Crazy Hair Day: Rag Rug

I gave this hairdo to Belle a couple evenings ago just for the fun of it.  She didn't actually wear it out anywhere--we were just being goofy.  It's just in time for Dr. Suess' birthday, though, since a lot of schools have a crazy hair day, so I'm posting it anyway.  Belle's school is doing a literary character dress-up day instead of crazy hair day.

This hairstyle is a half dutch cornrow spiraling all around the head.  Start at the crown with a small section, begin braiding around.  Since I was just playing, I used my fingers to draw up new sections of hair, but you could make it look a little neater if you use a comb.  There is nothing you can do about the ends of the hair sticking out.  Once the hair you began braiding with runs out of length, you'll have a new piece of hair running out with every plait til the end.  Braid down the end when you run out of hair on the scalp to add in.  Wrap it around, tuck in the ends, and bobby pin it in place.  Or just leave it hanging for more craziness.

I call this the rag rug because it reminds me of those braided oval or circular rugs.

Check out our other crazy hairstyles by clicking on the link in the right sidebar.

Milkmaid Braids

I've already posted a different version of the milkmaid braids here, but I wanted to do this one that's a little different for shorter hair.

As you can see in the picture, you don't cross the braids over the back like the other post, but braid above the ears and pull them straight up.  I fastened off the end of the braid with a clear elastic, and then added another clear elastic down from the first to keep the ends of the tail from fraying out as much.

You have to draw the braids up together and then use bobby pins to hide each tail under the other braid.  It helps if your braids are loose and wide so you can spread them out flatter and make more room for the tails to hide.

You can see the elastic just a bit here.  It would help if her hair were maybe an inch longer.

Braided Heart Ponytail

To help celebrate Valentine's Day, here's another heart shaped hairdo.  Instructions are show for the ponytail version, but this is also really cute as pigtails.  (This picture is from a long time ago!)

Begin with a front piggy.  Put the rest of the hair in a low pony, being sure to leave the tail of the top one out.

Braid two sections of the lower ponytail at the sides.  Make them as even thickness as you can.  Secure the ends with a temporary clip.

Pull the braids up and then back down to add them with the hair of the top piggy.

Add an elastic here, careful to keep the braids at equal lengths on either side.  Split the hair from the tail in half, and tuck them behind the braids.

The braids will make a C shape on either side. To get the sharper angle at the bottom of the heart, you can fold them up and add another elastic on top of the pinch.

The ends of the braids will be much shorter than the tail of the pony.  If they pop out the sides like in the above picture and that bothers you, you can add this additional step.  Pull the short ends together behind the ponytail.  Wrap a small clear elastic around them a few times, and then once around to whole ponytail.

I'll admit this makes the bottom look kind of weird, but that can be hidden with a flower or bow.  (Satiny flower clip from Gimme Clips!)

Click the Valentine's Day link on the right sidebar to see more Valentine's Day hairstyle ideas.