Wefting Hair

Hair Extensions

I made two large hair extension pieces and two smaller extension pieces to add to my models hair, this was to add volume and length to her hair which would finally cover the wire frame. Previous to making I had taken measurements of her head and where I needed the extensions to sit so that I knew the extensions and hair frame would fit.

Here is one of the extensions before attaching clips. I bought some brown hair extension clips that will be sewn onto the weft in order to attach to the models own hair. The hair is relitively thin however this is what I wanted to create so I am happy that the extensions will be fit for purpose. I did a colour match test on my model already so again I know that the amount of each colour I have weaved is a good colour match. Unlike the feathers I did not weft the hair on wire because I need the extensions to be moveable and they must be comfortable in the models hair.

I began with a three string fly weft, this was the most suitable weaving knot to use for these extensions because I wanted them to be relitively thin so that they would blend into my models hair and you would not see a clear step in the hair. I finished the extensions with a three string finishing knot which completely secures the weft.

Here I am going to cut the bulk of hair in two between the two rubber bands, I will then take some of this hair and lay it in the drawing matt to help hold the hair whilst weaving so it allows me to pick strands from the bulk hair easily and quickly.

Here is the hair that I ordered, the packs are of very long synthetic hair. Although I do need the hair to be long to incorporate into and exceed my models hair length in order to cover the whole length of the frame it was enough hair for me to cut the length in half and have two bulks of hair out of one pack.

Here is my weaving set up, the sticks and clamps are positioned shoulder width apart. The table is where my drawing mat will sit. The silks are all set up and tied to a nail in the weaving stick on the left.

Here are the pieces of paper holding the weaving silks around the weaving stick. The reason I used these particular weaving silks is because I had tested using transparent thread for both the extensions and feathers but I just much preferred the sturdiness of these weaving silks instead.

To make the hair extensions I used three pieces of weaving silks therefore I made three pieces of paper with slits in the side to hold the silks around the weaving sticks.

When weaving with weaving silks it is easier to control the wefts when small pieces of paper are tied to the end of the string.

Wefting Feathers (Block Colour)

Here all the colours have been weaved onto the silks and wire with three silk fly weft knot. You can see the colour blocks clearly, at first I thought this would be the best way it would look however I started to wonder how it would look if I could combine all the colours together. I tied the end of the silks once finished just to extra secure the wefts then I bent the wire over the back so they would not show once sewn together.

Instead of the three weaving silks I had used to make the extensions, with the feathers I replaced the middle silk with wire. I did this so that I could bend the feathers into shape and also so that the feathers held themselves up when attached to the frame.

The drawing mat shows the three blue colours I used to create the weft. I started by testing block colours. I began with the hair extension colours I was using then moved on to Royal Blue, then Bright Blue and lastly Polar Blue.

Wefting Feathers (Mixed Colour)

Above I had combined all three blue synthetic hair and weaved them randomly, I did a small weft to test how it looked, I used the same technique with wire and two weaving silks.

The heat did not affect the hair which was reassuring, I just trimmed the ends off this feather, and decided I should start shorter at the top which is what I later did with the feathers. I decided I did not like the mixed colour so I thought of another way to blend the hair.

I decided to test cutting and styling on this small piece so that once I had finished all the feathers I would not ruin any by cutting them for the first time. I put heated rollers onto them to give them slight movement since the synthetic hair was poker straight. I just wanted to test whether the hair could withstand heat like they were supposed to without ruining the plastic.

I thought this could have worked but I surprisingly did not like it as much, the reason why was because the colours were definitely not as striking once they had been combined. I started to think of other ways I might be able to blend the colours better but keep the striking colour visible.

Wefting Feathers (Ombre)

Here I have already integrated the first colour of blue and I am now introducing the second colour of blue the colour is blending nicely together much more subtly than before.

