Customizing Scarves and Hats

Repurposing Your Extra Material

By Roberta Kozel, Salon IAOMO, Pittsburgh, PA

How do you customize a hair hat, turban and other head coverings with bang or accent hair?

Start with blended synthetic hair that has been permanently attached to a 100% cotton baseball cap, creating a ready-to-wear hair fashion. This process gives an illusion of a full head of hair by adding pieces to give it a bang or an all-around hair look.

By strategically customizing stock pieces we save scrap pieces to repurpose for the hair accent strategy. Those scrap pieces are attached to the inside of the baseball cap, turban, or head covering and styled to a client’s preference. Each piece is stitched by hand to the head covering.

1

Start with a stock base using a sharp scalpel. With light pressure, cut the excess base away from the unit itself. Make sure you protect the extra material piece so it does not fray.

2Here is an example of what the extra material would look like before sewing into a cap or turban.

3

Now that you have the extra piece, get a baseball cap to add accent hair. Flip the baseball cap over, flip over the sweatband to face outward to attach the extra material. Using straight pins, secure the extra material to the sweatband. Make sure it looks even from side to side before starting to sew. Using a blanket stitch, sew the extra material to the sweatband. Then style and cut if needed to blend with the rest of the hair.

4

To design a turban, flip it inside out and secure the extra material using straight pins. Ensure the sides are even before starting to sew. Using a blanket stitch, sew the material to the sweatband. Style and cut if needed to blend with the rest of the hair.