1. Transfer your measurements to a wig block: Draw a rough sketch of the perimeter of your head based on the measurements you took. Use your cloth tape measure to measure out the same distances for the perimeter of your head, the crown of your head, and the distance between your ears.
Alternatively, you could find a cotton lace cap or other fine net cap that will fit your head and place that over the wig block. It will not be a custom fit, but doing this can be easier than trying to form and apply strips of cotton lace.
2. Nail cotton ribbons to the block: Line cotton ribbon along the perimeter of your wig outline, as drawn previously. Gently hammer this ribbon onto the wig block using small nails.
If you decide to use a Styrofoam head instead of a wooden wig block, you can use sewing pins instead of nails to attach the ribbons.
Make sure that the ribbons are as flat as possible on the wig block.
3. Apply wet cotton lace: Moisten strips of cotton lace by quickly spritzing them with water from a spray bottle. Drape the strips of cotton lace over the wig block and stitch them to the ribbon.
4. Try the foundation on: Remove the nails from the ribbon and take the wig foundation off the wig block. Try it on to determine if it fits correctly.
If the wig foundation does not fit correctly, determine why not. Return the foundation to the wig block and make any adjustments you need to make in order to fix the fit.
When everything fits the right way, trim off any excess cotton lace that hangs past the ribbon border of the wig foundation
1. Choose real or synthetic hair. Both options have advantages and disadvantages. Generally, for a wig that will be worn every day, you would want to use real hair. For a wig only worn on occasion, you might be able to use synthetic hair.
2. Sort and pull the hair. Run handfuls of hair through a hair heckle to detangle, straighten, and sort the hair. Pull and tie it into sections using hair elastics.
3. Place the hair in between drawing mats. Lay one end of each hair section onto one drawing mat. Place the other drawing mat on top of the hair so that the pointed sides of both mats meet.
1. Pick out the right ventilating needle. The right size depends on the number of strands you want in a single knot. For more strands, choose a larger needle. For fewer strands, choose a smaller one.
2. Pull the hair through in a loop and knot it onto the lace. You will need to single-knot or double-knot sections of hair made from only a few strands onto the individual gaps in the lace foundation using your ventilating tool.
3. Work from the neck up. You should always start knotting the wig onto the lace from the bottom of the neckline. Work your way up along the back before moving to the sides. After reaching the sides, work your way over the crown of the head.
4. Vary the direction. Once you reach the crown of the wig, you should mentally separate the top into six separate directions and tie the strands off evenly in each of those directions.
5. Cover the ribbons. Turn the wig inside out and stitch hair along the inside edge of the ribbons to prevent them from showing from the front.
6. Sew in steel springs. Use a needle and thread to sew a few short steel springs around the temples, neck, and forehead of the wig. This will help the hair lift in a natural, pleasant manner.
7. Make the part and style the wig. With all the hair sewn in place, part the wig as you would do with a normal head of hair and cut the hair into your desired style.
8. Make the final fit. Try the wig on. It should now be complete, but if anything looks off, you should still be able to adjust it