Important Considerations When Making A Wig - Darts

Darts are an inevitability for a wig maker. If you don't know what a dart is, then here's an explanation:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dart_(sewing)

The reason they are found in hand-made wigs and larger hairpieces is because both a wig and a large hairpiece (that encompasses the curves of the head) are not a flat shape. When flat fabric needs to make a rounded skull shape, some form of dart is involved. Another reason you may run into them along your wig making journey is when making alterations to a wig.

As I have mentioned before on this blog, I recommend gaining some sewing skills before you set about hand-making wig foundations and large hairpiece bases. Both of these tasks require not only sewing skills such as knowledge of various sewing stitches, haberdashery and perhaps how to use a sewing machine, but also an innate understanding of how to use fabric to design and make something you are evisaging in your head.

There are a few rules that should be followed when making wig foundations and hairpiece bases that incorporate darts:

1. Unless the person you are making for has an uneven head shape (for some reason), aim to make the darts 'even'. That means: if you have a dart over one ear, you should have one over the other ear. In reality this usually means making the first dart smaller, and then making another dart the other side, taking up the rest of the slack you have realeased off the first dart you made (so basically halving the dart you had initially made). 
2. Darts on the side should be turned towards the back.
3. Darts on the crown and back should be turned towards the centre.
4. With wigs, if pinned correctely darts should not be placed on the vertex. 

Here is a primative drawing (!) I did - excuse the egg-head:

The red triangles are the 'darts', the blue line on the side view is the wig edge. The red line denotes the middle of the wig; it is helpful to mentally divide the wig down the middle so that you ensure you have an equal dart on the opposite side. You can see why you would want the darts to be even, as it helps to create a symmetary to the wig shape and ensure it fits properly without being bulky. 

Example of darts placement on a wig - note that each one is mirrored by an equal on the opposite side

Notes:

Re: #1 - When laying the lace/tulle/net/monofilament, or whatever fabric it is you are using to make the foundation/base, you will intially pin various points of the material and start to make darts as you lay and stretch the fabric to make the rounded scalp shape. As you then move further back, or around to the other side of the block/head, you will find that you need to unpin some points that you have already pinned in order to make the cap smooth and shaped correctly. In the case of darts, I try to pin both sides at the same time because I know I need to create an equal dart on the other side. I.e. if I am pinning a dart on the right side, I will start adjusting the left side in the same place/location, using temporary pins half-pushed-in (rather than completely pushed in/fixed) to hold sections, so that I create two equal darts on both sides, instead of one large one on one side. How many darts you end up using depends on the person's head shape that you are making the wig for, and how many pieces of material you are using to make the wig. Some wigs are made using only 1 type of material as the base. Others have several sections to their pattern and use a different piece of material for each section. Regardless, the same principle applies throughout.

Re: #2 and #3 - When you make a dart, you literally pull a section of fabric up in your hand and then fold it over, as it is essentially 'excess' material. You would then pin it, to hold the excess fabric in place while you pin the rest of the wig material onto the block. There are different types of darts used in dress making and other types of sewing, but usually in wig making, darts are triangular in shape because of the cap shape we are creating.

Here is an example of how a dart is created:

The blue arrow indicates the fabric being pulled over so that the two yellow lines meet (the yellow line edge of the fabric on the right side lays on top of the yellow line edge of the fabric on the left side). After pinning the whole wig, you would then sew along the pinned edge of each dart - along the yellow line, so that the fabric is joined together permanently and, most importantly, lies flat. I sew mine along both edges to make sure they are totally smooth and low-profile.

It is also imporant to follow a basic rule when marking darts on a wig:

Darts on the left - fold towards the right
Darts on the right - fold towards the left

Or... another way of looking at it = if you are making a dart on the side, you are folding towards the rear of the head/wig and if you are making a dart on the back, you are folding towards the opposite ear.

