How To Knot & Make A Wig

This week we had a guest in our wig lesson with Helen. I am not sure how to spell his name, so I don't want to butcher it. He is a wig maker, he worked on many different projects and knows a lot about the industry. He was there to talk to us about wigs and showed us how to knot. 

The lace you use to make a wig depends on what is the wig going to be used for. If it's for theatre it doesn't have to be as fine as you won't see it on stage whereas if the wig is being used in TV, you would use very fine lace and cut it right to the roots otherwise it will show on camera. Sometimes you will have to colour the lace, depending on the model's skin tone because it will show. Always do the make up before putting the on the wig, never put the foundation on the lace because it will show! When the filming is over wigs go to a storage and can be used again, but since most of the wigs are custom made, they won't fit everyone's head. 

To make a wig you have to make a template. You make it with cling film and sellotape - it is the easiest, cheapest, lightest  and most popular technique. There are other ways to do it, like using a caster plast, but that is quite heavy and it makes traveling very difficult. 
What you do is; first you prep the hair (pin curl, braid, wrap) then you you put the cling film onto the persons head or chin (depending what you are making) and wrap everything with sellotape. Then you draw over it with a sharpie to know where the hairline is and to know where to knot the hair. Also, take mesurments of the persons head so you know the exact size - you can change the hairline if the person has a high hairline. When you make your template you put it on the block and start knotting. 


Knotting a moustache

We have to make a moustache this semester. Knotting is a lot similar to knitting or chrochet. It is about practice and patience and it takes a while to get the hang of it. First you make a template by sticking sellotape on the cling film and you put it over your model's upper lip to draw out the shape of your moustache (we had our partners do it on ourselves so the moustache I'm making fits me). Then you take coloured paper - green or blue is best, fold it in half and cut out the shape of your tamplate. The reason why we use coloured paper is because it is easy on the eye when you're knotting. Stick the paper onto your wig block with sellotape and put the lace over it. Stretch the lace, but not too much, and use a lot of pins to pin it down. The rectaneles on the lace should be horizontal and you knot depending on which direction you want the hair to go. 

When you set up your template and lace you start knotting. To knot you need a tiny hook (similar to the ones for chrochet but a lot smaller) and hair. We used real, dark brown hair. 
You take a hair with the hook through the lace, take it over and through the hole - it's hard to explain but basically you tie a knot around the lace. Tension is very important to, and it is normal if the hair snaps. 

Template on the block

Closeup of the lace - how the lace should be placed

I have to say this is very very hard! I can barely get any hair onto the lace. I have a two hour break after this lesson and I stayed in class to practice. Managed to get only about 10 hairs on though. I really can't wait to get the hang of it because this is very frustrating.