Ventilation - The Art of Knotting Hair

I have had a couple of queries regarding how to learn to ventilate and/or comments from people who remarked that they were struggling to ventilate, so I thought I would post a little help here.

Ventilation is a difficult process to describe accurately solely by words, so I thought I would post the video that I found most helpful when I was learning:

Tips:

1. Get a large piece of tulle or wig net instead of lace, a ventilating needle & holder and some hair. Pin a piece of the tulle or wig net to your block SECURELY. Ricky doesn't have his pinned very securely, but then he is a professional so he can get away with this, but if you are learning and your tulle/net is flapping, it makes it just that bit harder as you don't know - at this stage - how to compensate for it.
2. Practice catching one hair in the needle. It is much easier to learn to ventilate if you focus on one hair.
3. It's all about the tension! - The way that a knot is formed relies very heavily on the wig maker having the correct tensions between the hair that is held in a loop in one hand and the needle that has caught the hair and is pulling it through in the other hand... if the tension on the needle is not strong enough, you will struggle and end up losing the hair out of the needle.
4. Don't pull too much! If you pull the hair strand hooked on the needle too far away from the loop in your other hand you will struggle to maintain the correct tension. Keep it small and neat. You need enough hair pulled through but not too much that it becomes loose and falls off the hook. 

Once you have mastered ventilating several rows of single strand hair, you can then progress onto using a piece of lace (which has smaller holes) and practice some rows on there. 

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.

Guest Post: How to make baby hair look finer and more natural on a wig or hair piece

My good friend, Melanie, who hosts a Brazilian Portuguese alopecia and wig blog: www.vidaderapunzel.wordpress.com, agreed to write a guest blog post for my blog. You can find her blog post below. Incidentally, if you are in Brazil and looking to buy a lace wig or hair piece, check out Melanie's blog, as she also sells them and sometimes bonding products such as adhesive and scalp protector. You can contact her via her email: vidaderapunzel@hotmail.com

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Baby Hair

I've been sort of obsessed with baby hair over the past month or so. I often catch myself looking at other people's heads and noticing the baby hair around the front and back of their hairlines. Yeah, weird, I know, but to all wig wearers that's just sort of normal. We want to know if our wigs are passable as normal, growing human hair.

One of the problems I've had with my wigs is unnatural looking baby hair, especially on cheap Chinese-made lace wigs. With some help from Mr. Google and some wig/hair forums I found a rather unexpected method which promised natural looking flimsy baby hair.

How to make baby hair look flimsy:

Products needed:
Wig with unnatural baby hair
A little bit of Nair (Yeah, that cream used to remove body hair!)
Sink, running water, mild moisturizing shampoo.

Instructions:

• Turn the tap on and make sure the water is running warm.
• Apply a little bit of Nair to the tips of the baby hair. Don't apply it too near the roots or it will weaken the hair too much.

Nair - applied and processing

• Count 20-30 seconds (I let it stay on for 30 seconds as I was dealing with very thick Chinese hair). Immediately rinse all the Nair off, and just to be sure it's all out, wash the baby hair with mild moisturizing shampoo. Let it air dry.
• Tah dah! Your baby hair will be a lot finer and more flimsy, much like naturally growing baby hair. 

Here's some pictures to demonstrate this technique...

Before

After

Comparison of Before and After

Where to buy supplies...

One of the most frequently asked questions I get is where to buy wig making supplies if living in the UK.

There are two main places that spring to mind:

Banbury Postiche - http://www.banburypostiche.co.uk
Hugo Royer - http://www.royer.co.uk/main.php

Both of these companies are located in the UK. As well as selling lace/tulle, galloon, needles, holders and blocks, they supply virgin European human hair. As far as I am aware, both companies can colour/texture match, which is particularly useful for making hair pieces that need to blend properly with the wearer's bio hair.

Banbury Postiche will sell you hair to practice with, but I personally have saved money by using old processed wig hair - Asian/Indian origin. If you have an old human hair wig that you do not want anymore, or some old wefts or just raw hair - you might as well use those rather than buy hair specially to practice making a piece or wig with.

If you are just getting started, you may also want to check out my first blog posts for tips on how to save money when learning and seeing whether you actually like wig making/have an aptitude for it. No point spending lots of money if you eventually find you do not enjoy making wigs or do not have the time.

You can definitely get away with a polystyrene head for purely learning ventilation, a needle holder, some needles and practice hair. You would not be spending more than maybe 20 to 30 pounds.

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.

The Wooden Wig Cradle & An Alternative! Plus, needle safety...

A few posts ago, when I was talking about ventilating position, I mentioned the wig cradle. It is made from wood and looks like this:

For those of you who are interested, it can be purchased from the wig making supplier, Banbury Postiche: http://www.banburypostiche.co.uk/shop/home/C-264.aspx
They are located in the UK and do ship abroad, although you may need to email them for a shipping quote due to the bulkiness of the item.

For those of you who do not want to purchase one or, as in my case, do not have the funds to spend on one (I need to save the money for other things!), I have come up with a pseudo wig cradle idea....