Re: #4 - As a general rule of thumb, it is less desireable to create darts on the vertex (the vertex being the top of the head from front harline to crown and from side to side before the head curves away). The reason for this is because you want the area everyone looks at (the top and front) to look seamless, and smooth... as if the person is not wearing a wig. Sometimes we have to make darts in this area due to the fabric being used and/or the shape of a person's head. In this case, it is very important to think about their placement. You want to think about the hairstyle that the wig will end up being styled in. E.g. if the wig is going to have a partline, don't make a dart that shows in this area. If the hair is going to be brushed back for some reason (ponytail or up-do or short hairdo) and/or you are creating a wig with a very fine, graduated hairline, putting a dart somewhere at the front will be more likely to show. Usually one would aim to have no darts on the front hairline, and if you need to put darts in the front section of the wig, then place them over the ears, or along a line around the crown (but avoiding any partline or open crown areas).

Example of a wig dart

Purple lines highlight the two darts -
one is deep over the ear, but misses the vertex and the other
is on the side pointing towards the crown, but again is hidden.

Making a Wig Foundation with Lace - Important Considerations ~ Laying Your Lace

I had a query today about how I made the parting on the wig I am making, as it appears so clearly defined and straight. It got me thinking about some of the things I have learnt since starting to experiment with making wigs. One thing I remember researching a lot is: wig foundations (bases/caps). Reason being: a. this was something I am quite obsessive about (due to my hair loss and needing comfort and realism) and b. because if this aspect is not quite right, then the whole thing is pretty much wrong!

When you make a foundation (wig base/cap) with lace, you really need to take your time. There are a few things that it is important to get right at this stage, as they will otherwise affect the wig at a later stage when it is impossible to rectify them.

One of the aspects of making a foundation that needs to be taken into account is how you place your lace. Let's rewind a bit...

When you want to make a foundation, you need to take either a head mould or some measurements of the head that you will be fitting the wig foundation to, and then transfer these onto your canvas or wooden block. Of course, you can take both a head mould and measurements and use them together if you so desire. In my case I am currently using a canvas block, so I put blue tape over it, which allows me not only to have better vision as it makes the lace and hair more contrasting against the block, but also gives me the ability to mark out patterns, measurements and shapes on the block to help me with making the foundation and later ventilating the hair. Once I have marked the block with the head pattern I need to follow, I then take the lace and start to pin it to the block to make the 'form' of the foundation, which can then be sewn where necessary.

At this stage it is vital that one takes into consideration the direction of the lace holes on the different parts of the head/wig. For example, like fabric, regular lace (not the stretch kind) has a bias which means that if you pull it when it is oriented in this position, it will stretch or give somewhat. You do not want to pin the lace when it is on the bias, as it will have stretch to it. If you don't know about the bias of material, then take a fresh piece of square or oblong lace, and hold it on the diagonal (like a diamond shape). Gently tug the corners. You will see it stretches or gives slightly. This is the bias. You would not want to pin the fabric with this being on your vertical or horizontal part of the wig (so not on the front to nape or ear to ear over the top) as otherwise the wig will stretch and move in a most undesirable way.

One of the main areas you want to carefully lay lace is the front hairline to crown. This is the part which everyone looks at the most when they are talking to or interacting with someone wearing a wig. Ideally on the front hairline to the crown AKA the vertex, the lace holes should be marching straight backwards in a nice line and straight across the head in another straight line - you would see the holes lining up in rows going across the head, and rows going backwards towards the crown - not on the diagonal. If you pin your lace on the bias in this area, the holes will be on the diagonal and not straight down and across. This would cause a problem when you came to ventilate the hair onto the foundation as the hair would not fall into part-able rows. It would be criss-crossed.

Here is an example of pinning the lace and the lace direction.This image should be clickable to enlarge. See the picture below for a close up of the lace holes. The arrows and lines represent the two directions of the hole: straight from the crown to the front, and across from left to right.

Note how I am smoothing the lace in the vertex section to get it nice and taut.

By following this structure when pinning your lace to the block, you should end up with rows of hair that can then be parted from front hairline to the crown as a normal part line would be. For some people this is too linear and perfect, in which case you can just part a messier parting by carefully using your comb in a more random zig-zag manner when making the part line. My own bio hair always had a very linear part line for some reason, which is why I tend to favour that a little.

