I haven't posted for a while because I have been so busy! I am currently working on 3 projects and will post pictures when I get a chance. I have been ventilating until 2 a.m. some nights, although to be fair, I don't start until late morning.
Showing posts with label update. Show all posts
Showing posts with label update. Show all posts
Wednesday, 19 June 2013
Monday, 14 January 2013
Wig Making Progress Pictures
As promised, here are the pictures I took with my digital camera the other day. It is so hard to get good light for photo taking at the moment, as Britain is enveloped in a continual grey fog. Using the flash when photographing wigs and hair is not the best option really as it creates a false sense of colour and shine. Anyway, I took these photos of the 3/4 finished wig on a brighter day than today - it is snowing at the moment, so no hope of taking any nice sunny pictures today! - and they have come out fairly representative. I have tried to take some pictures of the ventilation/knots close up so that anyone interested in that can see - it's amazing how the lace looks a lot whiter and bigger once you zoom in, than it does in person.
I am really pleased with my progress, although it has taken me ages and I do feel a bit like a snail or tortoise, as one friend has pointed out to me in the past: 'the tortoise wins the race' - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tortoise_and_the_Hare - and I would like to think that she's right.
I am not sure if I am being optimistic, but I am pressing on with this project and hoping that once it is finished I will have broken through my 'first wig' barrier. It does feel a bit like a barrier, because you have to motivate yourself to keep going, and only you can motivate yourself; no one else in my family is particularly interested in wig making and/or whether I actually ever finish this wig. Plus I have noticed that ventilating large chunks of a wig is quite laborious and time consuming. Therefore, I am always keeping the end product in my mind while doing it and I set myself mini-challenges, such as: finish up to 'here' by a certain time. That does seem to help. I feel like my own coach/personal wig trainer.
Hopefully (and here's the optimism again), I will have picked up the impetus and increased my speed by the time I start my next project. More about that when the time comes!
Lastly, I have decided I am unlikely to wear this wig, even if it does fit me well, as the hair is so poor I feel it will just be tangly and horrible after about 1 hour on my head. Maybe I will wear it, just to try the cap style on, but the problem is I can also already see things wrong with it and that bothers me. I plan to review those things (to remind me as much as show anyone reading this) when the wig is finished. As such, I am intending to use this wig as a wig to experiment with cutting and styling. If I do it wrong, I won't be crying about it! I know one thing I really want to do with it - pin curl it and then do a half up, half down style. I may also cut a side bang into it too... hmmm exciting... Okay, so I really must finish it now or I will never get to try all these things out!
I am really pleased with my progress, although it has taken me ages and I do feel a bit like a snail or tortoise, as one friend has pointed out to me in the past: 'the tortoise wins the race' - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tortoise_and_the_Hare - and I would like to think that she's right.
I am not sure if I am being optimistic, but I am pressing on with this project and hoping that once it is finished I will have broken through my 'first wig' barrier. It does feel a bit like a barrier, because you have to motivate yourself to keep going, and only you can motivate yourself; no one else in my family is particularly interested in wig making and/or whether I actually ever finish this wig. Plus I have noticed that ventilating large chunks of a wig is quite laborious and time consuming. Therefore, I am always keeping the end product in my mind while doing it and I set myself mini-challenges, such as: finish up to 'here' by a certain time. That does seem to help. I feel like my own coach/personal wig trainer.
Hopefully (and here's the optimism again), I will have picked up the impetus and increased my speed by the time I start my next project. More about that when the time comes!
Lastly, I have decided I am unlikely to wear this wig, even if it does fit me well, as the hair is so poor I feel it will just be tangly and horrible after about 1 hour on my head. Maybe I will wear it, just to try the cap style on, but the problem is I can also already see things wrong with it and that bothers me. I plan to review those things (to remind me as much as show anyone reading this) when the wig is finished. As such, I am intending to use this wig as a wig to experiment with cutting and styling. If I do it wrong, I won't be crying about it! I know one thing I really want to do with it - pin curl it and then do a half up, half down style. I may also cut a side bang into it too... hmmm exciting... Okay, so I really must finish it now or I will never get to try all these things out!
Friday, 4 January 2013
Facing the Last Stretch
Happy New Year!
As promised, pics...
I will get out the digicam tomorrow to take better pics in daylight.
I am facing the last stretch. I can't wait to get this wig done! I want to move on to new projects. I already have several ideas to pursue. The good thing about this wig is the massive learning curve. Being that wig making is so practical, you really can only learn through doing it... Just reading about it by itself is not going to work.
Trying, making mistakes, changing things around, improving aspects of a design, and really learning what you wouldn't do again and what you would do again are extremely valuable lessons I am glad to be learning.
As promised, pics...
