How To Make A Small Wig Fit A Big Head - Wig Alterations For Custom Wig Makers

All right welcome, welcome. Welcome this course is going to be on learning how to take a wig that has already been made. If it's too small for your client, we can make it larger, although ideally wigs are easier to size down if they're too big but sizing them up is usually a challenge, because we don't know what steps we could possibly do. So I'm gon na show you a step quite a few steps. I'Ll say that on how you can make a wig, that's too small a little bit larger. These are the things that the client had to send to me was a wig cap. We did an extra wig cap and we needed another bundle of hair. This was previously made by another really good wig maker, and I am doing some alterations in a sense to this week so kind of the features, and this is the reason why I say this has been done made by a really good wig maker. I love the wefts that are on the ear tabs. It'S amazing the straps or the adjustable strap. It'S attached very well very clean, there's combs, although I'm I'm not partial to con. I don't like combs, but combs are really good and I love the way that they are have been attached. But unfortunately I have to take this all loose because it's too small for the client. So, to give you an understanding of what I mean is too small for the client this weekend is actually a 24 inch wig head circumference, so we've done a prep. For this mean, I made sure that I had the circumference tape, the ear to ear tape and then the hairline to Nate and actually kind of like designing the nape a little bit longer, mainly because this person is actually 16 about 15 or 16 down from front To back and then from side to side they are a actual 16, so this wig that I have does not fit this wig head very well. Nor does this cap so meaning we have to make this larger. We have to make something that is about a 22. Maybe 23 and turn it into a 24 with a wider ear-to-ear span. So it's good that you make sure that your wig head is taped. It'S prepped with measurements, because it makes it a lot easier for you to manage and make sure that what you're making is. According to their actual measurements, and first thing we want to do is take everything out. So what I'm going to do is I'm going to take off the band the elastic band, I'm going to take the combs out, and I'm also going to more than likely. I think I'm going to release the closure from this. I'M gon na take the closure away from this, and I'm going to attach it to this you'll see the idea, but first deconstruct as much as you possibly can, without losing the integrity of the back part of the wig I'll show you, but we do have to Take this closure off and the combs need to come off and the band, so I'm going to do that first and I'll be right back so, when you're trying to deconstruct a twig, especially separating the closure from the wig cap, you want to use a seam ripper Seam ripper is a little bit more exact as opposed to using scissors, not that they're bad. It'S just. You want to make sure that you're using a seam ripper that can actually get up underneath the threads. That is attaching the closure to the cap. You want to take your time, and you know you see me moving pretty fast doing. This is because this clip is sped up a little bit faster, but just take your time pull and see where the threads are and then let the seam ripper hook through it and pull it out all right. So we separated the combs. So all the combs are off, the elastic band is off we're going to put a new one in, and I have separated the closure from what is obviously going to be most of the back of the wig and then we're going to reattach the closure and some Wefts onto the new cap, so I'm going to show you how we're going to do that. But that's what this is. This is gon na, be the back part of it. So this is our goal. Our goal is to make a small wig larger and according to their actual measurements. So this is her circumference and we're going to go according to the measurements that are listed here or marked here. We'Re going to take a cap which you want to see it doesn't fit at all, not the way that it should so we're gon na place it anywhere. It needs to be placed making sure you're there we go got to make sure we can see it. So I'm gon na make sure it covers. Take my picture elastic bands so now important things. We want to make sure from here all the way down here it needs to be. It needs to fit about 15 16 inches. So that means I'm going to come down a little bit low when I place the back piece onto this and then I'm going to sew the closure on top and then I'm going to fill in the rest of this with the rest of the weft in here. Okay, so here is the back piece and I'm going to take this off, so I'm going to cut this off first and then I'm going to pin it to the back and you'll notice that it has a little bit more extra that we can use, because we Need to make sure the nape of the part kind of sits a little bit low on the head, so that is actually to the measurements from her forehead to the back of her head. So I'm going to cut this off and then I'm going to pin it. I want to make sure that the bottom of this sits pretty low to the bottom, keeping in mind, she's gon na be stretching it anyway. So I'm going to set it at that 15 mark which will allow her to do the rest of the stretch. So I'm gon na take a tee pin and I'm going to place it in the base of the weight