 You can see the orientation of the lace holes on this picture more clearly, and how it produces a very crisp part line. In fact, if you ventilate more heavily than I do, the part line will look even more delineated because it will be denser hair around the parting.

There is second consideration when laying the lace onto the block. It is important to lay the lace for the front hairline to the crown as flat and taut as possible. You do not want this material to be rucked up, as if it is the wig will not lay flat or moulded well to the head/scalp shape. This is the case for all wigs, but is especially noticeable in lace front and full lace wigs, because you need the lace to adhere flat to the skin where you are bonding in order for it to look flawless and undetectable. If you have too much material or it was not pulled taut and smooth when making the foundation, you will end up with small gathers in the lace when you bond, which causes a rippling effect against the skin. This can also happen if the wig is too small and is pulling at the skin. For this reason, keep smoothing the lace fabric down gently with the palm of your hand as you pin; you may find you need to unpin, smooth and re-pin as you go. One of the reasons for this is because as you pin in another place on the block, you may find the way you have already pinned it elsewhere is not optimal and needs to be adjusted. A little bit fiddly, but worth the effort in the long-run.

I shall continue this mini series with a further couple of posts about other things that are wise to take into account when making your foundation and laying your lace down.

Video Update

For anyone who does not find this blog from my YouTube channel, here's my latest video:

The Finished Wig Cap

Good news!


I have FINISHED the wig cap. Yay!


Here's some pics of it just perched on the wig block:

I am really pleased and proud that I managed to get it done. I think some people doubted I would ever finish it! 

As you can see, I have added an extended nape. The reason I have done this is because a. I wanted to learn to do it and see how it turned out and b. because I have very low babyhair and wanted to see if this would cover it - a bit of a prototype/test. If it's uncomfy to wear, I won't add one to the next wig. 

So the next step is ventilation. I shall be using some dark hair - a #2 (I am guessing) that is wavyish. It is currently ventilated into another wig that I have never worn because it is too small and WAY too dense (it weighs about 325 grams, which is approximately 12.5 ounces!!). The hair is not the best quality, so it is perfect for this project. I won't be crying if it all goes wrong! Hopefully it turns out well...

Finally... Pictures!

Since my last blog post, I have finally gotten around to taking some photos of the work in progress. Hopefully they will be helpful in illustrating what I have been, and am still, talking about and doing.

The update on making the wig foundation (wig cap) is as follows:

In the video I uploaded on YouTube, I was still working on getting the perimeter of lace and honeycomb tulle sewn down. I have now sewn the entire inside edge of the perimeter down, except for the extended nape.

This meant that I could, joy of joys(!), take the foundation off the block and... try it on! It also enabled me to remove the mould I had been using.

Trying it on - this was interesting! I was actually rather nervous about it - all this work so far seemed like a big time and energy investment, not to mention the financial aspect of purchasing all the supplies. Then there is that moment where you think: okay this could go either really wrong or really well. Funnily enough, my mind had not allowed for the middle option of: okay-ish. The result thus far (no hair on it, just the lace and tulle) is that it fits me okay. But - and this is a big 'but' for the perfectionist in me - is not quite as snug as I had hoped for at the front. I think for a first attempt it has been a good learning curve thus far and that it is a good outcome.

One thing I do know, is that undoubtedly I will have to use something at the ear tabs/sideburns area as it is too flappy. Those of you who have worn or tried on lace front wigs or glue-less lace wigs, will know exactly what I mean by that. This issue is compounded by the fact that the lace I have used is so fine and soft that it lacks any inherent structure. I shall have to look at how I can add more support and structure to that area. So far I have been thinking to add some wig springs (of the metal variety), but I am also looking into an alternative form of combs to the ones I have tried. I would not mind using combs if I could get them to grip my hair there. That is a big 'if', as up till now I have had no luck in that department due to a combination of a loss of density of my bio hair there and my hair being now very fine and slippery in texture. Ultimately, if I have to, then I will tape it down at that point, but of course I would rather not do this.

My next task is to sew the overlapping joins between the tulle and lace - I am already working on this. It means cutting the tulle down so that it fits just underneath the lace at the seam and then when I have done that, pulling the lace over the top and sewing the two down to create as smooth a line as possible on the top vertex.

