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Knot-Weave Up-Style
Here we present an up-style design that is both interesting and fun. Created using a simple French
twist base, this style is jazzed up by weaving and knotting small segments of the hair along the front hairline to create a "net" over
the top of the head. The style is lovely on its own, and can be made dressier by using jeweled hairpins at the knots or where two strands
of hair cross.
It is a style that is easily created and adaptable by changing the pattern of woven strands as
desired. What follows are the basic instructions for creating this type of style (and the steps used in our demonstration):
What You Will Need:
— Assorted Large and Small Bob Pins
— Snag-safe Elastic Bands
— Tail Combs or Styling Combs
— Small Clips (to control hair not immediately being worked with)
How to Achieve the Style:
First, as we normally do, we begin creating the style on clean, unwashed hair. It is important that
the hair not be freshly-washed, because shampooing and conditioning the hair properly leaves it silky, and silky hair is very difficult
to work into an up-style. However, if it becomes necessary to work with freshly-washed hair, there are steps you can take.
In our demonstration, the manikin needed to be washed after many uses in creating different styles.
In order to prepare the manikin for this demonstration, we applied styling gel to the manikin's wet hair and dried it with a blow-dryer.
Once dry, we lightly misted the hair with hairspray, parting it into thin sections to make sure all of the hair was covered. The hairspray
was allowed to dry as well and brushed out. Finally, we used a flat-iron to straighten the hair, and were ready to proceed with the
styling.
To create the style, we separated small, square sections approximately 1-inch by 1-inch (2.5cm) all
along the front hairline, from ear to ear. Each of these was secured with its own snag-safe elastic band, and the whole group was
collected together and clipped forward to keep them out of the way while we worked on the base of the style.
The next step in the style was parting off a large circular section using the initial partings from
the first square sections as the front edge, and finishing out the circle, leaving approximately 2 to 2-1/2 inches along the nape of the
neck. This large section is gathered into a snag-safe elastic band to hold it in place while the remaining hair at the nape is clipped so
as to keep it out of the way while we work.
We build the base of the hairstyle by taking the large central section and dividing it vertically. We
then back-comb (tease) the hair slightly, using about 10-12 short strokes at the scalp on the side of the vertical division of each half.
The two halves are then rejoined and the outer surface of the section is smoothed out. The section is then wound into a French twist
style, with a small loop of hair at the top, and anchored into place using large bob pins. The bob pins are crossed at the base of the
twist and the back-combing gives the twist more sturdiness. Any hair ends that are left sticking out should be carefully tucked under the
twist using the end of a tail comb and secured with a bob pin.
The next step is securing the hair at the nape area of the neck into the style you desire.
In our demonstration, we simply divided this portion of the head into three panels and swept them up
around the twist. The ends of the panels were either tucked into the loop of the twist (as with the left-most panel and middle panel) or
carefully slipped under itself (in the case of the right-most panel). The panels were carefully smoothed, and misted lightly with
hairspray.
There is an option here to vary the look of the finished style. Instead of sweeping the nape area
portion of the hair up into the twist, you could perhaps divide it into two rows and create a fall of spiral curls using a curling iron.
Another option would be to continue the theme or knotting and weaving and divide the nape area portion into small square sections which
would then be finished in he same manner in which we would finish the top.
However you choose to finish the nape area portion, it's time to talk about the knotting and weaving
technique. This technique is actually very simple, but you'll need to think through your design. You want to take two strands of hair
(the small square sections you've secured at the front hairline) and cross them into a 'half-knot' by bringing one strand around and under
the other then pulled to form the "loose knot". The knot should be secured in place using a small bob pin, and the two loose ends can be
clamped with a small hair clip to keep them together yet separate from the others.
>> CONTINUE
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