SThr
December 6th, 2013, 02:39 PM
Alright, so I’ve had a couple requests for an explanation on how to do hair wraps with paracord, so get ready for a bunch of pictures!
The wrap is really just a bunch of hitches in a row around the length of the hair. You can see this method on sailboats as ‘coxcombing’.
There are two main looks do doing this hair wrap, straight bar, and spiral. I’m doing the straight version in this tutorial, but if you want to do a spiral, don’t reverse the direction of each hitch, this will make sense once you’re actually doing it. Coxcombing is normally the spiral version. You can mix it up a little by alternating hitch directions at a different rate, like 3 left, 3 right, repeat, that would make a small zig zag pattern.
Paracord works well for this wrap, since it’s thin, strong, and smooth. For this tutorial I’m using some hemp rope I made because it shows up better in pictures, but you probably shouldn’t use something that thick (5mm) unless you have very thick hair all the way down your length. With a cord this big the hitches get unwieldy around a thin (<5” circumference) amount of hair. So use paracord at first, and once you get comfortable with it, you can try other things.
I would recommend starting with 10’ of paracord, the end result won’t be really long, but it’ll help you get an understanding of what the basic steps are. Plus, a really long wrap with paracord is stiff, and you likely won’t be used to having a stick growing from the back of your head.
You’ll probably want to start off by putting your hair in a ponytail, you won’t need to as you get better at doing this, but while you’re still learning, it’ll help a lot! I should have used one for this, as doing things with one hand and trying to take pictures with the other really messed me up.
TL;DR: Get 10’ of paracord and stick your hair in a ponytail.
Step 1: Find your ends
http://i779.photobucket.com/albums/yy73/09SThr/Paracord%20Hair%20Wrap/th_ends_zpsd391634d.jpg (http://s779.photobucket.com/user/09SThr/media/Paracord%20Hair%20Wrap/ends_zpsd391634d.jpg.html)
Step 2: Find the center of your rope. The little loop here is called a bight.
http://i779.photobucket.com/albums/yy73/09SThr/Paracord%20Hair%20Wrap/th_bight_zpsfd0b6e1e.jpg (http://s779.photobucket.com/user/09SThr/media/Paracord%20Hair%20Wrap/bight_zpsfd0b6e1e.jpg.html)
Step 3: Move your bight down the rope to form two loops. The bit my thumb is touching is the center of the rope.
http://i779.photobucket.com/albums/yy73/09SThr/Paracord%20Hair%20Wrap/th_loop1_zps8d922c7b.jpg (http://s779.photobucket.com/user/09SThr/media/Paracord%20Hair%20Wrap/loop1_zps8d922c7b.jpg.html)
Step 4: Fold the loops together, with the center of the rope wrapped around them.
http://i779.photobucket.com/albums/yy73/09SThr/Paracord%20Hair%20Wrap/th_loop2_zpsa16e8fe6.jpg (http://s779.photobucket.com/user/09SThr/media/Paracord%20Hair%20Wrap/loop2_zpsa16e8fe6.jpg.html)
Step 5: Put your hand in it like you would a ponytail holder. Keeping your pinky on the outside will help to keep the shape.
http://i779.photobucket.com/albums/yy73/09SThr/Paracord%20Hair%20Wrap/th_loop3_zps91528618.jpg (http://s779.photobucket.com/user/09SThr/media/Paracord%20Hair%20Wrap/loop3_zps91528618.jpg.html)
Step 6: Put that loop on your hair like a pony tail holder, and carefully tighten. Take note that the rest of the rope, which I’ll now call the tail, is pointing to the right.
http://i779.photobucket.com/albums/yy73/09SThr/Paracord%20Hair%20Wrap/th_firstknot_zps9d8a5b3e.jpg (http://s779.photobucket.com/user/09SThr/media/Paracord%20Hair%20Wrap/firstknot_zps9d8a5b3e.jpg.html)
Step 7: Make a loop, with the tail pointing to the left. Even if you do a spiral, the first hitch should be in the opposite direction of the ponytail loop to make it hold in place.
http://i779.photobucket.com/albums/yy73/09SThr/Paracord%20Hair%20Wrap/th_secondloop_zps6f4ad17e.jpg (http://s779.photobucket.com/user/09SThr/media/Paracord%20Hair%20Wrap/secondloop_zps6f4ad17e.jpg.html)
Step 8: Pull your hair through the loop like a ponytail.
http://i779.photobucket.com/albums/yy73/09SThr/Paracord%20Hair%20Wrap/th_secondsloop2_zpsc09a0dfb.jpg (http://s779.photobucket.com/user/09SThr/media/Paracord%20Hair%20Wrap/secondsloop2_zpsc09a0dfb.jpg.html)
http://i779.photobucket.com/albums/yy73/09SThr/Paracord%20Hair%20Wrap/th_secondloop3_zps28b1de73.jpg (http://s779.photobucket.com/user/09SThr/media/Paracord%20Hair%20Wrap/secondloop3_zps28b1de73.jpg.html)
The wrap is really just a bunch of hitches in a row around the length of the hair. You can see this method on sailboats as ‘coxcombing’.
