I just finished the crown on the cross-ventilated (2-way) piece I'm working on. I'm really happy with the knotting on this one. The hair lies and moves very naturally, and has a nice, natural volume to it.
Beautiful. Love the natural look of the crown. What density did you apply to this unit, or how many grams of hair did you use? Did you hatchcross (criss cross) the strands in addition to ventilating in the opposite direction in order to get your lift? I get stuck on crowns; I think I overthink it and thereby get too technical with direction and then it becomes more mechanical looking rather than a natural swirl. I enjoy your blog.
Thank you! I have no idea how much hair I used (actually the piece is still in progress,) but the density was 80% (single hair, 4 holes out of 5) for the sides and back (including the crown), dropping to about 70% for the top. I did use cross-ventilation in addition to reverse ventilation. It really seems to give a nice natural lift to the hair! This crown actually has less swirl than I usually would like. I found it tricky enough thinking about reversing and crossing the hairs! I will try to add a bit more swirl on the next one!
I have to exhibit self control as I always tend to lean towards more density than I would like, sheerly out of fear that the piece is going to be too sparse, and then having to go back an ADD hair into a piece that is already ventilated is a PAIN. I think the swirl you have already works, it is not overdone, and does not look too planned which provides a very natural look. Way to go.... your work gets better and better.
Thanks very much, that's good of you to say! I understand about the density, I'm always worried about that too. The trouble is that the lighter densities always seem to look much more natural. There is a very fine line between too little hair and too much! I also notice that synthetic hair tends to appear more dense than human hair, so I'm constantly having to compensate a bit depending what I'm working with!
I'm working on a piece now. Going to try your method of both reverse ventilating and cross ventilating as I do not like when the crown and top of a piece is flat without any lift to it. Question, when you are crossing are you crossing one complete row right, and then the next row left, etc. alternating each row. Or, crossing right over left in every single cell each row? In addition, you would likely have to skip a few holes in order to maintain a light density. It gets complicated.
It really does work, it gives a nice realistic volume to the hair without making it poofy and unmanageable. You have to cross complete alternating rows. I have tried crossing in the same row and it gets very confusing, and would take forever. And yes, you skip holes to adjust the density as normal. It does get confusing, but try throwing in a grey percentage just to shake things up a bit, and your head might explode! :P The results are worth the trouble though.
thanks much for the explanation on crossing, same I thought that if you criss cross in the same row that it gets more time consuming. Some wigmakers actually do it that way. A well thought out density shows in the end results. I decided I would stop ventilating by sight and feeling the density alone and try a more planned out approach. Really enjoying your blog!
Beautiful. Love the natural look of the crown. What density did you apply to this unit, or how many grams of hair did you use? Did you hatchcross (criss cross) the strands in addition to ventilating in the opposite direction in order to get your lift? I get stuck on crowns; I think I overthink it and thereby get too technical with direction and then it becomes more mechanical looking rather than a natural swirl. I enjoy your blog.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I have no idea how much hair I used (actually the piece is still in progress,) but the density was 80% (single hair, 4 holes out of 5) for the sides and back (including the crown), dropping to about 70% for the top. I did use cross-ventilation in addition to reverse ventilation. It really seems to give a nice natural lift to the hair! This crown actually has less swirl than I usually would like. I found it tricky enough thinking about reversing and crossing the hairs! I will try to add a bit more swirl on the next one!
ReplyDeleteI have to exhibit self control as I always tend to lean towards more density than I would like, sheerly out of fear that the piece is going to be too sparse, and then having to go back an ADD hair into a piece that is already ventilated is a PAIN. I think the swirl you have already works, it is not overdone, and does not look too planned which provides a very natural look. Way to go.... your work gets better and better.
ReplyDeleteThanks very much, that's good of you to say! I understand about the density, I'm always worried about that too. The trouble is that the lighter densities always seem to look much more natural. There is a very fine line between too little hair and too much! I also notice that synthetic hair tends to appear more dense than human hair, so I'm constantly having to compensate a bit depending what I'm working with!
DeleteIncidentally, the crown is VERY planned... but I'm glad it doesn't look like it was! :D
DeleteI'm working on a piece now. Going to try your method of both reverse ventilating and cross ventilating as I do not like when the crown and top of a piece is flat without any lift to it. Question, when you are crossing are you crossing one complete row right, and then the next row left, etc. alternating each row. Or, crossing right over left in every single cell each row? In addition, you would likely have to skip a few holes in order to maintain a light density. It gets complicated.
DeleteIt really does work, it gives a nice realistic volume to the hair without making it poofy and unmanageable. You have to cross complete alternating rows. I have tried crossing in the same row and it gets very confusing, and would take forever. And yes, you skip holes to adjust the density as normal. It does get confusing, but try throwing in a grey percentage just to shake things up a bit, and your head might explode! :P The results are worth the trouble though.
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Deletethanks much for the explanation on crossing, same I thought that if you criss cross in the same row that it gets more time consuming. Some wigmakers actually do it that way. A well thought out density shows in the end results. I decided I would stop ventilating by sight and feeling the density alone and try a more planned out approach. Really enjoying your blog!
ReplyDeleteFor 80 percent density – do you skip every 5th hole or do you just skip every complete 5th row?
ReplyDeleteSkip every fifth hole. I think every fifth row would make too much of a visible pattern.
ReplyDelete