We’re big fans of wigs! They allow you to switch up your look or cover up a bad hair day in minutes. Some people avoid them for fear of them falling off or because they don’t look natural. But these days, there are some pretty natural and easily blended wigs out there. Matter of fact, if you’re up for being crafty, you can create your own wig. The key to a wig that looks natural is the texture of your hair and a natural looking hairline, which is where a u-part wig comes in handy. A u-part wig is basically what it sounds like. It’s a wig with a u-shaped opening that allows you to leave out a part of your hair to blend with the wig. You can purchase them online or at beauty supply stores, or you can make one yourself. Here’s how.
Key Tools
You can get any of the below supplies from your local beauty supply store or on Amazon.
- Wig cap or U-part wig cap
- Foam head
- Hair (weaved, AKA hair on tracks, 2 – 3 bundles will do depending on how much volume you’re looking for)
- Wig clips
- Thread and needle (a curved needle works best)
- Optional: Glue gun and glue sticks
- Optional: Hair glue and blow dryer
Note: the u-part wig cap is convenient (albeit slightly more expensive than a normal wig cap), but if you use it, you can’t really size the U to your liking.
The Hard Way: Sew-in U-Part Wig
Breanna Rutter of HowToBlackHair.com created a pretty in-depth tutorial on how to create a u-part wig by sewing the hair into a wig cap. It might be helpful to watch the full video if you’re a first timer, so you can see the various elements she considers when creating her wig. But in case you don’t have time to watch all 26 minutes of her video, we’ve broken down the steps for you.
Braid Pattern
- So that they’re out of the way, braid your edges or the part of your hair that you want to leave out. As you section out your leave-out, make sure you’ve left enough to cover the top perimeter of your wig.
- Braid two braids along either side of your leave-out; make sure they’re long enough for wig clips (if you’re using them).
- Braid the rest of hair straight back. Use small bobby pins to pin the ends up into the cornrows. Or braid the ends into one horizontal cornrow.
Sew in the Hair!
- To create her wig, Breanna uses three bundles of hair at 20″, 22″ and 24″ long, placing the shorter hair at the top for a layered look.
- You can technically do this just by eyeballing it, but if you prefer to be precise, you can mark the wig cap with pins or colored pencil (eyeliner tends to work) so you know where to stop adding hair. Measure the length and width of your leave out (you can use a ruler or your fingers) then mark that same length and width on the cap.
- Once you’re ready, start sewing! Breanna starts at the very edge of the wig cap. The needle first goes through the cap and then through the weave. She loops the thread around the needle twice. Then pulls it to create a knot. You can see her do this at the 7:30 minute mark of the video above. As you sew, be sure you’re placing the hair in a u-shape around the foam head.
- Once you get to the last couple tracks, make sure the stitches in the track are sewn closely, since the top part of the hair gets manipulated more then other parts. This helps keep them extra secure.
- Remove the excess part of the cap, simply by cutting it out. Be careful not to cut too close to the stitches so you don’t cut the thread.
Add the Clips!
- Place the wig clips on either side of the U and in the back ‘border’ of the cap. It’s helpful to line the clips up with the seams of the cap so they’re evenly spaced.
- Sew them into the cap using the knotting method. Push the needle through the edge of the wig cap, then through the opening in clip. Wrap the thread around needle twice, then pull to secure. Breanna does two stitches per hole when sewing in her clips.
The Easy Way: Glued-in U-Part Wig
This method can be doing using either a glue gun and glue sticks or hair glue and a blow dryer to dry the glue as you attach the hair. Vlogger lingywashere shows how she creates her u-part wig with kinky-straight hair using a glue gun. Meanwhile, The Chic Noir has a tutorial that shows how she creates a wig using hair glue and a blow dryer. The form of glue you use depends on your personal preference and what you have access to. Be sure to consider whether you’re allergic to any of the ingredients in either form of glue.
The glue-in method of creating a u-part wig is a lot faster than the sew-in method, but if you’re worried about the chemicals contained in the glue, the sew-in method will be worth the extra time spent. You can follow the same steps as above. Basically…
- Mark the wig cap if needed.
- Glue the tracks in a u-shape around the foam head/onto the wig cap.
- You can use a blow dryer to dry the glue as you go along.
- Once you’ve added the hair to your liking, cut out the U.
- Sew in the wig clips.
- And voila!
The Fold-Over Method
Whether you’re using the sew-in or glue-in method, consider trying the fold-over method. This refers to what you do with the tracks when you reach the ‘border’ of the wig cap. In the first few videos above, the vloggers cut the tracks. This works but can lead to shedding. Alternatively, you can fold over the track when you get to the edge of the wig cap instead of cutting it. Vlogger MsJazzy2Classy shows us exactly how to do this below.
There you have it! A wig made perfectly for you because it’s made by you!