One thing I have decided and learnt from the whole project - up to this point - is that I also want to try making a wig cap based PURELY on my measurements. That is to say, I will take a pattern of my front hairline, but aside from that I shall use the measurements to chart/mark out the pattern for the foundation on the wig block instead of using a mould. This is something that is instructed in all my wig making books, so at least I will have some plan to follow.

Another thing is that I may just go with the whole U-shaped vertex construction that you see on regular wigs - that is: a very fine (often a drawn through silk/French top) and then the sides and back (from crown to nape) being made with a more robust material (like the honeycomb tulle or stretch lace with wefts). I don't think I will do the drawn through option, but I might try doing honeycomb tulle everywhere except for the U-shaped vertex, which could be made from the fine lace. This might give the wig better stiffness at the sides, especially if combined with a metal spring.

I also - I know I am getting ahead of myself now, have it in my mind to try making a cap that does have a wefted back and sides, but sewn onto stretch lace in the manner of a sheitel (Jewish regular wig). Just to see how that works and turns out.

So many ideas and options... so little time and energy!

Progress

After my last post, I have made some more progress with the foundation. I have just posted a new video on You Tube talking about my issues - the stress situation - and showing how far I have come with the sewing of the galloon and lace etc.

So to further document the next stage I have completed:

I laid the honeycomb tulle down. Funnily enough, and again surprisingly, it took me ages to do this. I do think that laying lace and tulle is going to be a real area where practice makes perfect. I am sure that with time and repeating the exercise, I shall get quicker. I suppose one also gets to know one's head shape, so once you have darted and tucked it one time, if you are using similar materials the next time, you will probably be making darts and tucks in roughly the same places *assuming the foundation fits well the first time around*. The other thing about this is that, again, I found that after quite a while of struggling I gave up and then came back the next day and "boom" I did it very quickly. Perhaps the brain is assimilating information while I sleep?!

Sewing the darts in the tulle has now been completed. I experimented with polyester cotton in a fairly matching colour for the nape darts (they are quite big/thick due to my head shape). I am not so sure how I feel about the look of this thead though; it looks quite obvious to me compared to the effect achieved with transparent thread. This is not such a bad thing because the nape ones will be covered by hanging down hair. However the two upper darts that are around the crown area, I have sewn down with the transparent thread as I definitely did not want that bulky or possibly visible look up there. The thing is, with the tulle, I was wondering if it is better to sew with polyester cotton as the tulle itself seems to be made from something like cotton. I was thinking: will the transparent thread rub against the tulle and wear it down? I don't know! We shall see; time will tell. If it does, I can probably mend it. I suppose that is the advantage of doing it yourself - you can fix most things reasonably well.

I know I have probably said this before, but I definitely will... take some pictures of the canvas wig block so that I can post a few WIP (work in progress) shots.

A Stressful Week - Decisions

This week has been a bit stressful for me in terms of wig making.

The good news is that I have made progress with sewing the galloon and that is all done now. I am really pleased that I did finish that within the time frame I had given myself. I am making a real effort now to set myself mini targets and to stick to them as I know if I don't do this, I will never get anywhere with the wig making. For anyone else who is reading this and is thinking about having a go or who is already trying to teach themselves wig making, I would suggest that you do the same. Long term and short term targets are really valuable tools in motivating yourself. My short term target right now is to get this foundation (wig cap/base) finished. My mini goal is to finish sewing my first piece of lace down.

After I finished with the galloon, I started laying down my first piece of lace, which covers the: ear to ear, vertex and front hair line area. It took me a long while to do that; much longer than I anticipated. I think this was partly because I have the kind of head shape that requires some darts. I found it more challenging to lay down this lace than the tulle when I made the prototype. The area is slightly different because when I made the prototype I was constructing a circumference band type wig cap, whereas because I wanted to lessen the amount and appearance of galloon going over my vertex area, I decided to make the real wig cap with only one piece of galloon on the vertex, in addition to the perimeter galloon, and this piece goes over the crown area.

