Well what can I say, I have finished my exams and have some more sets that I have done.... hmmm I have been asked how I make certain types of dread and I have quite a few, once I have finished the last custom order I have for the moment (taking a short break for a week or two from orders) I will start posting up examples of what I can do and 'maybe' post a tutorial for each. But I am not sure yet as some types I consider a 'trade secret' I may share if I get enough requests from people.
So okay I will kick start this whole series of posts with basic run down. I have been making dreads for 7 years as of yesterday (yes I am sad enough to keep count) and Roving dreads for 4 years, I myself am not at all fond of how they look on me but I love making them for other people, they are soooo snuggly and warm <3 ... ohhh another note, no matter who you are, if you actually use any of my tutorials or information I would looove to see what you have created and I will post up special links for you ^^
Right on with part one I think..
So you want to make dreads, yes there are a lot of tutorials online but depending on what style you are doing everyone will do something slightly different.
So Synthetic dreads.
These are typically made from Kanekalon or KK (note that depending on the brand they might not be exactly 100% KK but PP which is very difficult to seal... thankfully my sealing method does actually seal PP hair as well. so I have not found a colour I cannot work with) Also the quality seams to differ from batch and also colour, different colours will backcomb and seal with varying difficultly. I will post a list of hard to use brands and colours in an upcoming post. Which leads me to say... I shall be doing myself a 'dread' challenge, using polls etc people can select the style and the most difficult colours that everyone has problems with for a accent or full dread set. If completed well I will offer the dread for sale at a super special price (I'm talking at starting an auction at £0.99) The money made will go toward the next set and so on, any profit will go to Charity by choice of another poll!! sound fair? Good ^^ this will start as of next week.
Right so you have your hair, now you need a comb or brush to backcomb, note that everyone backcombs differently so the amount of hair you use will vary from person to person and dread width, length and style.
Also KK seals with hot water or steam, boiling is a good starting method... if you are using a flat iron or straightner please make use the cloth you use with it is very damp! otherwise you will 'melt' the KK and get crispy, velcro textured dreads, this is not good! Your dreads should not burn at all.
Oh yes and you need to decide which ended style of dreads you are going to use, DE or Double ended dreads, these have two ends so you only need half as much, abut 60DE for a full head of pencil or marker thick dreads, about 45DE for really thick dreads.
Single ended dreads or SE's are of course dreads with one end and a loop at the top. for a full head you will need about 120 SE for pencil and marker thick or about 90SE for super thick dreads. These tend to make a nice neat install and suit men better than DE's do but its all down to preference.
The first Tutorial is on its way later today as my second workshop/lesson is taking place I will get a video and some photos
I will also post a tutorial on self-installing dreads including sectioning. Synth dreads take a long time and a lot of practice to make good quality ones every time so have patience
Roving wool
These are sooo snuggly and soft, sadly they don't look right on me. These are quicker and easier to make than Synth dreads and use 100% merino Roving wool though other wool types (unfelted) can be used to. Tutorials will be coming for this including different dread styles and also how to do little patterns and hand dying.
Right so what you will need is Merino roving wool also called roving tops, soap (washing up liquid works well to!) a bowl, freshly boiled water, a towel and gloves if you need them.
Please note that this is a tutorial for very sturdy roving dreads, you can use a spray bottle and 'spritz' the dread to felt it but after a weeks wear it will fluff out and shed fibres, this is not good quality!!! so I am going to teach you how to making well felted dreads and the tutorial for this will be up later today also so make sure you have your supplies and I will see you all later with basic instructions on how to make solids and other styles of dread.
Tuesday 28 June 2011
Monday 20 June 2011
Slow Month
Ah due to exams, and I apologise for this, I am a bit behind on my crafting :( this will only last for a week or so and then loads of updates because I have been busy whilst revising.
Tomorrow I am teaching a mini trial workshop to a friend in regards to dread making, if this goes well I may offer it out to other people to... depends on if there is interest in this. Updates on his progress will be shown and also if I do decide to do crafting workshops ^^ So yea I suppose if anyone else is interested in this, regardless of who you are, I am willing to teach for materials costs ie. £2 per whole day's lesson, drop me a comment or email.
