Steps for Tying a Turban

The turban is a type of head wear that is made by winding the piece of cloth round and round the head. It is traditionally worn by both men and women who are lovers of today’s fashion as a part of religious observance. The turban is mostly worn by women/men from the northern part of Nigeria. But whatever the reason for tying a turban, it's important to know how to master the wrapping technique so that it can securely and comfortably stay on your head.

If you want to know how to tie a turban, see Steps to get started today.

Fold the fabric: Fold the fabric over four times length-wise, making sure that the ends are aligned. Preferably, your fabric should be about 6 yards long, so that you have enough room to fully wrap the fabric around your head. The fabric you start with should be made of cotton and should be as thin as possible. When you fold it four times, it should be about 2 inches wide.
The easiest way to correctly fold the fabric is to get the help of a friend or family member. Your friend should hold the fabric out on the other side, and you both should fold it in the same direction at the same time. 

Prepare your hair: If you have long hair, tie it up in a bun at the top of your head near the front, right above your forehead. To tie your hair in a bun, simply flip your hair over your head with your face looking down, grab your hair so it's all in one long ponytail, and then lift it up to the center of your head, so you can then begin to twist it a bit and then wrap it around in circles. Starting inside a circle and working your way out until you have wrapped all of your hair around the top of your head in a bun.
You can even use some bobby pins to secure your hair in place, if it's extra-long.
If you have shorter hair, then you won't have to do anything special to get it ready.
It's important to keep your bun secure enough so that it stays in place, but not have it so tight that you give yourself a headache. Once you tie your turban, it'll be hard to go back and change your hair. 

Tie thin cotton around your head: This is the piece of fabric that goes underneath the turban, serving as a base. Wrap it and tuck in any loose ends around your head, tie the thin cotton at the front top part of your head where your bun is. Keep in mind that it doesn't have to look perfect, as long as it holds your hair in place, since it won't be visible to people.

Wrap the Turban around your head:  The fabric should be wrapped around. Start with the fabric being lower on one side and higher on the other side, and continue to wrap it around about 6 times, slightly adjusting the position each time so that it is elevated on the opposite side by the end. This is similar to how you wrapped the thin cotton underneath the base though this time, you will cover your ears as you wrap it around your head.


Here's what you need to do: 

Hold out the end of your fabric in front of you. Fold just one inch of it over the top and then wrap it over your head.
Cross the ends of the fabric just around the place where your hair meets your neck, just as you did before.

Wrap the fabric around your head:  Moving from one side of your head to the other. On top, you should build at least three rows from your hairline to the middle of your head, while continuing to create one thick uniform layer around the back of your head, between your ears from the back. 

Build layers around the top: This should be done after you've created three or more layers over the front of your head, Wrap the fabric around the top of your head at least three more times, moving upwards with each wrap, so you create a thicker layer near the top of the head.
When you can't wrap the fabric anymore, take the leftover end to the back of your head. Alternatively, instead of creating top layers, just spread the cloth open at the top and tuck it into the bottom of the turban. Instead of creating top layers, you then focus on creating layers around the front and back of your head, leaving the top open.

When you're almost done, just cover the top by either spreading the cloth open at the top until it reaches the bottom layer by pulling the first fold out from underneath the fabric and then pulling it over the top part of your head that is uncovered.

By Mercy Kukah