I will get out the digicam tomorrow to take better pics in daylight.
I am facing the last stretch. I can't wait to get this wig done! I want to move on to new projects. I already have several ideas to pursue. The good thing about this wig is the massive learning curve. Being that wig making is so practical, you really can only learn through doing it... Just reading about it by itself is not going to work.
Trying, making mistakes, changing things around, improving aspects of a design, and really learning what you wouldn't do again and what you would do again are extremely valuable lessons I am glad to be learning.
Monday, 5 November 2012
Hiatus
Hi to anyone who has been following my journey...
I am still around!
Quietly and in the background. For those people who used to watch my YouTube channel, I decided to give that a break... not saying I won't do videos again, but I have shifted my focus from working directly with people with alopecia towards looking after myself and my own interests. For a long time, I have put all my effort into helping other people who needed alopecia, wig, hair piece and coping advice, but it got to the point where I just needed to shift that focus. I no longer run a community or make major contributions to any alopecia sites and I also closed the Donation Service that I was running.
The good news it that by making these changes, I now have time and a little energy to do other things.
I am still making minor contributions to the alopecia and hair loss community - I continue to do advocacy work with the general public; I will always try to answer any questions that people email me; and I sometimes contribute to forums if I feel I have a comment worth making, but these activities are not my main raison d'être.
My challenge now is to update this blog with some pictures of where I am at... and I will do this shortly.
I continue to pursue my wig making. Yes, it has not gone as fast as I hoped... but I am getting there slowly. I feel I have learnt so much from this process and to be honest, when I look back at my first posts on this blog, I can truly see that progress. I think that when you are a craftsman or an artist... or trying to become a skilled at something... learning the skills and being creative naturally evolves over time and sometimes this intuitive learning process cannot be rushed. I can see things I did at the beginning of making the wig I am working on, that I now know I could have done better or differently. I have more confidence in my own abilities... so I won't give up... I just keep plodding on. I already have a lot of ideas for other wig making projects I want to work on in the future, so keep your eyes peeled!
I am still around!
Quietly and in the background. For those people who used to watch my YouTube channel, I decided to give that a break... not saying I won't do videos again, but I have shifted my focus from working directly with people with alopecia towards looking after myself and my own interests. For a long time, I have put all my effort into helping other people who needed alopecia, wig, hair piece and coping advice, but it got to the point where I just needed to shift that focus. I no longer run a community or make major contributions to any alopecia sites and I also closed the Donation Service that I was running.
The good news it that by making these changes, I now have time and a little energy to do other things.
I am still making minor contributions to the alopecia and hair loss community - I continue to do advocacy work with the general public; I will always try to answer any questions that people email me; and I sometimes contribute to forums if I feel I have a comment worth making, but these activities are not my main raison d'être.
My challenge now is to update this blog with some pictures of where I am at... and I will do this shortly.
I continue to pursue my wig making. Yes, it has not gone as fast as I hoped... but I am getting there slowly. I feel I have learnt so much from this process and to be honest, when I look back at my first posts on this blog, I can truly see that progress. I think that when you are a craftsman or an artist... or trying to become a skilled at something... learning the skills and being creative naturally evolves over time and sometimes this intuitive learning process cannot be rushed. I can see things I did at the beginning of making the wig I am working on, that I now know I could have done better or differently. I have more confidence in my own abilities... so I won't give up... I just keep plodding on. I already have a lot of ideas for other wig making projects I want to work on in the future, so keep your eyes peeled!
Tuesday, 22 May 2012
New Pictures
I wanted to show my progress...
To...
I have realised a couple of things about this wig construction:
1. It would have been better if I had made the lace deeper and placed the monofilament galloon back further - this would help me to disguise the galloon easier. It would also mean I could start the crown further back on the head than I will be doing on this wig.
2. Having the extended nape adds more hair to the bulk density when you look at the wig. In future I would not opt to do this again unless I absolutely wanted to wear my hair up for a certain style/event.
3. Ventilating long hair takes a longer time than ventilating short hair due to pulling the hairs through the knot.
To...
I have realised a couple of things about this wig construction:
1. It would have been better if I had made the lace deeper and placed the monofilament galloon back further - this would help me to disguise the galloon easier. It would also mean I could start the crown further back on the head than I will be doing on this wig.
2. Having the extended nape adds more hair to the bulk density when you look at the wig. In future I would not opt to do this again unless I absolutely wanted to wear my hair up for a certain style/event.
3. Ventilating long hair takes a longer time than ventilating short hair due to pulling the hairs through the knot.
Monday, 14 May 2012
How to get started in Wig Making (and an update)
I had a comment to my last post by Biodagar asking:
First off...
http:// makingwigs.blogspot.co.uk/2011_06_01_archive.html. - you will get a general idea of what you need to start to do
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.
