2.1.3 – Appropriate Sizing

WHAT THIS LESSON CONTAINS:

What this lesson contains:

• Disclaimer – I still get this wrong sometimes – many variables at play
Trying to figure out the size you should make your sections, and therefore the diameter of your dreadlocks, is a very tricky thing to do. I’ve been doing this for years and I still get it wrong sometimes. What usually throws me off the most is misjudging hair density and how thick the hair gets when backcombed and crocheted.

• Consider placement on head – hair thinning – edges – etc
Some clients will have much thicker hair in the center of their head, and thinner edges. Other clients will have much thicker hair around their back and sides and be thinning on top. There are quite a few variables that make big differences in hair density. And you’ll also want to consider if the client will be going to a barber, which can lead to the edges of the dreadlock sections being cut into. This can all contribute to variations in how you size your sections.

• Not a one size fits all – this is a general guide – not a strict rulebook
This is one of those things that is somewhat of a guessing game. Of course, you’ll want to have the best preparation for this, but at the end of the day you’ll have to make changes on the fly and go with the flow of it all.

• First, figure out what size you want
You’ll want to determine what you or the client wants in terms of the diameter of each dreadlock. For sharpie size, 3/4″ is usually best. For pen or pencil size, just smaller than 1/2″ is usually best. And you can determine other sizes using that range as a baseline.

• Second, determine your hair thickness
Thicker hair will yield larger diameter dreadlocks, therefore you’ll want smaller sections and more of them. Thinner hair will yield smaller diameter dreadlocks, therefore you’ll want larger sections and fewer of them. Just be careful not to make sections too wide on thin hair, it can start to look a bit weird. “Medium” “normal” density hair textures will be somewhere in the middle.

• Third, determine how thick backcombing makes the hair
The final variation in this equation is to determine how thick backcombing makes the hair. If it gets very thick you’ll absolutely want to have smaller sections. If the hair doesn’t get very thick you’ll want to keep “normal” sectioning. This is a trial and error situation, and the first row often doesn’t give you a good reference point because the hair around the hairline is often thinner compared to the rest of the head.

• It’s usually best to err on the smaller side
Unless the client is striving for extremely thick fat dreadlocks, you’ll probably want to stay on the thinner side. This will take more time because it will product a larger number of sections, but most clients are happier with a slightly smaller diameter than dreadlocks that are far too fat for them. Smaller sections are also much easier for you to crochet for maintenance later on.