This method of making wigs for display mannequins has been used in museums for over 20 years.
It is a great way for small museums and fashion students to create elegant wigs cheaply and easily. We have used white paper for our tutorial, but you could use anything you liked; ribbon, fabrics, unusual papers. You are only limited by your own imagination!
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You will need some double sided tape, scissors, and a ‘wig’ material. This could be paper, ribbon, material, or synthetic fabrics.
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Cut your material into strips (we used 2.5cm x 10cm) and place a piece of double sided tape at the top of each strip
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Stick your paper strips down each side of the mannequins head, creating a ‘part’
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Secure the bottom of the strips to the mannequin with some double sided tape
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Don’t pull the strips too tight, let her have some ‘body’ to her wig!
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To create the back of the wig stick on four more paper strips.
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Stick the back of the wig down with some more double sided tape.
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Take a strip of paper and something to roll with, we have used a paintbrush, a pen would also work!
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Roll the paper tighly around
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You can then stretch your roll open to start creating the hair ‘tendril’
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using double sided tape place a tendril on each side of the wig.
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Our wig has three tendrils on each side, you could put as many as you like.
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Take a longer piece of paper to begin to create the ‘bun’.
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Loop the paper over to create a few loops, and secure together with double sided tape.
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Attach the ‘bun’ to the wig using double sided tape.
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The side view
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The back view
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The finished product
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Photography by Sotha Bourn
Post by Suzanne Chee, Conservator