cap and then I'm going to pen right at 15 or just a little bit below for the tape. So I know that it'll be there and then I'm gon na flip this all up and I'm gon na wrap it around as best I can. So what I'm gon na do make sure that pinned bring it up without over stretching. So when you get ready to pin this because I'm pinning from the center all the way up to the center don't stretch, you want it to be in a relaxed state when you do this, so I'm gon na take the hooks off and just wan na tennant. Naturally, so I want her to be able to, you guys know, be able to stretch it over her head. We don't want to over stretch, because then it would be actually bigger than the size she's already having an issue with so pin that in there you get everything else to fit. So you see the point where she needs all of that to fit from one ear to the other, shaking I needed to be flat to the head, so I am going to have to do a little bit more lifting okay. So what you see is everything is pinned properly and so what I'm gon na do next, so you can see I'm gon na take this off, so you guys can see so now. We know this fits this fix, so that closure was taking it in too tight for the client which made it too too small, so I'm putting it upside down, so you can see where it's supposed to be so if they have a measurement from the front of Their head to the back of their head, a certain measurement. You want to make sure the back of it fits or starts at that point, you're going to wrap your bottom piece, because that's the smartest way to do it, instead of completely taking all of the wefts and tracks and everything off, especially because this is a ventilated Cap, the original cap was ventilated and you take the plastic off, so you just use another cap, you apply, what's already done, we'll cut it out and do everything from there we'll apply it and then we're going to put our closure on at the top and then We'Re going to fill it in with the rest of the wefts and then we should be done, and then we want to also make sure that we fill in in these areas as well. So I'm going to show you how to do that and do the exact same thing that she had done on the ear tabs of this particular wig as well. So before I get started, I'm going to mark where this width should be and where the bottom piece of the wig that you're attaching on it will be so I'm marking it with a permanent marker awesome and then the four I will. I know what to do from there, but usually you would have to make more markings depending on how much space that you have so I first need to place the closure and sew it down first, and then I can be able to do the rest of my Markings to make sure that I cover that closure, not on top of it, because I wanted to be able to be released just in case. It needs to be replaced later, but I'm gon na put the closure down first and then I'll finish. The rest of my markings and then we're going to take this bad baby to the sold machine. So, while we're at this point, I want to take the time to explain to you why I use a three-step method rule when it comes to making custom units custom. Wigs and we're talking about wigs that are made with a closure and wefts or tracks of hair or bundles of hair. This method, the reason why I choose this method - and I explain it this way - because it makes it a lot easier for you to do any type of repairs, maintenance, alterations or adjustments to a week, most wigmaker's custom, wig makers. This was actually a wig that was made from someone else, but because she follows specific steps into making wigs, it was easy for me to deconstruct and then reconstruct where needed. So the three-step method is very simple. With week, making 101 you know are supposed to attach the closure first by hand sewing. Then you prep the cap by making sure you know where each a line of weft will be on that cap. So you prep the cap and then you sew the wefts onto the cap. So it's a very simple, easy three-step method. There are some little small things that you do want to be aware of like as far as the cap, fitting correctly to the correct size, wig head and all of those other different measures when it comes to making weeks. As you can see, I'm prepping the cap. So I'm just marking where the next set of wefts will be, so it's very very important that you follow a three-step method. So if you're in my class, you probably already know this well before I take this over to the sewing machine. I want to explain some important things to you, one hair, because this is such a long length. I believe it's probably somewhere close to 30 inches long, I'm not mistaken, but you do need to assess and make sure that you do have enough hair to fill in. In an area that that's exposed because you had to create an extension for the wig, you are resizing a wig for someone who has a weight, that's smaller than their actual head size. You are creating what is called an extension. There are other methods, but this is the easiest. It'S actually the quickest and always fits so you can do this with any type of way cap. You can do this with regular weight caps. You can also do it with dome caps as well you're, just creating an extension just in case, so you would make sure you stretch everything to the length that it needs to be and then add on your piece. If you need to and then fill in with the hair that they send, you you'll just have an extra cap in this case. So I'm assessing to make sure I