The key to laying lace is to get the front hairline as smooth and flat as possible. You don't want any bumps, lumps, ridges or wrinkles. Instead of stretching the lace to make it taut, you need to smooth it with your fingers and then pin in place. I found myself smooth and pinning, then smoothing and re-pinning as pinning in a new area kept creating undesireable wrinkling in other areas. I took the lace off several times and re-started. I think the key at the novice stage is:

• To have patience
• To not be afraid to re-start
• To take frequent breaks
• To come back again later if you can't do it and try again 

Sometimes it can be really hard to bear those things in mind; especially when you really want to get onto the next stage or just to finish something you had set your mind to doing. However, it is well worth taking the time to ensure that this bit is done correctly as it will make a big difference to the overall look and fit of the wig.

I thought I would have a couple of darts running from the galloon at the crown towards the front, however I ended up with one over each ear. When I made the tulle prototype, I believe I ended up with one over each ear and a couple on the top - so in a way, this may be better. The next step, which I have completed, was to sew the darts down. This helps to keep them smooth and flat.

After sewing the darts, I commenced sewing the lace onto the interior edge of the galloon. I have sewed two thirds of that and am just about to sew the last part (once I have finished writing this). I enjoy the sewing; it is quite therapeutic. I have been timing myself and I noticed I am definitely getting quicker the more I do it. I am hand sewing at the moment, but in the future I hope to try doing most or all of it on the sewing machine.

Once I have completed sewing the lace down, I can cut the excess off and start laying the next part down (the crown to nape).

Now onto the bad news...

I have had to make a decision over how to best ventilate the hair when I get to that stage. Several of my online friends and myself have wondered about the correct and optimum length of the returns (that is the piece of hair that is left and can stick out, sometimes called the mustache, when you make a knot with a hair strand). The wig making books that I have (I have 3), and that other people I know who are interested in wig making have, say one thing. Other people - on You Tube and at a wig making suppliers & a hair suppliers for example - were saying a variety of different things. I found this very confusing and completely overwhelming. Having so many different opinions stating this is how you should do it, makes it very difficult to judge which option or path to choose to go down. I started to feel like a cook who was in the middle of following a recipe and then had people saying: don't do that, it won't work out right, do this... The reality is that the length of the returns is important and a crucial part to get right of the whole wig or hair piece making process. Knowing that caused me to feel an intense amount of stress and pressure. No one wants to think they are going to expend all this effort and energy to get it wrong.

I have come to the conclusion that when you choose to attempt to make wigs, that canvas wig block, foundation and hair become your baby. To complete the task, a certain amount of dedication and enthusiasm is required and because most people who attempt to do it have great passion about what they are doing and want to achieve, it is hard not get really emotional about the whole process. For me, the learning curve continues. My lesson of the week has been to realise that I will make mistakes and to be prepared to pick myself up, dust myself down and try again.

Back After The Summer Break

Hi everyone!

I wasn't anticipating taking a summer break, but such is life - things got very busy for me and I just didn't have the time to devote to updating my You Tube channel or this blog. The good news is that I am now back and raring to go. I have already made a start by uploading a You Tube video and I am in the process of uploading another. I have been having a few problems with You Tube and Windows Live Movie Maker, so we shall see if it works or not. *Fingers crossed*

Over the summer I finished off a couple of wig making projects:

• Converting a full lace wig into a regular style wig
• My first wig repair

Converting the full lace wig into a "regular-style" wig - this was a project I started back in the early summer, in a bid to make some use of a wig that I actually never wear. The wig was wrongly sized for me and just would not work when I tried to bond it. When you add to this the fact I am not crazy on bonding anymore, you end up with a wig that sits in the closet. The sad fact of the matter was that: a. I had spent a lot of money on that wig and b. the hair quality was lovely. So I thought that it was about time I tried to make it functional for me.

To cut a long story short, the way I chose to embrace this task was to edge the entire wig with monofilament galloon. This gave the wig a little more rigidity and structure. As the wig was on the large side in some areas and flapping, I decided to add a piece of elastic to the nape, along with a couple of long wig springs. This means that the nape holds down really well. I also added a zig-zag wire wig comb to the nape (but I need to remove this or alter its position as it rubs my occipital bone). I also added a few snap combs which I experimented with using by clipping them to my stocking wig cap - I am not convinced about this! It does work, but getting them and the stocking wig cap in exactly the right place is tough...