Things coming up that I have made;
Tomorrow I am teaching a mini trial workshop to a friend in regards to dread making, if this goes well I may offer it out to other people to... depends on if there is interest in this. Updates on his progress will be shown and also if I do decide to do crafting workshops ^^ So yea I suppose if anyone else is interested in this, regardless of who you are, I am willing to teach for materials costs ie. £2 per whole day's lesson, drop me a comment or email.
Things coming up that I have made;
- Pasties
- corsets
- dread sets
- cyberlox
- industrial falls
- clothing
- fans
- accessories.
Thursday 9 June 2011
Dreads whats the difference?
Hmmm It has recently been brought to my attention that some people seam to have lack of knowledge or understanding of the different style of falls available and why there is such a difference in price. As I have spent the better part of 6 years making falls and hair pieces it kinda annoys me so I will explain..
First off a fall is made from fibre, be it synthetic, human hair, plastic whatever and is placed onto your own head/hair to add volume or change your look. We shall start with dreads.
Synthetic Dreads and falls
These are some of the most expensive types of falls that can be brought (save for human hair dreads) This is because they take a really long time to make and a lot of effort to get perfect and up to sellers standard. A lot of sellers have to put up with joint and back problems as well as severe burns do to the way in which they are made. Note that here I am talking about actual dreads such as these and not other media which I shall come to in a minute. They come in various styles
Roving Wool /Merino
Okay this is the one that most people get confused with... When people are talking about wool falls... usually (not always) they are reffering to Roving wool. These are fairly cheap however depending on the style of the dreads can be pricey as the wool has to be felted by hand by the dreads maker... so snuggly and soft I love making these dreads.
Yarn or prespun wool falls
These are typically called yarn falls, even in the UK purely because people get them confused with roving wool falls/dreads. This is not always the case though. They are made with yarn/prespun wool and are the easiest falls to make very quick... they are also the cheapest. However they are soft and can offer a nice inexpensive alternative to the other types of dread. Being light as roving but not as hot to wear.
This kind of wool ...
Note that I am not going into tubing falls with this description ^^ I adore them to pieces and they will have their own little post. this is purely for 'dread' types... ie hair and wool. same with cyberlox.
First off a fall is made from fibre, be it synthetic, human hair, plastic whatever and is placed onto your own head/hair to add volume or change your look. We shall start with dreads.
Synthetic Dreads and falls
These are some of the most expensive types of falls that can be brought (save for human hair dreads) This is because they take a really long time to make and a lot of effort to get perfect and up to sellers standard. A lot of sellers have to put up with joint and back problems as well as severe burns do to the way in which they are made. Note that here I am talking about actual dreads such as these and not other media which I shall come to in a minute. They come in various styles
Roving Wool /Merino
Okay this is the one that most people get confused with... When people are talking about wool falls... usually (not always) they are reffering to Roving wool. These are fairly cheap however depending on the style of the dreads can be pricey as the wool has to be felted by hand by the dreads maker... so snuggly and soft I love making these dreads.
Yarn or prespun wool falls
These are typically called yarn falls, even in the UK purely because people get them confused with roving wool falls/dreads. This is not always the case though. They are made with yarn/prespun wool and are the easiest falls to make very quick... they are also the cheapest. However they are soft and can offer a nice inexpensive alternative to the other types of dread. Being light as roving but not as hot to wear.
Note that I am not going into tubing falls with this description ^^ I adore them to pieces and they will have their own little post. this is purely for 'dread' types... ie hair and wool. same with cyberlox.
Candyfloss wig
As previously mentioned my sister has a hair show coming up and I'm modelling for it... no surprise, done quite a few catwalks in my time so I have to show the other girls what to do as well as make their costumes, not that I mind!