I use a stiff cardboard box! I have two of differing sizes; both of which were originally packaging boxes for items I had bought from stores. They are stiff sided (corrugated cardboard perhaps?), which helps to keep the wig block stable and the box rigid.

Block face down - so I can work the back and crown

Block standing up - suitable for working on a hard surface like a desk or table when ventilating the top/vertex

Block on the side - so I can ventilate at this angle

I also have another box like this that is a little narrower. Of course, if I wanted to, I could cut the V shapes into the ends, but I find that the block rests okay in the box as it is and does not move around. I then use the box on my lap (sometimes raising the height if necessary by putting a cushion under it). I don't always use it, but I found it particularly helpful for ventilating the first few inches of the nape. It is also useful to safely store your ventilating needle, comb and scissors should you be called away from your work (e.g. if the phone rings). On that note...

Ventilating needles are quite dangerous as they have a catchy hook in them, which is designed to catch the hair in so that you can knot it. Unlike a crochet hook, which has a rounded end to the catchy part of the hook, a ventilating needle is quite sharp. It can catch soft furnishings, clothes and skin. I am always really conscious of this around pets and small children. One aspect I had not thought about at first was how dangerous this needle/hook can be around eyes! It would be lethal if the needle got stuck in someone's eye as removing the catchy part of it (which gets stuck in things) would cause untold damage. For that reason I urge anyone reading this who is thinking of ventilating or already ventilates wigs to please be very careful with the needles. Wearing glasses is a good way of protecting your own eyes, but remember the eyes of pets and children and other people around you.

Progress in Pictures

Last time I posted, I was at this stage:



Here is my latest update on wig making progress...

I am continuing to keep the density light and will progress to light-medium by the time I am an inch or two below the crown. I am pleased thus far! P.S. I just realised I did not take the picture of the "alternative wig cradle" as I had promised to do in my last post... so I will definitely go do that and will add it tomorrow.

Dark Hair Contrasting Against Wig Block - Thoughts...

I watch Jamesgirl37 on YouTube, if you haven't seen her channel, then check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/user/jamesgirl37

Anyway, she was talking about using white paper or tissue (or something white) on the block to get a better contrast between dark hair, lace and the block when ventilating. Everyone has always seemed to favour using blue tape. I do find blue tape quite good - especially useful for creating patterns, markings and instructions on the block, which you can remove easily once you are done (as you peel the tape off and just reapply some new to re-cover it). So Jamesgirl's got me thinking about whether I will try using something else... I have cream masking tape, which I could try. I have used paper before, but I find it does not work well for a wig - it's fine for toppers, closures or just practising in small areas. I do sometimes find it hard to see the knots, but I think this is more related to when I have insufficient light. As soon as I aim a bright beam of light onto my work, my eyes seem to see a lot clearer. Anyway, if I do experiement, I will be sure to document it.

Later today, I shall take a picture of an alternative wig cradle solution - to save money - that I have been using and will post that next time I write here.

New Pictures... Finished the Nape

Here's some pictures to update the blog - I have finished the extened nape. I will perhaps add more hair to the edge (where the galloon is - to conceal it more effectively) and at the end of making the wig, I will ventilate a couple of rows to the inside to help conceal the edges. Sorry they are not the best quality - I shot them with my phone and the lighting was not the best! I think you can get a better idea of density from these versus the braided shots of the post before. There's not as much hair as one might think!

I am now working on the mid-section where I have the wide galloon. In this area, I have lace overlapping tulle, so it's quite hard work ventilating it. The lace holes are on top and small, so I am ventilating into that rather than aiming for the tulle. I hope to finish this section in the next couple of days and then move onto ventilating into the tulle by itself.

Lastly, and for fun, I set the hair I have ventilated into pin curls - they came out well. After I defined some of the frizzier ones a little better:

Ventilating - Step 1 ~ The Extended Nape

The past couple of weeks have seen me finally getting time to set to and start ventilating. It's great - I really enjoy it and I find it very relaxing. However, let's be frank for a moment... Boy oh boy does it take a long time! I know I am not 'up to speed' yet; I can feel each time I pick up that needle holder, that I am getting into the process and the rhythm quicker than the time before, which is progress.

As one would normally ventilate a wig from the nape upwards, I have been focusing on the extended nape to begin with. Admittedly, it will take me longer to ventilate this wig than if I were making one without an extended nape, as that extension is a good deal more hair to add than if it were not there. This is compounded by the fact that the lace I used in that area is very fine (lots of tiny holes). It would be easy to add way too much hair there! As I do not want to end up looking like Cousin Itt: http://tinyurl.com/7qw6j6o, I decided to go light on the ventilation. I would say the first inch is probably what most people would term light density and the rest is very light. I am realising that I truly am a less is more hair wearer. The pictures I am showing are from a little while ago, as I have actually now finished this section (and will post more up-to-date pics shortly). So what you see is the more densely ventilated area at the bottom, starting to lighten out towards where the honeycomb lace starts.

