Why It Is Good To Know How To Sew

Over the last ten years of my loctician career, it has become apparent to me

why it is good to know how to sew.  Making little repairs to clothing or adjusting the waist of pants aside, it has become a valuable skill in dread/locs repair.

At first, when clients would request dreads/locs repairs, I used basic sewing for repairs not thinking

much of it.  However, I had to become better as the level of repairs became more complex.  Dreads/locs can thin in interesting places, and where the thinning occurs makes it even more important to make repairs undetectable.   I have found these are the ways most people use which is why it is good to know how to sew:

• Thread wound over 2-3 inches in different parts on a dread.

I have found that  over time the area becomes heavy.  Multiple strings are hanging along the strands.  The areas at both ends also become thinner and need strengthening to keep the hair together.

• Knots that became lumps in the middle of a dread/loc about to break off. 

Often there are strands attached to them so separating it is painful.

• Using hair fibre to fill in the area.

If this is not done properly, the area may become messy from snagging.

There are several reasons why it is good to know how to sew in the hair business.  You can keep some styles together, do repairs to dreads and install hair extensions.

By Paula Barker, Silkie Locks Hair Design

Books:  “Talking Hair”, “Filling My Head” & “Dreadlocks – A Hairstylist’s Manifest”.