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.
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