Hairwork (aka Victorian Hair Jewelry)

[KokotheHen]

As some of you may already know, I am interested in all things Victorian and in saving shed hair for wig making. Antique hairwork has interested me for a long time, but I never could find enough information to know how to learn it. Recently, I came across a Victorian book called Art of Hairwork by Mark Campbell and a few social media pages of people who are trying to revive this almost lost art. Intrigued, I got myself all the needed supplies as a Christmas present and decided to attempt to recreate this design:

https://i.postimg.cc/02NGfjvv/1-A9534-A6-4-EC1-4-E03-B2-E5-95-C4747-D6-CA5.png (https://postimg.cc/Jt9B71tY)

I used some of my collected shed hair and finished the braid in a little less than 5 hours total (not including the time it took me to sort, cut, and set up the hair before braiding):

https://i.postimg.cc/fbvkp77r/7-AABD0-B2-525-C-4-E54-8-C7-C-F2-FF87509-FCA.png (https://postimg.cc/4KmJh9S6)

https://i.postimg.cc/0jhNDVxb/475-CF0-CF-0-E42-44-A7-89-B2-7-E3-C9-C37217-F.jpg (https://postimg.cc/Mfbx8bnS)

https://i.postimg.cc/Y2YTHXL0/61-A01-CCE-5513-4-D63-84-B2-3426-B808832-F.jpg (https://postimg.cc/z3DxwFjY)

Now I just need to set/boil it (which should make each circle more round) and mount it with gold jewelry findings, which I still need to buy. I find it so interesting that an art that was once so prominent has now all but disappeared from the knowledge of everyone. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the pattern was easy and quick, and that the finished braid is very sturdy and smooth. The braid will be turned into a choker necklace that can have a pendant hanging from it. I will update when it’s finished!

Now I want to make more…
Can I henna the hair?
Dye it?
Bleach it to make blonde hair bracelets?
The possibilities are endless :laugh:

[C_Bookworm]

That is AMAZING! :crush: I can’t wait to see the final product!

[WednesdayAddams]

Whoa. That is amazing.

[lapis_lazuli]

I can't believe that's hair! Incredible work :applause

[GoatLady]

Very impressive.

[shelomit]

Oh, wow. Very cool!

[Joyful Mystery]

That’s very beautiful!

[mermaid lullaby]

Whoa! I never knew that existed!

[vampyyri]

I love when things aren't lost to time forever, it's so easy to get lost in the modern age with all of this technology. It's really refreshing to see an old art resurface, it looks incredible :crush:

I'm also very curious to see if you could dye/bleach the hair beforehand to make fun colored jewelry :hmm:

[ArienEllariel]

That is so cool! I knew this existed but I've never seen any modern recreations. Very beautiful. :)

[Flittingsis]

That's awesome! This weekend I watched a documentary of an art exhibition at the Smithsonian of the top 40 craft workers under 40 and one of them made picture miniatures out of hair. Hair craft work is so neat! :flower:

[Shorty89]

That's super cool. The only hair jewellery I've made is a locked with a small braid of my grandma's childhood hair. I kind of want to try more but I don't have the tools.

[tuanyiji]

I found the archive link to this fascinating book: https://archive.org/details/TheLockOfHairItsHistoryAncientAndModernNaturalAndA rtisticWith/speight-a-lock-1871-BK001331-LowRes/page/n132/mode/1up

I am obsessed with hair art now, and it’s a great way to recycle our own shed and make keepsakes.
Hair weaves in mourning rings/hair lockets/bracelets/pendants all seem a good idea. Hair flowers, and wreaths are on another level.
I know it might seem morbid to some people, but I have experienced my dad’s cancer and how he survived several critical conditions now. Life can be a struggle and a fragile thing. I am determined to keep some parts of my parents even when they pass away, and what better time to collect their shed than now while they are still alive? My mom thought I was joking and just laughed it off, but no, mama, your hair will be with me forever lol. If I have children, I would collect their hair as well and weave theirs with mine, my sister's, and my parents' as a close-knit family heirloom. The only regret would be I didn’t find this book earlier, or I could have done something with my grandparents.

[maborosi]

This is so so cool!

[Deborah]

WOW! That is gorgeous.:)

[MusicalSpoons]

Oh my word, that is incredible!! So beautiful!

I think the modern perception of hair as a keepsake is that it's weird, and perhaps with modern hair habits it most likely has infinitely less meaning to most people than it ever had before. But I have three of my cat's whiskers and I wished I could have somehow kept some of his fur (simply not possible, but he was still SO soft even though he was so ill in his final days :wail:) that I can certainly see how that translates to humans, if hair is something important to an individual.