have enough hair to fill this in which I'm pretty sure I do. But when I mean enough hair to fill in because you're, not just filling in this area, you also are filling in possibly the ear tabs, because sometimes that can, if it has to have an extension of some sort. You know it's not long enough. The front of their head, so you have to fill in in that area and I'm going to show you how we do that, but I'm just assessing to make sure I have enough hair to cover everything and I have more than enough. So what I'm gon na do is I'm gon na sew this down first and keep in mind this cap is a little bit different. There are ventilated caps that have mesh on the side. This one in particular, does not have mesh on the side. So sorry guys. So this one does not have mesh on the side. So by not having the mesh on the side, I have to create an anchor meaning. I would have to sew this down. It'Ll be sewn to the plastic, it'll be sewn down to the individual straps. That'S in this ventilated cap, but it's not anchored very well to here because it doesn't extend out. So I would have to sew first and then I would have to sew another width right on top of it to make sure that it's anchored to the second cap because keep in mind I've put in a cap on top of another cap. So that's what I'm going to need to do, and this is going to be quite interesting guys, because what I'm going to be using is a possibly a zig-zag stitch. So this can be an issue when we're trying to get the plastic off in that area. We may have an issue but we'll see, but the zig-zag stitch is a little just. It'S just a little bit more secure, but you can do everything with just a straight stitch. You would just have to double straight stitch right on top of this again. So that's all we're gon na say, but you just want to make sure you access that you have enough hair to cover the area which you should at this one bundle and then I'll show you how you can you know, extend in this area and then add Your piece there and then this wig would be done. Alright, so we're back, and I have my marking of where I'm gon na put the bottom half. So this is the bottom half of the wig. I don't have to you know so anymore, wefts or anything onto this cap I'll just take this because it fits her properly and we're just creating an extinction which is really what it is. So you just need another cat to do that. You mark where it would go based off forehead to the back, making sure that that fits based off the measurements that your client has provided you and then I do have it marked. You probably can't see it. I can see it cuz it's silver, but whatever marking tool that you use make sure that you're able to see it because that's where you're actually going to be placing this back piece, so I'm going to actually attach it right on the web. I'M going to use a straight stitch, first, very important with your sewing machines, even if you it doesn't matter what type of sewing machine you have. You always want to make sure to take off the piece that allows your clothing, including your caps, to get around. So if you know about a high post, wig making sewing machine, the ball is on the top, so you can move everything around in this case. We want to pretend that the ball is on the side and you're moving everything around, because in fashion we have things that we make like hats and things like that, and it has to be able to move. And sometimes you don't have a high post of wig. Making so a machine in a sense to make hats so the home sewing machine is supposed to help with that. So I am going to find the easiest way to do this Lily. It'S sewing it this way B. So that means you want the top or the crown of your cap to be on the outside, and I am going to go ahead and sew this right on to it. So I know it doesn't start at the very edge. I have to put some extra weft into it, but I do know that it starts about away from. I hope you guys can see. I know it starts about away from where it is based off. How are we pinned it earlier in this tutorial, but that's where I'm gon na start, so I'm gon na put it in the machine, make sure it's flat, and then I'm going to put my needle down to make sure that it's it's where it needs to be Put my you see, this is why you put your needle down first, because it's not sometime, you miss it. So just try that again here we go, you want to get it down into the weft, the cap, and now we know it's it's ready. So I'm gon na go ahead and sew. This down now sewing the bottom. Half of this wig is very similar to sewing a you part onto a closure, but in this case we are sewing somewhat of a you part week onto another cap, giving it some bit of an extension so that this would fit someone's head. So the steps are not that hard you're just sewing it right onto the cap, where you marked it that's alarm so now we're at a point where we fill in the rest of the wig, the extension with wefts. We won't cut this out until so. As you can see, this is just the extension so we'll be cutting that and first we have to make sure at some point. You have to anchor it and make sure that this is completely attached, because we have the black cap of 42, the the nude cap. It'S very important that you really should have the same color cap you originally had for your first week. So when anybody sends you make sure you mention that to them, if it's hard to find and it's okay in this case, I believe that it was hard for them to find so