A Pirate in the Making

It doesn't look like it in this picture, but we are very excited about our Halloween costumes this year. We're all pirates. Wyatt will be the captain, and therefore needed to look the part! I knew I needed to create my own little Jhonny Depp, so dreadlocks were in order. But a wig was out of the question. The hair is just too scratchy, so I needed another material. What looks like dreadlocks? A mop! Here's how I did it...






I needed a mop head, dark brown dye, and everything else required from the dye manufacturer.

I cut the mop head in half to make it more manageable, and I had plenty of "dreads" left over to make atleast another wig.

I wet the mop before dying it



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Following the manufacturers directions, I boiled the crud out of that mop, making it a dark brown color. I did the same to the 2nd half of the mop, using the same dye bath. This made the 2nd mop a lighter color, which actually have me highlights in my wig. It worked out great!

Once I rinsed the mops and allowed them to dry (which took over 24 hours) I cut each "dread" off. I took a bandana and tied it like a VERY LOOSE doo-rag around Wyatt's head. VERY LOOSE! The "dreads" will take a lot of room and will make the wig too small if you tie it too tight. Trust me, I learned this from experience! I hot glued the doo-rag at the not to keep it all together. Then, I just grabbed some "dreads" mixing light and dark colors, and began glueing them on the inside edge of the doo-rag.

Once I had everything glued, I gave it a little hair cut, Captain Jack Sparrow's dreads are not all even. I added some mini conk shells to the ends of some dreads and braided other dreads to give it some texture.

Just pop it on your little pirates head, and put a pirate hat on top, and you too can have your own mini Jhonny Depp this Halloween. Note to self, do not make your son where a wig when he is in bad need of a nap. This is the face you will get.

As a bonus, Wyatt needed a treasure chest as a trick or treat bag. I cut a large gift bag, painted it and added some shapes cut from my cricut. A little faux finish, and we have a very special treasure chest to hold some very special treasure!