This chapter is about head wear: turbans, hats, and veils. It includes information on selecting materials and supplies, decorating, and tying a turban, shown here.

There are many ways to tie a turban. The final look of the turban will depend on the length of your cloth, the heaviness of the fabric and your wrapping skill. The turban cloth can be twisted as you wrap, or can be wrapped flat creating a smoother shape. Experiment with variations on these themes.

There are really only three basic turban styles. The first is to begin from one end of your turban cloth. The turban is wrapped in one direction around the head. The other two methods involve placing the turban cloths centered on the head. From there, the ends are either wrapped to the front, knotting above the forehead, or wrapped towards the back. These are definitely techniques that gets better with practice and is much easier to learn them first-hand in person than through the pages of this text. I have put together a few simple steps to get you started wrapping.

Top Knot

Step 2: Place your turban across the top of your head so that the two ends hang down. Or, if your cloth is too narrow, you can start with it centered at the base of your skull. Twisting slightly, take either end and pull to the front.

Step 3: At the center of your head, just above your forehead, overlap the two ends.

Step 4: Twist the two ends and pull to the back of your head.

Step 5: Wrap the ends around the back of your head and bring to the front.

Repeat this procedure until you have built up the knot in front to the size you desire. After the first knot, you can just continue to wrap the turban around smoothly to build up the size of the turban. The directions for a rear knot version are essentially the same, only you are tying in the back of the head under the occipital bone.