So when I went to get this baby cut, it ended up being stuck down at the front... ugh, yes I know, I know... I said no bonding! But needs must - I had an appointment! I didn't actually bond the entire front, I instead bonded the very top front from not even temple to temple, but corner to corner of my horizontal hairline (going across the top of my face) with one large piece of Supertape on the roll. Then I used some bobby pins and wedged those into the sides and a couple over my ears - instead of gripping my hair (which doesn't work) they gripped my stocking wig cap. The back needed no bonding or bobby pins - now that was a result! I basically have something that is just beyond a lace front!

If I get myself into gear, I shall show some pictures of the inside of the cap. I have pictures of the wig before and some of it after it was cut into a new style.

My first wig repair - A friend of mine, who has alopecia and has to wear wigs full time, asked me to repair a wig for her. It's a really nice wig, has a bit of wear and tear to the cap, but totally serviceable, except for the fact that it was: balding. Now I always think that a wig that is balding is a big insult! As if it's not bad enough to be bald or balding, your wig is balding too!

I should establish a couple of facts here: 1. my friend was aware of my novice wig repairing/making status and 2. I made no promises that I would do a good job.

I set about turning this balding situation around.

There were a few things I found out about repairing - 

• The wig cap - mesh, lace, net, mono (whatever it is) should be examined prior to mending. I started mending, only to discover there were very tiny (I mean tiny) little disruptions - you can read: holes - to the lace/mononet. This meant that if one tried to ventilate there, they risked making the situation worse. I kept away from those areas and tried to ventilate so the hair would fall over them and thus, conceal them. They were literally 1 edge of a lace/net hole, but often there seemed to be several of them in the same area - as if the lace were failing slightly.
• Knots - always, always check the knots of the hair already ventilated onto the wig or hair piece before agreeing to repair it. I agreed to do it and started work before I realised that the hair on the rest of the wig was basically going to fall out pretty pronto, due to a total failure of most of the knots! I did speak to my friend about this - turns out there has been virtually no knot sealing and the use of ball-tipped pin-head brushes on the wig. I agreed to continue with the task, but in the future I would not attempt to repair anything with knots like that. It is a case of not being worthwhile for the client/friend or for the ventilator. 
• It takes a long time - if you are ventilating into completely bald or almost completely bald areas, no problem, as the area is essentially clear and free of hair just like a fresh piece of lace would be. If the person whose wig you are repairing wants you to add hair throughout areas where there is already hair, but it is a bit sparse, then be prepared to spend some time doing it. This is because working in that type of area is hard. You have to continually pin the hair back so that you can see the holes and not get your needle/hook tangled up in the hair that is already there. I did use a water spray as well. 

The outcome of repairing = the wig looks great, but would I do it again? Probably not! It took me far longer than expected. I was pleased with the result, but I also felt that it was one of those cases where sometimes it is perhaps better to start from scratch and make something new. 

Update: my own wig making - So my own wig making has taken a back seat whilst I got on with the repair and family life. I am getting back into it this week and shall be updating again with my progress and hopefully some pictures. The second video has finally uploaded, so here's where I am at now:

Got My Materials... and Converting Full Lace Wigs

Hi everyone!

Sorry for the delay in writing this. I have been so busy with life and wig making. First off, I have just uploaded a short video to You Tube, in which I show you the materials I received from the wig making company. To summarise:

• Monofilament Galloon in 1 cm and 0.7 cm widths
• Light Blonde Galloon in 1 cm and 0.5 cm widths
• Honeycomb Lace in Light Blonde
• Fine Lace (like very fine Swiss lace) - comes in flesh tone
• Stretch Lace (has honeycomb type holes - slightly different to some stretch I have seen) - also comes in flesh tone
• Transparent Thread

I also ended up separately buying a really large reel of blonde colour polyester thread as the one I have is just a regular cotton reel and I know I will probably run out of it at some inopportune moment. I also picked up a big pack of pins too as I find I am using a lot of these and sometimes they break or bend etc.

