How to Make Gothic Hair Falls

Hair falls are hair extensions worn by those in the goth, punk and cyber subcultures. The hair falls are often made of brightly colored materials such as plastic, wool, yarn, wire, latex, tubing, foam, flannel, felt, lace and fabric, and are meant to look unnatural and extraordinary.

Many stores and salons sell premade hair falls and/or services for weaving in the extensions, but you can make your own hair falls with supplies from your local craft store. They are so easy to create and modify that you can customize them to match your personality, your outfits or your mood whenever you like.

Things You'll Need

• 6.5 ft. of yarn, wool, wire, flannel, felt, lace, fabric, etc. 5 ft. of your main materials/colors 1.5 ft. of additional material/colors for highlights 2.5 ft. of thick elastic piping (like the kind in ponytail rubber-bands)

Instructions

1. Make a drawing of how you want your hair to look. That will make it easier to buy the materials and get the proportion right.

2. Cut the elastic piping in half if you want two separate hairpieces.

3. Cut the material into strips, as thin or thick as you like. Make sure the lengths of the strips are double the length of what you want to appear on your head, as you will be folding them in half to attach to the elastic.

4. Lay a few strips out vertically in the order you want them on the hair piece. Lay the elastic out horizontally in the middle of the row of strips. Fold each strip over the elastic, and tie it in a knot around the elastic.

   If you hold the elastic up with an end in each hand, the material strips should hang down evenly from the elastic on the front and back sides.

5. Continue to knot the material strips around the elastic until there is no material left. Leave just a couple inches of blank elastic on each side.

6. Braid the strips, twist the strips, create dreads, add beads, ribbons, lace, etc., to finish your design. Tie a knot at each end of the elastic to keep the material strips from slipping off.

7. Tie the elastic into a single band to use as a headband, or, if you created two headbands, you can tie them into ponytail holders.

Tips & Warnings

• Change the color or the design anytime you want by removing or adding strips of material.