Her theme is Willy Wonka and thus we have five models, I am 'candy floss' and so get to wear a nice poofy wig.. which I made from scratch. Here are some images of it, as it is finished, sadly the photos dont do it much justice but videos and photos of the show will be up as of Monday/Tuesday
I make everything, including the wefts, it was not an edited wig at all. I am still making the outfit, hopefully it will all look pretty... keep an eye out in the modelling blog for updates
Her theme is Willy Wonka and thus we have five models, I am 'candy floss' and so get to wear a nice poofy wig.. which I made from scratch. Here are some images of it, as it is finished, sadly the photos dont do it much justice but videos and photos of the show will be up as of Monday/Tuesday
I make everything, including the wefts, it was not an edited wig at all. I am still making the outfit, hopefully it will all look pretty... keep an eye out in the modelling blog for updates
Tuesday 7 June 2011
Dreads and more dreads
Lately all I have done is make dreads, I enjoy it, its fun but sometimes is can get tedious. And to add to that I haven't made any for myself in over four years :( Therefore after I have finished the orders I have at the moment I am going to take a break and make myself some pretties ^^ including matching fringes.
These are my latest completed orders;
60 Jumbo dreads, 18" DE in Pale orange, #613 blonde, Cherry Red, Pepper Red and Cobalt blue. Mixes of Leopard print blondes, transitionals, solids and candybars.
The Next set is 30 DE Marker thickness, 18" length all transitionals. Black to Petrol Green, Black to neon yellow, black to forest green and neon green blend and neon green/forest blend to neon yellow.
The latter set I still need to edit some images of, they are 120 SE 22" dreads, 80 Pencil in #4, 20 Marker #4, 5 Trans from #4 to #220, 5 blended trans from #4+#220 to #220, 5 Leopard print #220, 5 #220 with #4 criss crosses.
In addition to these my sister is doing a hair show which I happen to be modelling for and I have to make a candyfloss inspired wig from scratch... ^^ so images of the show will be going into the modelling blog and also the wig and other things I made for it will be sitting in here. More soon
These are my latest completed orders;
60 Jumbo dreads, 18" DE in Pale orange, #613 blonde, Cherry Red, Pepper Red and Cobalt blue. Mixes of Leopard print blondes, transitionals, solids and candybars.
The Next set is 30 DE Marker thickness, 18" length all transitionals. Black to Petrol Green, Black to neon yellow, black to forest green and neon green blend and neon green/forest blend to neon yellow.
The latter set I still need to edit some images of, they are 120 SE 22" dreads, 80 Pencil in #4, 20 Marker #4, 5 Trans from #4 to #220, 5 blended trans from #4+#220 to #220, 5 Leopard print #220, 5 #220 with #4 criss crosses.
In addition to these my sister is doing a hair show which I happen to be modelling for and I have to make a candyfloss inspired wig from scratch... ^^ so images of the show will be going into the modelling blog and also the wig and other things I made for it will be sitting in here. More soon
Wednesday 1 June 2011
Random eats
I found this images I took aggges ago. So I used to bake quite a bit.... will start doing so again soon also I think. But yes anyway.. sadly there are all rather light and perky, thats because they are birthday or special occasion cakes, items make for other people. Some are old photos and the pictures don't do the items any justice
Marzipan and Royal Icing Symol Cake For Mother's day
Nephew's Birthday Cake, Dark chocolate ganache filling.
Easter Cake, Lemon and orange madera cake with candied peel and lemon drizzle centre
Flavoured Fondant Filled Chocolates , Strawberry, Peppermint, Lemon and Cherry
Viennese Truffles
None of the cakes lasted very long haha...everyone ate them within an hour of being out, the chocolates lasted less than that T-T will have to make more soon
Marzipan and Royal Icing Symol Cake For Mother's day
Nephew's Birthday Cake, Dark chocolate ganache filling.
Easter Cake, Lemon and orange madera cake with candied peel and lemon drizzle centre
Flavoured Fondant Filled Chocolates , Strawberry, Peppermint, Lemon and Cherry
Viennese Truffles
None of the cakes lasted very long haha...everyone ate them within an hour of being out, the chocolates lasted less than that T-T will have to make more soon
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