when using a black cap, which that's totally fine, because this gives you guys an Understanding so that you can see what that looks like when you have to create an extension and then I'll show you how we take all of this out and make sure that her wig doesn't come off of her. You know doesn't come apart or dissemble after she's installed it on her head, so we're going to go ahead and we're going to finish the rest of the weft and we're actually going to put it in the sewing machine with the hair on the outside and the Cap with the closure on the inside so on this side of the sewing machine, because it's a little bit easier to manage because of how long this here is. So that's why your guidelines are important and not only that just your ability to understand that everything goes through a straight line, even though this is curved going through a straight line. Is your focus when it's going through the sewing machine, so I'm gon na go ahead and finish this I'll show you guys and the rest of you know video. So, since we're not using a traditional wig, making machine we're using an actual fashion sewing machine, but they all do the same thing. They sew things together and even though we know that the traditional wig making some machine makes it a little bit easier, you can make things very easy when you are sewing on a sewing machine. A fashion sewing machine as long as you are aware of. What'S going on, meaning that you want to make sure that you're going into a straight line when you sew, you want to be able to see the weft being attached to the cap, so make sure there's nothing underneath the needle the only things that should be underneath That needle is the weft and the cap itself, so you want to make sure nothing's folded, underneath it all right. So now it's the finishing really paying attention to the wig you've just extended to make it larger and what areas you need to take off and what areas you need to hand do in order for the quality of the inside of the wig. Since it's been resized to make it larger look professional looks clean. We are going to actually with the ear taps, so these ear tabs are actually what the client is probably going to be using around their ear. So at the bottom we're definitely gon na have an elastic, strap there. So, instead of me cutting a little bit higher up where the extension really is, we may have a possible problem of this being too far back for the person, so we're going to attach it. You know paint by hand to that, so that she has that extra extension that's actually where it should go according to her ear. If that I hope that makes sense. So what I'm gon na do is I'm gon na cut straight across from underneath the ear tabs of the extended cap cut in it sit across from one ear to the other, so all of that is gone so now her wig will definitely fit now, because we Have that extra extension that we have so before we take the plastic off, we want to secure the ear tabs down and what I'm going to do is I'm going to tack it down from the end. So, as you can see, it's released like this. This is the original ear tab which would be too low for them. This would be the actual ear tab. What I'm going to do is make sure it's aligned here. You see that it's aligned and I'm going to tack it down at the end. I'M not gon na sew straight through. I just want to tack it down at the end first, and then I'm going to show you how we can add. You know more wesen to that to clean that up or to fill that in and then add the elastic straps. So a curved needle straight needle is definitely a personal choice, but I'm going to make sure this is nice flat and flush to the area. I need it to be, and then I'm just going to do it, what is called a wrap stitch, so you go through the original into the new. I go all the way through and before anything. I actually like to loop go through the loop of the thread, because I double knot, double strand and not my thread that way, it won't come out when I'm continuing to sew, because that can happen if you're trying to if you have a knot, anything you just Go through it and you pull sometimes the knot is too small and it pulls through. You have an issue, so it's better to just do it this way, you and it's done now we're going to do the other side same exact way and extend it and make sure that we can pull it to the exact same, spacing that it is on the Other side - oh sorry, guys so we're going to lay it there too, and then we're going to tack this side down as well. You all right, so we've cut everything away, and now we have the lead. Well, the plastic and everything is done. Everything'S been cut away. So now it's about making sure we get into the details, so these I'm going to tack down like they should be tacked down, even though they were tacked down at the ends. They were tagged down at the end so that I can be able to pull the plastic and the rest of the cap off, and then we can go back to focusing this. So what I'm going to do is I'm going to take my needle and thread and loop to get this down? Okay and then I'm going to add a few wefts and one underneath that folds over that way, this tab is covered and we can choose to put an elastic band there if we need to so I'm going to go ahead, I'm going to tack this side down And then I'm going to tack this side down and then we're going to move on to the next step, all right, so we're done we're at the nitty-gritty of it all we're. At the end, the