patience for it. :) Do you mind if I ask what the first resources you were looking at when you started? I wouldn't even know where to begin :)

I totally know how hard and daunting it can be to get started with this process. I think it took me about 6 months to get properly started. I did a lot of research on the products/items needed and on cap construction. I think that to make wigs for yourself, you have to have an understanding of what you want/need and to look at wigs you already have so you can start to understand about the way that wigs are constructed. Even with full lace wigs, there are a lot of variations in bases. If you have a wig design that you really like, you can always attempt to copy its construction. Here's my suggestions for the 'short-cut' way of getting started:

First off...

• Have a look at the posts I made when I started the blog:

http://makingwigs.blogspot.co.uk/2011_05_01_archive.html - the 2nd post shows you basics needed to get started
http:// makingwigs.blogspot.co.uk/2011_06_01_archive.html. - you will get a general idea of what you need to start to do

• Go on Amazon or a similar site and get yourself a wig making book. A popular one is: http://www.amazon.com/Wig-Making-Styling-Complete-Theatre/dp/0240813200. 
• Go on You Tube and look up wig making. You will find useful videos on there.

The first thing you need to do is learn to ventilate - there is a simple video showing how to do it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWqGTzj3y14&feature=related. For this process, you need to buy some lace (or you can use tulle from a sewing/craft store when you are just practicing), some hair (cheap wefted processed hair will do), a ventilating needle and a holder. You will also need at least a styrofoam head or preferably a canvas wig block. Once you have learnt to ventilate, you can start learning to make a foundation (wig cap/base).

To make the wig foundation/base - you will have to do research into cap styles. Look at any wig books you can get your hands on. Look at the bases offered by Chinese wig making factories (they usually have lots of pictures showing what's available for custom orders). Have a look at what other people are making on You Tube and blogs like mine. If you already have some wigs, turn them inside out and study the bases. You may wish to take old wigs apart to learn how they are made and perhaps reuse some of the materials and/or hair while you are learning.

An important part of making a wig foundation/base is sewing. If you have no sewing skills, then now is the time to learn them. My first 2 caps (the prototype and the one I am currently ventilating onto) were totally hand sewn. You can find more information on hand sewing wig foundations in the book I recommended above. While hand sewing takes a long time, it is also very satisfying, a traditional way of making a wig foundation and if you are a perfectionist like me: very neat! In the future I will be experiementing with using a sewing maching for all or part of the wig foundation. Even if you choose to use a sewing machine, you still need to know how to use that, so if you have zero sewing experience I recommend having a look in some books and on You Tube again and learning a bit about stitches and methods of sewing.

I hope this was helpful.

Update:

It has been just over a year since I started this blog - amazing how time flies. For the reply above, I was looking back at old posts and I can see how far I have come in that time. I am really proud that I have done this all by myself. Where there is a will, there's a way. I must give credit to the few mentors that I have consulted during this time - particularly to one person from Greece... you will know who you are. I appreciate the advice and answers to my questions that have been given and I hope that as I improve I am able to help other people in the same way. Pooling our knowledge and resources is definitely helpful.

Having seen my pictures from the last update, I realised how far I have come in the ventilation. I have done loads since then. A couple of weekends ago, I made myself a little timesheet to fill in with my wig making hours. I hoped this would encourage me to get more done. It worked. I did 13 hours last week. I shall take some pictures and post them so those of you who are interested can have a look.