There are two main looks do doing this hair wrap, straight bar, and spiral. I’m doing the straight version in this tutorial, but if you want to do a spiral, don’t reverse the direction of each hitch, this will make sense once you’re actually doing it. Coxcombing is normally the spiral version. You can mix it up a little by alternating hitch directions at a different rate, like 3 left, 3 right, repeat, that would make a small zig zag pattern.
Paracord works well for this wrap, since it’s thin, strong, and smooth. For this tutorial I’m using some hemp rope I made because it shows up better in pictures, but you probably shouldn’t use something that thick (5mm) unless you have very thick hair all the way down your length. With a cord this big the hitches get unwieldy around a thin (<5” circumference) amount of hair. So use paracord at first, and once you get comfortable with it, you can try other things.
I would recommend starting with 10’ of paracord, the end result won’t be really long, but it’ll help you get an understanding of what the basic steps are. Plus, a really long wrap with paracord is stiff, and you likely won’t be used to having a stick growing from the back of your head.
You’ll probably want to start off by putting your hair in a ponytail, you won’t need to as you get better at doing this, but while you’re still learning, it’ll help a lot! I should have used one for this, as doing things with one hand and trying to take pictures with the other really messed me up.
TL;DR: Get 10’ of paracord and stick your hair in a ponytail.
Step 1: Find your ends
http://i779.photobucket.com/albums/yy73/09SThr/Paracord%20Hair%20Wrap/th_ends_zpsd391634d.jpg (http://s779.photobucket.com/user/09SThr/media/Paracord%20Hair%20Wrap/ends_zpsd391634d.jpg.html)
Step 2: Find the center of your rope. The little loop here is called a bight.
http://i779.photobucket.com/albums/yy73/09SThr/Paracord%20Hair%20Wrap/th_bight_zpsfd0b6e1e.jpg (http://s779.photobucket.com/user/09SThr/media/Paracord%20Hair%20Wrap/bight_zpsfd0b6e1e.jpg.html)
Step 3: Move your bight down the rope to form two loops. The bit my thumb is touching is the center of the rope.
http://i779.photobucket.com/albums/yy73/09SThr/Paracord%20Hair%20Wrap/th_loop1_zps8d922c7b.jpg (http://s779.photobucket.com/user/09SThr/media/Paracord%20Hair%20Wrap/loop1_zps8d922c7b.jpg.html)
Step 4: Fold the loops together, with the center of the rope wrapped around them.
http://i779.photobucket.com/albums/yy73/09SThr/Paracord%20Hair%20Wrap/th_loop2_zpsa16e8fe6.jpg (http://s779.photobucket.com/user/09SThr/media/Paracord%20Hair%20Wrap/loop2_zpsa16e8fe6.jpg.html)
Step 5: Put your hand in it like you would a ponytail holder. Keeping your pinky on the outside will help to keep the shape.
http://i779.photobucket.com/albums/yy73/09SThr/Paracord%20Hair%20Wrap/th_loop3_zps91528618.jpg (http://s779.photobucket.com/user/09SThr/media/Paracord%20Hair%20Wrap/loop3_zps91528618.jpg.html)
Step 6: Put that loop on your hair like a pony tail holder, and carefully tighten. Take note that the rest of the rope, which I’ll now call the tail, is pointing to the right.
http://i779.photobucket.com/albums/yy73/09SThr/Paracord%20Hair%20Wrap/th_firstknot_zps9d8a5b3e.jpg (http://s779.photobucket.com/user/09SThr/media/Paracord%20Hair%20Wrap/firstknot_zps9d8a5b3e.jpg.html)
Step 7: Make a loop, with the tail pointing to the left. Even if you do a spiral, the first hitch should be in the opposite direction of the ponytail loop to make it hold in place.
http://i779.photobucket.com/albums/yy73/09SThr/Paracord%20Hair%20Wrap/th_secondloop_zps6f4ad17e.jpg (http://s779.photobucket.com/user/09SThr/media/Paracord%20Hair%20Wrap/secondloop_zps6f4ad17e.jpg.html)
Step 8: Pull your hair through the loop like a ponytail.
http://i779.photobucket.com/albums/yy73/09SThr/Paracord%20Hair%20Wrap/th_secondsloop2_zpsc09a0dfb.jpg (http://s779.photobucket.com/user/09SThr/media/Paracord%20Hair%20Wrap/secondsloop2_zpsc09a0dfb.jpg.html)
http://i779.photobucket.com/albums/yy73/09SThr/Paracord%20Hair%20Wrap/th_secondloop3_zps28b1de73.jpg (http://s779.photobucket.com/user/09SThr/media/Paracord%20Hair%20Wrap/secondloop3_zps28b1de73.jpg.html)