In the works is a tall Rococo style wig - this is also often referred to as a "pouf" or Marie Antoinette style from the 18th century. The three objectives for this wig were: 1) to create a wig with a permanent or dedicated style; 2) light weight given the height & over all size of the style; and lastly 3) to remain pliable or soft enough to allow for different embellishments to used (pinned in) once finished - thus I decided to use batting to build the base or under lying structure of the wig.
After looking at both historical paintings, as well as more recent photos from movies about the era, I decided to make the first wig an exaggerated height. The first question was how to determine the height. Upon closer inspection of the images there seemed to be a rough correlation between the length of the face & the height. I opted to use as a guide the distance from the chin to the edge of the wig cap & then made the starting or "central tower" this size. I have an Iplehouse EID & the measurement I used was 2.5" (6.35cm).
After looking at both historical paintings, as well as more recent photos from movies about the era, I decided to make the first wig an exaggerated height. The first question was how to determine the height. Upon closer inspection of the images there seemed to be a rough correlation between the length of the face & the height. I opted to use as a guide the distance from the chin to the edge of the wig cap & then made the starting or "central tower" this size. I have an Iplehouse EID & the measurement I used was 2.5" (6.35cm).
1) Mark position of "pouf "on wig cap
The wig cap shown above is crocheted & lined - any type of wig cap can be used. In the initial stages of learning to make wig caps, several of these crocheted type caps were made. I found that a stretch mesh cap was more flexible for positioning wefts, so am using up these trial caps for styles that are suitable - white & will be completely covered (location & number holes do not matter).
See the complete photo journal on how the Rococo Wig was made or select "Read More" for the rest of this post ...
See the complete photo journal on how the Rococo Wig was made or select "Read More" for the rest of this post ...
 2) Attach long wefts to inside of cap edge |  3) Form central tower & attach at marked position |
I have used a glue gun for this project - it is quick & easy to use but the elements can optionally be attached used needle & thread. To form the tower, I simply rolled the batting. I have an abundance of irregular strips that are cut-offs from quilt making that work well for this purpose.
 4) Second strip of batting attached to cover cap & tower |  5) Edges were smoothed by applying a bit of glue & tip of glue gun |
 6) Edge of second batting layer starts just above the edge of wig cap |  7) Short weft layer attached just below the batting on the edge of wig cao |
 8) View of short wefts once attached |  9) Comb a small section approximately 1" (2.54cm) of the short weft layer |
 10) Glue combed section at top of batting |  11) Repeat combing & gluing sections around entire layer of short wefts |
The base structure of the Rococo wig is complete - stable, pliable. The long wefts attached to the inside of the wig cap will be used for the decorative layer.