Here's the video:

I mention in the video that I have been converting a full lace wig into a non-bonded one. The reason for this is two-fold. Firstly, due to medical problems, the wig no longer fits me correctly for bonding. It means that bonding it is very difficult (more-so than normal) as the wig does not want to lay correctly to be adhered down and secondly, because of those medical problems I find bonding to be difficult because I do not really have the energy to keep my arms in the air for long periods of time on a regular basis. So, there I was with a 16 inch remy wig just lying in my closet waiting for something to happen. I actually really need a wig right now that works for me, as the hair I do have is very short and while I don't mind that, there are times when a girl just wants to have long hair. 

So far I have probably spent about half a day working on the wig. I am half-way though. I would say that the effect with this wig is almost like a glueless lace wig, except that the front is no longer lace straight to skin, instead it is monofilament galloon. I shall be ventilating a little more hair into the top middle, as I am parting the hair in the middle - a rarity for me! Parting the hair in the middle helps to make the density less noticeably "pouffy" on top (something that I am trying to get away from as I find it is unflattering on me). I shall also under-ventilate hair into the inside of the galloon as this will help to cover any edge. Once this is finished, I shall be getting it cut into a style and will put up a pic at some point of the finished product.

Anyway, before I started converting the full lace wig, I had finished the prototype cap and tried it on. It fitted me extremely well except for the nape. I think the nape didn't work so well because on my original head mould, I had not managed to cover the bottom inch or two of the back of my head to my nape, so when I put the pattern on the block, I ended up guessing how far my nape extended and so on. Taking this into account, I made a new mould of my head, put it on my block and stuffed it so that I could start making a proper wig cap to make my first wig with. I was mapping out the galloon structure (by default this step essentially creates a pattern for you to follow) and had started sewing the joins, corner darts and the gathers over the ears. Once I have finished the lace wig - by the end of this week - I shall be going back to doing that. I hope to take some pictures so to illustrate what I am talking about. 

Another Double Post! Wig Making Supplies - Foundation Bases and Galloon

Yes, I finally ordered my base materials and galloon. It took me long enough!

When I think back to starting this journey in September 2010, it seems to have been a lengthy process to even get to this point. One of the big factors for me has been finances. Proper wig making is not cheap! Initially one of my reasons for wanting to make my own hair pieces and wigs was because I felt that I could get a good quality and better fitting product by making it myself for a lot less cost than if I bought one from a sheitel macher (Jewish wig maker) or other custom wig maker. The reality is somewhat different.

Of course the actual monetary cost of the equipment and consumable products such as the hair, the foundation materials and the galloon is less than you would pay for a fully customised, fully hand tied, good quality human hair wig. However, there is a value to one's time and by not taking into account the man-power hours it will have taken me to make the finished product, I am not accounting for some of the wig's value. Part of the cost of this type of wig is the hours spent making the cap, fitting it properly and then ventilating the hair. Certainly at my novice level the number of hours taken to make a wig will be significantly more than a seasoned professional. For me, this is not such an issue, as I have finished my studies and some of my freelance work has tailed off for the summer, however, for other people I can see that the spare time needed would be really hard to come by if working and perhaps raising a family. For a lot of people, I guess it really would be easier and more cost-effective to purchase a wig.

Coming back to the cost - so, yes, the cost was a big factor and is one of the reasons it has taken me some time to get to this point in the learning process. I took from September 2010 through till May 2011 to save up the 'spare' money to be able to invest in these products. I am glad I waited and did not put the purchases on a credit card, as by waiting I have actually learnt a lot more as I have spent the time doing research, watching other people's videos on YouTube and also getting hold of books.