only thing left is to add the elastic straps adjustable straps to the back. It already comes with this adjustable straps. As you can see, it already comes with those in the total you know in the back, so she can be able to put them in as very close as she needs to if she needs to pull this in. But the number one thing is to solve the problem and the problem really was from the forehead to the nape. It did not fit. It did not fit over her head. She couldn't get it to line up to the front of her head and for the back to cover as well as she needed it to now. She has a little bit more as well on the ear size from one side to the other side. She has a little bit more coverage, so that's why you notice that this isn't taken off or cut off or removed. This is definitely up to the client if they want to do that. But when I'm on the phone with the client and explaining these things and seeing and showing them hey, this is where we are you may or may not need to. You know you have to explain to your clients that you know you work with how to manage the week. They'Ll, send it to you for fixing or repair or whatever that may be and or maintenance. But you need to make sure you know exactly what they need to do so that they can keep the longevity of the wig as much as possible, and that brings them back to you because they know they can trust you to do whatever needs to be done. Now again, this wig was not made by me. This was made by another very well wig maker. I don't know her name at this point. I was kind of forgotten, her name but she's, a very good wig maker as well. So I am really good at working with anybody's ability to make wigs. I know how to alter clothing, so I also know how to alter wigs. So in this case, we needed to have an extension. So that's why you see an extension in the top now for your wig to look even more clean and professional when you're trying to put an extension in, you definitely want to use the same color cap, but in this case that was not available. So we used what we had and it still looks clean. It still looks professional, but I also like the fact that it is an alternate color, because it shows you exactly what the extra extension looks like. So not only does it fit from forehead to the back of the nape. She still has enough gift to kind of pull down if she needs to I'm probably going to add a column right underneath here and then just add the elastic straps to the black. Not the you know to the new one, not the old one, but before I do that, I'd like to consult with the client first to be sure if that's what's needed, but I know it's going to be needed. It'S just a matter of which one is the best, and I know this is gon na, be the best for my professional opinion, but still I like to make sure because sometimes at a certain point, they're like no, I don't want the straps, I'm fine or they Are okay with putting them on themselves now? This was the original elastic band to help get this make this a glueless wig, because this isn't a week, that's gon na be on someone's head that they glue it on. They want to be able to use something. That'S tight enough so that they can lay flat and flush to their head. So it's a glueless wig everything can be Bank glueless, but this was the original strap we're gon na go with this one, because it's a little bit more tailor-made to that person. So if they need a little bit more, you know give whatever that may be, but we are pulling it in as far as we can to almost mimic what she originally already had. She said that that worked for her, but if we need to pull it in some more at least we have an elastic band that will do that for her, which is with the adjustable strap this way. So that's what she's gon na prefer, so I'm gon na add that to it and that way she can adjust it. So just want you guys to know that I dropped it on the floor, but this is done. This is how you make a wig. That is too small, make it a little bit larger, look down below or somewhere in here description area or something I may have a video or a link to a video to show you how you can make a wig that is too big smaller, so that video, It'S not by me is by another really good youtuber that taught you know how to do, and I think it was the best video to share with you guys, so you can see how it's done with this type of cap. Now the method is still the same. I'Ve mentioned this before the method, for extension, is still the same if you were using any other type of cap, including your your mesh dome caps, as there are people who still enjoy dome caps, so you can still do that, but this is the most popular by Professional opinion for just stock wigs in general, I like the ventilated caps more than I do like the dome caps, but I do understand that and the world of wigs people enjoy those dome caps. So I like they ventilate it more so I'll. Make sure that there's a video for you guys to see how you can make it smaller, it's very simple as cutting and then reattaching, where it needs to be reattached, and that may require hand sewing so just know that. But this this is done, and this is ready for the clients review. Okay, you want to make sure that your client reviews it sees it. You know understand. What'S going on before you just start shipping items to people make sure you they provide good customer service. So it's done there's more to this video that I'm gon na add to it. You'Ll see it after the end of the clip, and this is it