best material for rag curls?

[cleanbug]

Hi all, tried rag curls last weekend & really liked the outcome. However, I used a cut up towel & had to pick out lots of lint from my hair. What material is best? I was thinking perhaps fleece from the fabric store as I don't think it give off bits of fabric & I wanted it to be somewhat absorbant.
What do you think? Is there a better fabric that you have tried that works better?
Here's a link of how to do rag curls. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxgwbWc5Yiw
I didn't have wide enough strips to fold over and "seal" the hair ends in....I can see that it would be MUCH easier to roll the hair up with the ends neatly tucked away as the girl does it in the video.
Thanks for any input

[lapushka]

I don't think there's any material that doesn't produce lint - maybe try cotton strips, or make them last using a sewing machine (don't ask me, don't know how).

Then there's alternatives:

paper bag curls
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoZ2QGq0n4A

paper towel curls (in German, but you'll get the idea)
http://www.youtube.com/user/Kupferzopf#p/u/0/XHhyRKjZUOY

[walterSCAN]

I rag curled my hair last night! :laugh:

What I use (and don't recommend-- I wish I had something else, actually) is an old and extremely low thread-count sheet cut into strips. it was the only fabric I had on hand that I was willing to sacrifice if I couldn't get the hang of rag curls... I don't get lint so much as threads stuck in my curls from the fabric raveling... it's annoying.

At any rate, I've been wishing I had some sateen sheets or something similar to make strips with. They don't seem to have as much lint, and the material doesn't ravel as badly because it's more tightly woven. I'm thinking it shouldn't be too slippery either...

Personally, I wouldn't use fleece because I know it will tangle my hair, but I have ridiculously tangle-prone fine hair. If you're not worried about tangles, then I think fleece would work well as long as you made the strips longer so they tie easier-- fleece is thicker and harder to tie anyway, IMHO.

[lapushka]

Searching ebay for pillow soft rollers might help (they have them in satin). Saves you the hassle of strips of fabric (which takes far more practice to form a curl with IMO).

[tralalalara]

wouldn't fleece would make hair very static-ey and dry?

maybe buy soft rollers or rip up a t-shirt instead of a towel.

[sumptuousness]

There is a very good tutorial on youtube using socks, which will avoid any threads in hair, and can be tied easily once hair is curled up in them:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8w-uHx8KpQ

[Bunnicula]

I second the pillow soft curlers like these ones:
http://www.amazon.com/Luxor-Pillow-Soft-Curlers-Pack/dp/B000TBZ9L0

You can also get them at drugstores and they have little wires you twist together so it's super easy to put them in and take them out. The satin ones are probably best for your hair, but I use the cottony ones so they don't slip out of my hair.

[RocketDog]

I wouldn't use fleece since it creates horrible static - what about using stretch velvet or strips of old tee-shirt? That's what I have used and I didn't have any issues with linties.

[truwave]

What about microfiber?

[cleanbug]

Thanks for everyone's replies. I took the advice & went to the fabric store & bought some cotton tee shirt material in a funky camo color. It doesn't seem to "shed" as the terry cloth did. I'll cut some strips & try it out on the weekend.
Cheers

[lapushka]

Thanks for everyone's replies. I took the advice & went to the fabric store & bought some cotton tee shirt material in a funky camo color. It doesn't seem to "shed" as the terry cloth did. I'll cut some strips & try it out on the weekend.
Cheers

Shirt material's jersey cotton, it's knitwear. It will produce so much lint! I'd use woven cotton. There's a big difference. Woven cotton (as in: cotton bed sheets, handkerchiefs, ...) will separate into threads - much easier to deal with. If you pick a thread out, you'll just have to rip it along that line... that's what my grandma taught me.