The art of headwrapping shows us the variety of ways we can express ourselves by the mannerism in which we carry our crowns/headwraps. By reaching into the unknown (because we don't know what we are about to make, just a rough idea or mental picture) through whatever process a person uses as its medium ( i.e. meditation, standing up in front of the mirror and seeing what develops, choosing the colors of the scarves first, using the type of clothing you will wear on a particular day and using it to inform you on your crown, etc) you are able to then bring forth a unique design that shows the world who you are. Most importantly, through one's crown creations we can inspire other women who adapt your style to meet their own unique tastes and features.
This past week, my creative process was triggered by my choice in clothing. I would look at the clothes that I wanted to wear for the day and my crown would take on a shape that was somehow related to my clothing. Sometimes it would be the colors of the clothing, the designs and patterns on it, or the overall theme that I saw developing. So I thought, "instead of using a regular scarf or piece of fabric, let me go with something that's in my closet." I looked and there were these old pair of jeans staring me in the face. I decided to do something with these pants. It somehow had to end up on my head. I remembered seeing some amazing WrapStars on facebook who had done a jeans challenge and since I had not done it, I decided to go ahead and embrace it. My only twist on the challenge would be that I had to wear jeans-based crowns three out of the seven days of the week. I inspected the old jeans closely and realized that the pair would be too heavy for my head. These jeans were from the early 2000s and the material are more durable, thicker and sturdier than they are now. I grabbed a pair of fabric scissors and cut them in half. I also opened up the half I was using by cutting into it. I then stared in the mirror and proceeded to work with the material. Below are the three different styles I came up with.
Day 1: Denim Crown #1
To make this crown, I placed the opened jeans on my shoulder and made the tail of the right side longer than the left. Keeping the tails one longer than the other, I brought the jeans up and placed the material on the back of my head first. This would allow me to work with the tails. I then placed the left tail diagonally in the direction of the right side of the head. The right tail covered the left, creating a "V" shape on the top center of my forehead. I continued to wrap the right tail in a tight circular motion making sure it wouldn't fall off. I tucked in the remaining part into the top of the crown. I then took an orange floral scarf and used it as a way to make sure the jeans wouldn't fall off. I tightly wrapped it in a circle around the jeans.
Day 2: Denim Crown #2
I decided to wear a blue skirt this day and so the crown had to reflect that. For this crown, I tied a royal blue scarf as the base at the bottom of the back of my head. I tucked the left tail by rotating around in a circle. I left the right tail hanging down on my shoulder for later usage. I placed the jeans from the top down creating an arc or circular downwards shape on the head. I didn't tie the tails in the back, I just cross folded them as they went back up to make a second rotation. The last piece of the tails I tucked into whatever space was available at the top, but made sure to keep it congruent with the shape, I didn't want to clump the top. I then took the royal blue tail and wrapped it towards the back top of the crown. This made two layers of royal blue while the blue jeans were accentuated in the middle. Doing this gave the jeans a smooth look on the overall crown design.
Day 3: Denim Crown #3
On this third day, I noticed the previous crowns were better suited for the winter and fall. I needed to see if I could make a style to wear for the summer. Knowing that jeans are a heavy material and are good at retaining heat, I had to figure out how to manipulate them to make a fashionable look, but one that could keep you cool. I used a wig grip to prevent the jeans from falling off. I also used the wig grip so the jeans wouldn't suck up all the moisture as well as natural oils from my scalp and dry it up. I placed the edges of the jeans that still had the stitched design from when it was sewed and used that line to serve as the lining to the crown. This lining would go around the front of my head. I placed the lining almost behind my ears to show some of my hair in the front. This crown would be wrapped much like the second one. The tails went down to come back up. What differed was the process of folding the jean tails. They were folded inward to allow my hair to poke out through the back. The small folds made a nice clumpy look. I purposely wanted to make the crown look lumpy. This was accentuated by the same orange floral scarf used in the first crown. Walking outside with this crown worked well. The breeze was felt in the back of my head where my hair was showing. I loved the look and the style allowed for cooling. This was a really good summer crown. This crown also reinforced the variety of styles in which women have covered for centuries. Weather patterns play a big role in the way in which women covered and how that relates to their hair. Do you show hair? If so, how much? How is this determined by the environment of your home and community? Covering looks different for all women and as long as it remains rooted in their philosophical outlook on why they cover, then temperature should be considered to help them meet their covering goals. This crown reinforced that for me. The ability to manipulate my hair so that it can become an actual part of the crown was great. It reminded me that I need to think that my hair is a living part of me and I should consider it when making my crowns. The goal shouldn't be to just hide the hair, but rather, how do I cover while incorporating my hair into the crown? And this possible by incorporating it into the crown while not showing it at all.
I loved rocking the jeans for most of the week. I truly enjoyed the idea of a theme and I seek to come up with more because it helps with the creative aspects of making crowns/headwraps.
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