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_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.
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.
Thursday, 26 April 2012
Update Pictures
Finally I have time to do this and post. Things in my life have been very busy and somewhat difficult/challenging, so I don't really have much time to do my usual work. Anyway, I have spent the past couple of weeks trying to get an hour of ventilation done 5 days a week. I have really gotten back into the swing of things. I want to get this thing finished! It feels as if it is never ending - having a big head and making an extended nape doesn't help for sure.
Here's the wig:
Here's the wig:
And the hair...
As I have said before, the hair is not the best. It's really bad hair in my opinion; highly processed and loads of different hair textures (some are horrible and I try to throw before ventilating if I see them). However, it is serving it's purpose of giving me something non-precious to ventilate with for practicing. The hair type is 'pouffy' in that it looks more than it is. When I braid the hair that I have already ventilated, it's not as thick as you would imagine from looking at it hanging down like that.
Moving forward...
I am going to continue ventilating as I am already doing and then when I have ventilated over the the top galloon, where the honeycomb tulle finishes, I will then start ventilating 1 hair per hole.
There is one patch at the bottom right hand where there is not enough hair ventilated and when I have finished doing the current section, I will go back and add some more to that before I move onto doing the vertex and sides.
I also need to buy some metal springs as I don't like the plastic ones I have and I want to add some to make ear tabs.
Sunday, 18 March 2012
I'm Back
Sorry for the silence. Things have been really busy at home and I haven't been overly well for a while.
Anyway, I have been doing some wig making, but not much. I did finish the challenge and got up to my markers. I am now moving beyond that. I will take some update photos and post them to show y'all.
Anyway, I have been doing some wig making, but not much. I did finish the challenge and got up to my markers. I am now moving beyond that. I will take some update photos and post them to show y'all.
Sunday, 5 February 2012
Snow... & Wig Making
Overnight we had 6 inches of snow. Mmm... leading to pics like this...
Don't worry, I picked the snow balls off her and dried her by the fire and she's back to normal now!
So days like this...
Are great for doing this...
I am getting there... slowly, but surely!
Sunday, 29 January 2012
Progress in Pictures
Last time I posted, I was at this stage:
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.
Monday, 16 January 2012
A Quick Update
I have to admit to having had a few rest days recently. For a while there, I was going for gold and doing some work each day on the ventilation. However, I caught some 'bug' or fluey cold thing and eventually had to just take a proper time out to recuperate.
The good news is that I am slowly on the mend. Unfortunately - due to medical reasons - I tend to take a while longer to shake viruses off than the average person. So finally today, I picked my needle up again and indulged in a little knotting action.
I am hoping tomorrow to get down to it properly and put a few hours of hard work into it. I shall take another set of updated pics because I will have progressed to working on the honeycomb tulle - by itself - section and will be figuring out density.
During my down-time, I have continued to experiment with styling techniques. I did a whole tutorial on Wigs and Head Covers on how to do pin curls on a wig. I acutally used the section of hair I have added on the wig I am making as my demo wig hair - it was useful as not too much hair to lose clarity for close up pictures of what I was doing. So I had a go at doing them on a shorter wig. I realised that I prefer the effect on longer wigs - so hair that is approximately 12 inches or longer. I don't really like the way they come out on shorter wigs as you don't get enough 'repeat' of the curl or wave.
Here's a few pics of my experiments with shorter hair...
I prefer the end result on longer hair - this was showing half a section done, and I had only left it for about 2 hours to set (normally I would leave it overnight):
The good thing about pin curls is that I don't need to use any heat to do them. For me, learning to style wigs is equally as interesting as learning to make them. I am very much a person who enjoys working with hair - no matter what... so I guess I will be doing more of these experiments in the future!
The good news is that I am slowly on the mend. Unfortunately - due to medical reasons - I tend to take a while longer to shake viruses off than the average person. So finally today, I picked my needle up again and indulged in a little knotting action.
I am hoping tomorrow to get down to it properly and put a few hours of hard work into it. I shall take another set of updated pics because I will have progressed to working on the honeycomb tulle - by itself - section and will be figuring out density.
During my down-time, I have continued to experiment with styling techniques. I did a whole tutorial on Wigs and Head Covers on how to do pin curls on a wig. I acutally used the section of hair I have added on the wig I am making as my demo wig hair - it was useful as not too much hair to lose clarity for close up pictures of what I was doing. So I had a go at doing them on a shorter wig. I realised that I prefer the effect on longer wigs - so hair that is approximately 12 inches or longer. I don't really like the way they come out on shorter wigs as you don't get enough 'repeat' of the curl or wave.
Here's a few pics of my experiments with shorter hair...
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