As most women, I have a love hate relationship with my hair. I’ll wear it in a certain style for a while then I get bit by the change bug and have to do something drastic. Right now I’m just trying to maintain healthy hair while growing out it’s length. Last month I decided to order some hair and get a sew in. The hair started to shed very badly after 2 weeks and I ended up having to take it out before the weft went bald. This, is a story for another day! Since I still wanted the length but I didn’t want a bald spot in my wallet I decided the next best alternative would be to create clip in hair extensions. By going this route I would be able to still maintain my healthy hair without worrying about it being braided to tight. I would still be able to wash and do my weekly deep conditions, and I would also get the luxury of having long flowing locks that I could take out at night. Ready to make your clip in hair extensions? Well lets go!
Here’s what you’ll need:
Hair: I decided to use some hair that I’d purchased from the beauty supply store a long time ago but never got around to using. I choose the Milky Way Saga Remi Yaki since it blended well with my hair.
Clips: Small wig clips work great for making clip in extensions. Depending on how long the weft is you may need to use three per extension. These can be found at any Beauty Supply Store. Shop around, one store tried to charge $1.95 for two clips while another only charged $1. I bought about 10 packs for this project.
Needle: You do not need a “weaving” needle for this project. Weaving needles have the bigger ends and will not go through the small holes of the clips. I used a large sewing needle from my sewing kit. Test it to be sure it will pass through the clip in holes smoothly. If not find another needle.
Thread: I picked up black weaving thread from the Beauty Supply Store. You should only need one spool.
First, part your hair and measure how much weave you will need to clip into that area. Cut just the amount of weave that you need to line up. Do not cut excess, you won’t use it. You can either double or triple the hair depending on how thick you want the hair to be in that area. For the back I doubled. When I got to the middle and top I tripled. Notice in the picture how I am doubling the hair but not cutting it into two pieces. This is extremely important in that it keeps hair from shedding.
Second, cut your thread, you will only need enough to sew one clip on, but do not make it so short that you can’t knot it once you get done sewing. I’d say a little extra is always good in this step. Double the thread so that it holds the clip on more securely.
Third, pay attention to how your clips are going to be sew on. This clips pop open and closed. You want to sew the clip on in such a way that the combs are facing the away from the weft when open. This is important for when you go to clip them on to your hair. The red arrow in the photo indicates the side that needs to be facing away from the weft.
Fourth, secure the string to the weft. In the above picture you will notice three holes on the side. You want to knot your string around the first hole. You will not need to use the other two holes. The same hole will be used on the opposite end when you are completing the clip. Make sure your knot is facing the towards the weft. This way it won’t get caught and pull lose when you comb your hair.
Fifth, line up your hair with the comb. Again make sure you have the comb facing with the teeth away from the weft. Take your needle and go under the hair and pull it through each individual holes that the teeth of the comb are making. Do this through each hole being careful to go under the weft and not through the weft each time you go around. Once you get to the other end of the weft go through the first hole on that side and tie a knot in the weft. Below I am adding two pictures so that you hopefully get the idea of how this is done.
Once you’ve finished that side do the same with the other side. It’s that simple, at I hope my directions were simple enough. Clip the combs into your hair and go on your marry way with a new attitude and some new tresses to toss. On the tracks that were a bit longer I added three clips. One to each side then one in the middle. This helped to keep the tracks from sagging. If you have any questions please let me know and if you’d like for me to film a video on this also let me know. Thanks for stopping by and share pictures with me of your DIY clip in Hair Extensions.