Your picture with weights on all the strands reminded me of bobbin lace, and I remembered these: https://www.theedkins.co.uk/jo/lace/pat199.htm
https://www.theedkins.co.uk/jo/lace/pat200.htm
(Apologies in advance if that's a whole new rabbit hole for anyone to go down :lol:)

[lapis_lazuli]

I'm so glad this popped up again. I'd love to try it at some point...

Sorry if I'm missing it somewhere, but how did you start it? Are the strands all just tied together with an elastic (and you finish with an elastic)?

And are there any further instructions on boiling/setting it afterward? :)

[tuanyiji]

I'm so glad this popped up again. I'd love to try it at some point...

Sorry if I'm missing it somewhere, but how did you start it? Are the strands all just tied together with an elastic (and you finish with an elastic)?

And are there any further instructions on boiling/setting it afterward? :)
Check out the look link I mentioned above, it’s basically a hair work textbook (focused on the text, unfortunately, picture tutorials came after page 136.)

Hairanthropology on Instagram does tablework hair braiding of her own and daughter’s hair, I’m pretty sure Zen is also a LHC member because she’s tbl-classic and buns often:
https://instagram.com/hairanthropology?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
Memento Entwined does customized keepsake items and sometimes shares some process:
https://instagram.com/mementos_entwined?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
Dig through their pages and you will find many like-minded hair work fans.

On youtube there are some video tutorials as well:
These ones are mourning rings:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=el1j9ly-vCI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMCTxq43tLo
These are hair flowers/wreaths:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-MBcncdE0U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D53nnsBRk10
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5pn8GQL-zg


MusicalSpoons, If you want to keepsake any treasured item in small containers, you can try resin art:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tIRH4PdKDI


Mutter Museum has a great collection and a short introduction to hair work:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAqRARporCk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBL73evdWTg


Hair and Now is one of the few channels focused on hair work but sadly too much showcase of vintage items but not enough public tutorials (placed behind their Patreon):
https://youtube.com/@HairandNow

Leila's hair museum has a huge collection of hair work:
https://youtu.be/2kHspsGk5bk

Horse hair work, same theory as hair work:
https://youtu.be/Yanj4RxG4Ok
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yanj4RxG4Ok&t=5s

[Emila]

This is very cool! I love it. Can you only use long strands for this or can you use shorter strands as well?

[tuanyiji]

This is very cool! I love it. Can you only use long strands for this or can you use shorter strands as well?

As far as I know, any length above 1” will do, many parents make keepsake of their newborns hair, the shorter one will be pressed flat as a part of the decoration along with their parents/grandparents like a checkerboard pattern or ribbon, or initials, for example:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CQPYHTzluao/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
https://www.instagram.com/p/CXe0L8krtIp/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
https://www.instagram.com/p/CnXH8Y6sfUy/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

The longer ones are more flexible and can be turned into 3d flowers or wreaths with wire work.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CnXH8Y6sfUy/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

I actually think the tablework is the same theory as the Japanese Kumihimo
https://youtu.be/gK8PSM-_BYM

[Shorty89]

I made a memento mori based on Victorian hair jewellery (albeit very simple) a few years ago. I used part of a braid that we found in my grandma's stuff. She'd kept it since she cut off her hair as a kid.

https://i.imgur.com/7qiDa4R.jpg

[tuanyiji]

I made a memento mori based on Victorian hair jewellery (albeit very simple) a few years ago. I used part of a braid that we found in my grandma's stuff. She'd kept it since she cut off her hair as a kid.

https://i.imgur.com/7qiDa4R.jpg
This is so lovely. I have been thinking, I can make a brooch/locket with hair, and then turn it into the centerpiece of a flexi-8, this way, I can decorate my hair with well, my hair or my mother’s, lol, what a lovely thought, I’d wear it proudly.

[KokotheHen]

Thank you everyone! This thread kind of exploded so it’s hard to keep track of all the questions but I will try to answer them.

Lapis_Lazuli, I tied the ends together with embroidery thread as that’s just what I had on hand and I wanted the knot to be very strong (if its not all the strands get very tangled and fall off, I learned from experience :cool: ) I then secured the ends/ knotted area with sewing clips to be certain that they would not move around. As for the boiling, I read somewhere that you boil it for a few minutes (maybe 2-5 I am guessing?) and then you are supposed to bake it in the oven for “as hot as the hair can tolerate.” I most definitely would not attempt this, and I also read that this step just ensures that the hair is not damp because then it can get moldy. I also read that someone was using a hair dryer set to the highest setting instead of an oven and that the results were practically the same.

