DIY Mardi Gras Parachord Wig!

This is an amazing DIY Mardi Gras Wig! I made this project because I feel that the world has a lack of color, both bright hues, as well as personality wise. This project is extremely simple to make, and also immensely cool and can be worn to almost any occasion! (Moose Crafts Inc. does not condone the use of the DIY Mardi Gras Wig at Business meetings. DIY Mardi Gras Wig is not considered ¨Business Casual”by the FFP )

1.70 parachord strands that are 6-10” long

2. A Home Depot or Hardware store FABRIC tool Belt

3. A pair of large cardboard Scissors (For Cutting Paracord)

4.A seam ripper, or a EXTREMELY sharp pair of scissors

5. Hot Glue Gun

6. One Hot Glue stick

7.One normal Pair of scissors

8. 2 Safety Pins

9.(Optional) Clear Scotch Tape

Gather or buy the supplies needed to complete thee wig. PLEASE NOTE: All Supplies listed are important, make sure to gather all needed supplies necessary (Or a close substitute)

For the first proper step, you will need your parachord strands, along with your cardboard scissors. I found it most effective to cut parachord with cardboard scissor, though it make take some pulling, it is much more effective compared to average scissors. You will begin by cutting your parachord strands into 6-10” intervals. To do this you will need somewhere around 35 feet of parachord. The quantity of each size is really up to you and your personal style, but I would suggest trying to get an equal quantity of all sizes.

After you have cut your parachord, you will need your Fabric tool belt, along with a normal pair of scissor. On this step, you will be cutting the fabric waist straps off of your belt. Make sure to cut them vertically so it keeps a smooth, even side compared to a rigid, uneven edge. This will leave you with a bald cap like piece of fabric with some flaps off to the sides. This step is fairly hard to explain, so if you are still a little confused, the pictures may provide you some support

After throwing away or scraping the fabric waist straps, you will now be ripping the the center seam out of the tool belt. I would suggest using a seam ripper for this portion of the project, though it is not required and can be replaced for a SHARP pair of scissors. Start at the bottom the seam and began breaking the two bottom most bindings. After doing so, you will need to began pulling of the rest of the binding out from bottom to top using your fingers. If you encounter any snags, the seam ripper or scissors can be used as a helpful tool. At the top of the binding, there should be a knotted wad of string holding it together. I would suggest using a pair of scissors and continually cutting the knot until it eventually becomes untethered and/or snaps. Make sure to look at the picture on this step to ensure you have the proper tool required

After removing the middle seam from the tool belt, you will be left with a wearable, bald cap like piece of fabric. Though the fabric is already beginning to look wearable, you are still left with annoying, non-aesthetically pleasing flaps on the sides. To fix this you will need your two Safety pins. I would suggest having a friend do this for you to ensure safety, and also to help you position the pins correctly. This is fairly simple, yet fairly dangerous at the same time, so please be cautious while performing this step. First, you will need to put the bald cap on your head with the hardware store logo on the backside of your head. Next, you will have your friend place the needles through your cap. To do this, you will need to fold the right flap forward. Hold the flap in place and carefully insert the needle through the flap, and wind it through the fabric near the front of the hat. Do the same thing on the left side of the hat, but instead fold the flap backwards and weave the needle through fabric through the fabric near the back of the cap. (Left and Right sides corresponding to when the cap is looked at from the front.) Make sure to examine the pictures provided closely to ensure safety while performing this task.

You are now ready to start gluing your strands. It is most efficient to use a line technique during this step. This is where you make a horizontal line of hot glue on each side of your cap before you began attaching parachord.

Another note to this technique is to make sure to glue your place your paracord in the glue just under the tip of the paracord in order to get optimum strength out of your glue. Begin with right side of the cap, and work your way to the top. I would suggest using around seventeen pieces of paracord on the right and left sides of the cap. Though this hat is meant to be crazy, make sure to equally space your strands in order to get the best look out of your wig.

After finishing the right and left side of the wig, switch to the back side. You will want to use around twenty parachord strands on the backside of your cap. This overwhelming amount of strands helps cover the logo that is generally on the back of the cap. Try to keep the strands equally spaced, but push them closer together in order, as I said, to cover up the logo.

After finishing the backside of the cap, move to the top. The part of the hat is really only for aesthetic purposes, but is necessary for this project. For the top of the wig, make two vertical glue lines with a gap in between them. This will act as the wigs cowlicks or border that one’s hair would grow out off. Begin attaching the hair going outwards from the “Cowlick”. Try to use the longer strands of parachord for the top of the wig

(Optional) If you are pleased with the front of your hat this does not apply to you, but feel free to read it. I found that after completing my wig, it revealed my hair in the front, which kind of killed the whole idea of a it being a wig. There is actually a very simple solution to this, however. By attaching a piece of clear scotch tape to the lip on the front of the wig, and pulling it down until you fit it how you want, and finally taping it to your forehead shown surprisingly effective when trying to restore the “Beauty” to your wig. This may take several pieces of tape to accomplish, but, in my opinion, it is worth it in the long run.

You now get to enjoy your wig! You can go anywhere with this wig on! Mardi Gras, the park, you name, DIY Mardi Gras Wig can take you there!