The other way I thought of blending the hair was to ombre the colours, ombre is more of a seamless blend between colours. I began by doing a block of one of the colours and instead of stopping one colour and started another colour I slowly introduced the second colour into the first until it seamlessly integrated into the second full block of colour, then I repeated with the third and fourth colour.

There are still some steps in the colour but this is the first one I have done so the more I do the more blended the feathers should get from practice.

Above I am finishing off the last colour of blue in the weft and the colours have remained bright which is what I wanted to maintain.

It is clear the colours look much better already and it gives it less of an artificial appearance as before. Once finished with the weaving I tied the silks and bent the wire behind, I later cut off the excess wire before sewing them together. I much prefer this technique and think I am going to make all my feathers this way.

Above the two feathers lay next to one another, again confirming my decision to carry on weaving the feathers ombre instead of block colour.

Comparing the two wefts separately, the difference is clear. The first weft to the left is the ombre one and the second on the right is the block colours. I much prefer the ombre as they just look softer and less artificial.

Feathers Made After Testing

Above are four time lapse videos of weaving the ombre feathers, each feather took around two hours to weave at its quickest. At first I was slower because it had been a little while since I wefted hair but my pace soon sped up.

I made eight feathers in total along with four extension wefts and test pieces. The colours are visibly vibrant and I was really happy with the outcome of the ombre feathers. I really enjoyed wefting the coloured hair, I did get some back pain from so much wefting however it was worth it as the feathers turned out better than expected. I then had to sew the wefts together with needle and thread. The picture to the right is taken after the feathers have been sewn together and completely secured.

Styling The Feathers

The rollers did actually curl mainly the bottom of the hair and it did take quite a long time to set without making really much difference to the movement at the top so I decided that it was not necessary to spend time rolling the hair when it did not need it.

I rolled the hair under with the rollers so that it added some natural movement to the hairpiece.

I had tested this briefly on the smaller test piece I had made however I had not yet tried it on the feathers, I was not sure whether it would make a difference since the hair was quite long and I was cutting most of it off.

I heated up the babyliss pro heated rollers on the setting 1 so that they were not too hot as I did not want to ruin the synthetic hair. The hair can be styled but not with a powerful heat so it is important to make sure no intense heat comes into contact with the hair or it will melt.

Cutting The Feathers

I roughly cut the bulk of the feathers off so it was easier for me to get more precise and shape the feathers first.

The hair on the wefts does move quite a lot which is good because they act like real feathers would. The wire also helos the centre to stay sturdy like the centre of a real feather but also allows the hair to fall.

I cut the feathers into two different shapes to see which ones I preferred, I kept the first one longer and cut the second shorter. I preferred the shorter ones since they appeared more realistic as feathers than the longer ones, people would identify with the shorter ones more as feathers than the longer.

I used the scissor over comb technique to shape the feathers and then I went in with my scissors at a point to thin out the ends to create wispy feather like hairs.

Constructing The Wings

I began to play around the placement of the feathers on the wire frame, I used hair grips to temporarily secure the feathers in place while I decided what way was best. After changing the feathers around for a little while I decided it was best to place them so that the centre ones overlapped the outer ones, however I would be able to move them around on the day if it was not right.

This photo was before I had sewn the feathers onto the frame and they are still in place with grips. When it did come to sewing them onto the frame it didn’t take long and just with a needle and thread I secured them onto the frame but not too rigid that the feathers could not flap when the wings on the frame move.

Testing Finishing Touches

I had only considered applying this in the roots however i accidentally sprayed it on my hand and really liked the effect it created. I then considered applying it onto the forehead area heading into the roots.

I bought a silver hair spray with the intension of covering the models roots with it moving into the hair on the day. I just wanted to test whether the spray might work on the feathers as well however the spray just made the colour appear quite grey.

Here the hair has been cut, it is important to mention that if this was real hair I would have to be very careful about keeping the root end as the root end when weaving because the hair overlapping cuticles need to lay the right way. If I weaved the hair from the bottom the hair would become very tangled and knotty because of the cuticle direction.

Georgie Kennett