Emilia, for tableworked braids and chains, more than 12 inches is usually needed (my hair was roughly 37 inches after sorting/ cutting to even it out and the length was perfect for a medium length necklace, so that is something to keep in mind). For palette worked pictures, anything over 1 inch is usable.

[KokotheHen]

I currently am not working on a project, but once I harvest enough hair to make another piece :p I will try to get much better pictures of the set up, and give detailed instructions on what supplies I bought, etc.

[KokotheHen]

I can provide links to all the supplies though:

Table (my dad helped me drill a 2.5 inch diameter hole in the very center of it): https://www.lowes.com/pd/International-Concepts-23-in-Natural-Indoor-Round-Wood-Plant-Stand/1000737878

Sewing clips (to secure both ends of the hair): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08LGGBDGY?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

Lever back earring pieces (I threaded the earring ends through the holes on the clips, so I could attach the weights to the earrings, the earrings to the clips, and the clips to the hair, if that makes sense): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RSRPR1T?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

Fishing weights (the closes thing I could find to Victorian hair bobbins/ weights): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08N1LMF91?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1

-As a side note, each hair strand need its own weight, so depending on the pattern usually 16-80 weights will be used (which is much more than I originally anticipated)-

I am by no means an expert, but if anyone has any other questions I will try to answer them to the best of my abilities :)

[lapis_lazuli]

Thanks so much for the extra info! Now I just need 320 hairs (of suitable length) :D

[MusicalSpoons]

Thanks so much for the extra info! Now I just need 320 hairs (of suitable length) :D

Yours would probably be long enough to make a sash, not just a necklace!

[tuanyiji]

I found this crazy hair work sampler, of linen with crotchet insert, worked by Annie Parker with her own hair. Read the comments and you will see the dark history behind.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm9t4pnPUgR/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

[Kat]

Oh my word, that is incredible!! So beautiful!

I think the modern perception of hair as a keepsake is that it's weird, and perhaps with modern hair habits it most likely has infinitely less meaning to most people than it ever had before. But I have three of my cat's whiskers and I wished I could have somehow kept some of his fur (simply not possible, but he was still SO soft even though he was so ill in his final days :wail:) that I can certainly see how that translates to humans, if hair is something important to an individual.

Oh yes. I've been doing this for a long time. When I have been in long-distance relationships, I've worn a lock of my significant other's hair in a locket. When my last cat died, I asked the vet's office to trim a bit of her fur for me and the nurse did a nice job, took a bit from a couple different places since she was a tabby with white on her chest and tummy (I also had saved a few of her whiskers and was glad after she died that I did, so now I have a collection of my current cat's whiskers-- it's surprising how often I find them and every 2-3 weeks i'm usually saying to him, "aren't I due for a whisker about now?" LOL). When my mom died, I trimmed a lock of her hair.

And actually, it was cute-- the last guy I was dating, when I told him I was trimming my hair, asked me to save some for him and I did.

[Shorty89]

This is so lovely. I have been thinking, I can make a brooch/locket with hair, and then turn it into the centerpiece of a flexi-8, this way, I can decorate my hair with well, my hair or my mother’s, lol, what a lovely thought, I’d wear it proudly.

Oh that would be neat. If I did it again, I'd get some tools like the proper kind of glue and treat the hair before I tried to use it. The hair I had was very brittle.

[tuanyiji]

Oh yes. I've been doing this for a long time. When I have been in long-distance relationships, I've worn a lock of my significant other's hair in a locket. When my last cat died, I asked the vet's office to trim a bit of her fur for me and the nurse did a nice job, took a bit from a couple different places since she was a tabby with white on her chest and tummy (I also had saved a few of her whiskers and was glad after she died that I did, so now I have a collection of my current cat's whiskers-- it's surprising how often I find them and every 2-3 weeks i'm usually saying to him, "aren't I due for a whisker about now?" LOL). When my mom died, I trimmed a lock of her hair.

And actually, it was cute-- the last guy I was dating, when I told him I was trimming my hair, asked me to save some for him and I did.

In Chinese culture, hair has always been a sign of keepsake for family and love interests, the traditional Chinese for black hair is 青丝 qing si, it's pronounced very similar to 情思 qing si, meaning love thoughts. Parents make keepsakes of their baby's locks by making brushes for calligraphy, ladies give a lock of their hair to their love interests/betrothed/husbands as a token of love. Getting married/tying the knot literally means the couple tie their hair strands together. Some couples even embroider their marriage certificate with hair. Even now, it's not uncommon for girls to customize bracelets/necklaces with their hair hidden inside the strands and give them to their boyfriends. But it would seem very bizarre to obtain hair from an unknown source because hair is considered to be so close to one's spirit and mind that, if it ends up in the wrong hands, it can be turned into a curse or something like voodoo dolls with bad intentions.