I have plaited/braided the hair to keep it out of the way while working. At this stage it seems easier to plait/braid it, than to try and use clips, which get in the way as I have not worked a large section. When I take the next round of pictures, I will be sure to photograph the hair loose, so you can get an idea of the amount that has been used.

To be honest, I do think that at this stage there is a real art to getting density right. It is hard to judge! I have been trying to think about my own hair and how that looked before I had any hair loss. The hair I am using is not good hair - it is processed and a mixture of strands, it is naturally wavy and I know it would be really easy to put too much in, as my own hair strands have always been finer than this. So... with that in mind, I am trying to achieve coverage (of the foundation) without over-dense ventilation. I keep reminding myself that this whole process is me learning and mistakes are allowable.

A tip - if you are ventilating a lot, find a movie or some music (or something!) that you can listen to. I really think it helps to keep a rhythmn and to just get into the zone. I have been ventilating to DVDs, the radio, tv shows. I even ventilated to all 3 Lord of the Rings movies - strangely inspiring and motivating seeing as so many of the characters on there are wearing lace front or full lace wigs!

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.

The Beginning – What You Need To Get Started

I first started practising by just doing random knots on a small piece of tulle. The basic materials you need to get started at this stage are:

A styrofoam head - You can get one of these for around $4 in the US or upwards of £7 in the UK. Good places to get them: on ebay, Amazon or from beauty supplies stores and wig shops.

A ventilating needle – There are two types of needle: German and Korean. I have the German needle in sizes 2 and 1. I actually recently broke the #2 needle by dropping it on the floor (which crushed the hook part, rendering it unusable). However, the reason I started with the German style needle is because it was recommended to me. I am hoping to buy some Korean needles to try sometime. I think that which type you choose comes down to personal preference. The difference seems to be mainly in the shape of the “hook” part – on the German needle it is like a number 7; on a Korean needle it is like a J. The number relates to the amount of hair that the hook picks up.

A ventilating needle holder - You can get these with handles made from brass, wood or plastic. The cheapest is plastic. I like my plastic one, although I wouldn't mind trying the wooden one. I am not a fan of brass as I do not like the smell of the metal on my hands. I also think that a brass one would be rather heavy compared to the plastic or wood. 

Blue paper or Scotch-Blue Painters Tape – Either will do, but the paper is cheaper in the UK. For some reason the tape is expensive over here. You need one of these options to put on top of your styrofoam head so that you can see your lace, tulle, mesh or mono without straining your eyes. I prefer lighter coloured blue as it creates more of a contrast.

Light – A good lamp for working in low-light conditions is a necessity. In the daytime in the spring and summer, if you have a bright, sunny room then you can work without supplemental light. However, if you want to work in the evening or during the autumn and winter then you will need a bright light. There are so many different kinds and I shall be doing another separate blog post about them later, however, the cheapest option you can usually find is a desk type lamp which allows you to angle to 'neck' of it to illuminate the part you are working on.

Hair – You can use 'old' hair or buy some cheap wefted human hair from an online store or beauty supplier. I use 'old' hair that I cut from the wefts of a processed human hair wig that I no longer want. If you can do this, it is a good way to save some money. There is definitely no need to buy bulk or expensive hair at this stage as you are just practising and won't be wearing what you are making.

Scissors & Pins – Most people have these items already, but if you don't then you will need a small pair of embroidery scissors and some pins such as ball head pins or t-pins. If you have a pair of nail scissors, you can use them instead of buying embroidery ones. You will also need a larger pair, such as fabric scissors, for cutting your tulle or net. However, again if you have regular scissors that you use to cut things like wrapping paper, they will suffice at this stage.

Tulle or Net – I bought some white tulle from a local sewing shop; it does not cost much at all. I was also given some by a friend in a different colour. The tulle/net comes in different patterns. I have both diamond and honeycomb shaped tulle; either will do, but honeycomb shapes are more consistent with the Swiss, French and German lace that you will be using later if you decide to make a proper wig or hair piece. Please note, you can only use this type of net for practising on as it is quite fragile and will easily rip and tear if you are rough with it. For example, I have stuck T-pins into it and they have become stuck and ripped. If you are just starting out and already have some small offcuts from full lace wigs or lace front wigs, you can also use those to practice a few knots on.

If you search for wig making supplies on Google, you will find the wig making supplies companies for your area. In the UK there is one main one and there are a couple in Europe. In the US there are couple that have a big online presence, as well as lots of theatre and stage make-up supplies companies that sell small selections of wig making products.

Optional – You can buy a plastic clamp to secure the wig head to a table or other surface. I have one, but I don't use it for wig making; I prefer to use the styrofoam head on my lap, as I usually sit on a comfy seat.

It is a good idea to get your eyes tested before you engage in this type of close up work. Some people find that using a magnifier or magnifying lamp is helpful as it not only helps you to see better, but also can ease/prevent eye strain.

There is more equipment that you will need to buy later if you wish to make an actual wig. I will list other items in another post.