Ride the wave of summer just a little bit longer by taking some style inspiration from all those summer music festivals.
The latest trend in bohemian-chic hair fashion involves weaving colorful strands of embroidery floss through your hair to create gorgeous, flat, woven works that give your 'do a summery accent while you're swaying in the crowd at Coachella or sunbathing on the beach.
Similar to those long, thick hair wraps of the '90s, hair tapestries involve patience, skill and a lot of messy frizz to take out once you're ready to go back to your normal hair life.
However, there is one simple way to give yourself a hippie makeover without risking fallout later by using a hair extension -- but you might still need a little patience. Or a good TV show to watch while your weave.
Materials:
A hair extension
Embroidery hoop
Tapestry needle
Embroidery floss
Hair spray
Scissors
You can also do this tutorial on actual hair, but you'll need a friend, a comfortable set up and a lot of patience.
Step One:
Take a small section, about 2 to 3 inches of hair, and separate it from the rest of your hair extension. Depending on the type you buy, it should be a pretty thin piece already.
Next, separate tinier sections of your 2-3 inch lock and spray them with hair spray. Your piece, especially if it's new, will be pretty silky, and it's better if the hair has some grit for the floss to hold on to. Think of your hair as a loom, and each of these tiny pieces will be your foundation for your to weave your work through, so the more separated and defined, the better.
Step Two:
Place your lock of hair in your embroidery hoop. Your piece will need to be nice and tight, with your strands well-defined so you know exactly where your are weaving and you don't leave behind stray hairs.
To do this, tighten the outside of the hoop, then pull the hair from the outside so it feels taught. Use more hairspray if your strands start to get messy.
Step Three:
Make a small knot on your first strand with your embroidery floss. This will be the starting point for your piece, so you don't want it to be loose.
I started on the left and worked toward the right because I am right-handed -- much like writing on a sheet of paper. If you are left-handed, use the opposite side so it's easier for you to weave.
Step Four:
Begin a simple weave. Your starting knot serves as the "over" part of the "over/under" sequence you'll be using, so continue to the end of the piece, working the next strand by going under, then over, then under, until you've reached the end.
At the end, loop around the hair, going back over in the opposite direction. On every line, work an opposite over/under as the line your just worked above, making the work look like a wicker basket.
You can work as tightly or as loosely as you like by pulling the string or pushing it with your needle to fill in the negative space.
Step Five:
At some point you might want to change colors. Follow just a few steps to do this without losing your stitches:
First, wrap your floss around just one strand -- don't start weaving.
Then, bring your needle to the back of the work, continuing the loop you're making, and start to make a simple tie.
Pull the floss tight. Double the knot so it stays in place. This will also be how you can finish your work when you're done.
Step Six:
To change color, thread your needle and first slip your floss through the first loop of the work to join the colors together. This way, the piece will look even and seamless.
Tie a knot at the edge so your new color doesn't slip. You can weave in or cut your ends when you're finished with the piece.
Step Seven:
Now you're ready to weave again! Do the same "over/under" technique as before, starting with "over" on the first strand.
You can change your colors as many times as you like. You're a master now.
Step Eight:
If you feel satisfied with your work, you can finish it off with a simple knot as we did in Step Five.
When your work is secure, you can trim off your excess string from the back or, if you want your work to look especially neat, thread the tails through your needle and loosely weave them through the back of the piece so they don't show.
Now you're ready to add a little boho -- and a little extra volume -- to your look.