Ordering the foundation materials felt very good; as if I have finally reached a significant point and am not just dreaming of an abstract concept. I must say, I really advocate bothering to order, and possibly having to pay for, samples of the nets and meshes if you are planning on making anything other than a full lace wig. The reason I say this is because wig making suppliers tend to assume a level of knowledge that in a novice is just not there. Their descriptions of products are generally very vague; as are the colours they refer to with the laces and other foundation materials. If I had ordered these products based on their descriptions alone, I would definitely have ended up with either the wrong products or, perhaps a better way of putting it, laces and other base materials that were not optimal/the best for my personal needs and situation. By ordering the samples, even though it cost me a lot of money to do so, I ended up being able to really look at, feel, and place against my skin the different options available. Some of them I immediately could see were unsuitable for my needs at this time and others were not a good colour match or were completely different to how I had imagined.

Now I just have to wait for the order to be delivered. I think it will probably come sometime in the early part of next week. I shall share what I receive on this blog. In the meantime, I continue to work on my prototype wig foundation cap - I will be taking more pictures as I go along and will post another update on here soon.

My Latest YouTube Video - Showing the progress with the prototype

Prototype Time - Experimenting With Making A Regular Wig Cap

As I said in my last blog post, I started trying to make a regular-style wig foundation. I am in the process of attempting this at the moment. I have taken some pictures to share in case anyone wants to understand the process. N.B. This is just for practice and a bit like a prototype. I don't want to waste expensive wig foundation materials at this stage in case it goes wrong.

I have outlined my hairline on the wig block using ribbon and then sectioned off a couple more areas, as I will be making each area out of a piece of tulle (when making a real wig cap this would be foundation material such as lace).

Once I did this, I then started by attaching a piece of tulle (when making a real wig cap this would be foundation material such as lace). To do this, I used pins and I made four darts (tucks) where there was excess material. Depending on the base material used, you will probably end up doing this at some point because the material is flat and the head is curved.

Having pinned the material to the head successfully, I then took invisible thread (something like clear monofilament thread) and sewed each dart down its long edge so that it was flat and neat.

I then took blonde coloured polyester thread and sewed around the inner edge of the ribbon to secure the tulle to the ribbon.

I then repeated the process by attaching a fresh piece of tulle to the vertex, although this time I did not need to put in any darts. I then hand sewed around the inner edge to attach the tulle to the ribbon.

The next step is to cut the excess tulle where the two pieces meet and to create a seam between the two and sew them together onto the ribbon to create a neat join.  

Double Post Today - Finished The Top and Ordered Samples

This is my second post today as I answered a query about wig springs in my first, which you can find here:

http://makingwigs.blogspot.com/2011/06/wig-springs.html

I finally finished my practice top piece, which would constitute the area of a topper or a large closure or the top of a wig. I am quite pleased with it as I feel that I achieved the flow of the corners  and the crown hair falling down the back, which is why I wanted to make this - to learn how to do that. Here is the finished item:

I have now finished with the styrofoam head and moved onto using the canvas wig block. The other day I covered most of it in blue tape. If you want to know about this tape, you can read about it here: http://makingwigs.blogspot.com/2011/05/beginning-what-you-need-to-get-started.html

Bizarrely, I found covering the canvas wig head with the tape to be quite difficult as the head is rounded and the tape is straight and it's hard to cover it without making 'bubbles' and 'pleats' in it. In the end, I made a few slits in the tape where it wanted to make a pleat and this seemed to help to avoid lots of bumping.

The finished product - this photo shows the front; the back has the blue tape extending down the entire length of it.

My next project is to make more of a regular-style wig cap (foundation). To do this you need galloon, which I don't have yet. So I am utilising some ribbon that I have in my sewing supplies and which I will not be using for anything else. I prefer to use things up that I already have as I am only learning and I would rather not waste good money on things I end up chucking away. At some point, I will post a new entry about the process of making a regular-style wig cap. I am trying to take photos as I go along so that it is helpful to others who may wish to have a go at making something similar.

In the meantime, I managed to order my set of samples from another wig making supplies company; these samples are all types of foundation materials and ribbons. Ordering them has cost me quite a bit of money, as I have to pay to get them from abroad, but it is a necessary step and expense. If I was going to make a lace wig - full or lace front, I would only need lace. However, because I want to make a regular-style wig that is fully hand tied, I need to see what other materials are available so that I can design a custom wig cap that will suit me and my needs.