It has been ages since I posted anything here. I recently moved to a new apartment, and have been occupied by the packing and unpacking of all my belongings! I am more-or-less settled, however, so I'm hoping to be able to post more regular updates again.
In the meantime, here is a short video clip I made that shows the very basic single knot technique, first on coarse mesh with a crochet hook, and then on fine wig lace with a ventilating needle.
I think this should be helpful to new ventilators struggling with the technique. It's a very simple knot, but not easy to convey to someone without actually being there! I hope this clearly shows the steps involved:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1eiilboEaM
I am a bit confused about how to estimate in which direction the hair is ventilated (in general). Is it correct, that the direction in which you pull, when you tighten the knot is the direction in which the hair is "ventilated"?
ReplyDeleteIn your video, the hair is ventilated/would fall backwards, away from the face?
And how does one create a "freestyle" ventilation?
To be honest, it still confuses me! The ventilation direction is not as simple and straightforward as it seems. But simply put - each hole (in lace) has six sides, so you have the choice of one of six directions. And you're correct, the direction that you pull is the ventilation direction.
DeleteThere is a great video on YouTube by a very talented young wigmaker that explains the basic principles, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uk_opTT-BOo&list=UUB9_pmyRjgrIRygdtajg3nA
But I am finding that instead of ventilating straight back (or straight forward) tying the knots at a slight angle (essentially 60 degrees from the horizontal) the hair has a more natural appearance.
However, the difficulty I am having is finding a satisfactory way to transition from the angled ventilation to the more 'downward' ventilation at the sides.
As far as I can discern, when the factories talk about 'freestyle' ventilation, it has less to do with the direction and more with the type of knot used. They tend to favour 'split' knots, in which the hair comes out of the knot in 2 directions (rather than both ends in the same direction in a single knot.) This gives the hair a less natural (more messy) appearance, but allows it to be styled more easily in any direction.