I find hairwork very interesting because it makes keepsake in an art form that showcases the hair up front, making me want to do something like that as well, but of course, only with my own and my close loved ones. I look at the vintage items in museums/videos with admiration but I would never think about purchasing some (long deceased) stranger's hair for myself, that's just weird.

[tuanyiji]

Oh that would be neat. If I did it again, I'd get some tools like the proper kind of glue and treat the hair before I tried to use it. The hair I had was very brittle.

I collect my own shed and I take care of them like I would with the ones on my head, which is to clean them with shampoo, put on conditioner/oil, air dry (too much moisture will encourage mold in a confined space), and avoid direct sunlight. They are as good as new :)

[Kat]

In Chinese culture, hair has always been a sign of keepsake for family and love interests, the traditional Chinese for black hair is 青丝 qing si, it's pronounced very similar to 情思 qing si, meaning love thoughts. Parents make keepsakes of their baby's locks by making brushes for calligraphy, ladies give a lock of their hair to their love interests/betrothed/husbands as a token of love. Getting married/tying the knot literally means the couple tie their hair strands together. Some couples even embroider their marriage certificate with hair. Even now, it's not uncommon for girls to customize bracelets/necklaces with their hair hidden inside the strands and give them to their boyfriends.

Neat!......

[tuanyiji]

I found these horsehair kumihimo tutorials which I think can be applied to human hair as well. I didn’t know about table braiding/weaving before, but kumihimo disk or wheel plaiting has always been popular among young girls here:
Sorting and Setting: https://youtu.be/3kvqs2wDNrs
12-strand round braid: https://youtu.be/ElCk8HdrQgE
Twisted Spiral: https://youtu.be/VWnpvFlytAI

It’s funny I didn’t realize how coarse horsehair actually is until I saw the videos. Those are like wire-thick!

[eresh]

I made a memento mori based on Victorian hair jewellery (albeit very simple) a few years ago. I used part of a braid that we found in my grandma's stuff. She'd kept it since she cut off her hair as a kid.

https://i.imgur.com/7qiDa4R.jpg



I love this so much!
I have a pinterestboard with memento mori.
I plan to make one in the future (hopefully very long from now) from my mom's hair.

[jenniferrae]

That is so fun! It gives me nostalgia for my 90s tattoo style chokers, hahaha, but is obviously in a league far beyond stretchy plastic. :D

[jenniferrae]

I made a memento mori based on Victorian hair jewellery (albeit very simple) a few years ago. I used part of a braid that we found in my grandma's stuff. She'd kept it since she cut off her hair as a kid.

https://i.imgur.com/7qiDa4R.jpg

That is so special I could almost cry. <3 <3 <3

[Shorty89]

That is so special I could almost cry. <3 <3 <3

Aw thank you.

[tuanyiji]

Here are some more links from Karen Keenan who has done some webinars on traditional Swedish hairwork jewelry for multiple museums and folk work groups. They are not necessarily tutorials, but the historical content is fascinating as well.
Vesterheim Webinar: Traditional Swedish Hair Jewelry: A Conversation with Karen Keenan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PV7VuP6LdJA

Traditional Swedish Hairwork Jewelry with Karen Keenan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7WaT8Vd4l8&t=2452s

Woven: Traditional Swedish Hair Jewelry with Karen Keenan [KarenFinalDraft]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2YkdTyIN1U

[shelomit]

After the better part of a year spent hemming and hawing, I've started making hair wefts! This is, on some level, tuanyiji's fault ( ;

[tuanyiji]

After the better part of a year spent hemming and hawing, I've started making hair wefts! This is, on some level, tuanyiji's fault ( ;

lol share your progress, I’d love to see it.
I’ve recently restarted my hand-tied weft project and it’s such a fun time. Sorting hair is so therapeutic.

[shelomit]

lol share your progress, I’d love to see it.
I’ve recently restarted my hand-tied weft project and it’s such a fun time. Sorting hair is so therapeutic.

A proper crafter like you would be amused by my set-up, I'm sure: I have the threads anchored to a flat of tomato jars, the excess wrapped around a wooden spatula, and the spatula tied to my floor sweeper so that I can adjust the tension with my knee XD