Tie a Turban
A turban is a type of headwear that is made by cloth winding. It is traditionally worn as a customary headwear by men and followers of Sikh religion, especially in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and North Africa. In different faith communities, the headgear is also worn as a part of religious observance. Additionally, turbans have also come to be known as the headwear worn by women in the West. Whatever your reason for tying a turban, it's important to know how to master the wrapping technique so the turban can securely and comfortably stay on your head. If you want to know how to tie a turban, see Step 1 to get started today.
Contents
Steps
Wrapping a Pagh (Men)
- Fold the fabric. Fold the page over four times length-wise, making sure that the ends are aligned. Ideally, your fabric should be about 6 yards (or larhs) 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 (5 cm) 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 of the room, and you both should fold it in the same direction at the same time.
- This is the fabric you'll use to make your patka, the wrapping under the actual pagh. The actual pagh will be wrapped as you go along.
- 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. Fasten your hair with a rubber hair tie. 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 around itself, 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 that it stays in place, but not to 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 the patka around your head. This is the piece of fabric that goes underneath the pagh, serving as a base. Some people more casually refer to it as an "under pagh." Wrap it around your head as you would a bandana, tucking in any loose ends. Tie the patka 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. Here's how you should go about tying it around your head:
- Hold out the cloth in front of you. It should be held out without being folded over, so it is about 1 foot (30 cm) wide.
- Flick it over your head, so the bottom is just below your hairline and the top covers your hair and reaches out behind it, toward the base of your neck.
- Cross the opposite ends of the patka at the base of your neck. Take the right corner in your right hand and cross it over the left corner in your left hand. The right side should only have a few inches or centimeters remaining, while the left will hang long behind you, now on the right side.
- Bring the long side out in front of you, so it hangs over your right shoulder. Fold it in half and then wrap it up, over your right ear and above your forehead, past your left ear until it now hangs back off the left side.
- Repeat the wrapping process 3-4 times, until you have wrapped the patka around your head with only a small part remaining. Just wrap the second later just above the first wrapped layer and so on, so that you keep wrapping it higher and higher over your head, taking care to leave your ears free.
- Tuck the last few inches of the patka into the back of your turban, from the top down, until the only part that hangs loose is the original end of the right side of the patka.
- Wrap the pagh around your head. The fabric should be wrapped around diagonally. 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 patka, 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 (2.5 cm) or so of it over the top, and then wrap it over your head, just as you did with the patka.
- Cross the ends of the fabric just around the place where your hair meets your neck, just as you did before.
- Wrap the pagh 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.
- After you've created three or so layers over the front of your head, build layers around the top. Wrap the pagh 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.
- Alternately, 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 can focus on creating layers around the front and back of your head, leaving the top open. Then, 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.
- Tuck in the remaining loose end. This should be the last step whether you've wrapped the pagh all the way around your head or if you've spread the cloth to cover up the top of your head. The loose end should be tucked in at the back of your pagh. Once you do that, your turban should be in the desired shape. You can carefully run your hands over it to make sure it has the smooth, round shape you were going for.
Tying a Turban Head Scarf/Wrap (Women)
- Fold the fabric in half and place it against the back of your head, holding the ends in front of your ears. First, fold your cloth to create a scarf that is about 6 inches (15 cm) wide. Then, place it against the back of your head and bring out the front parts of the scarf so that they are out in front of your ears. You should be working with at least {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} of cloth.
- It can help to bend your head down a bit to get the back of the fabric against the back of your head.
- Tie a knot with the fabric in the middle of your forehead. Just tie an ordinary knot, or even two, for extra security. Just keep in mind that you don't want the knot to look too bulky, or it'll stick out when you're done.
- Twist the ends of the scarf around your head until you run out of fabric. Start from the base where you tied the knot and continue twisting until you've wrapped both ends of the fabric around your head. Wrap them one layer at a time, from the layer able the initial knotted layer until you've covered the back of your head. The layers in the front should move higher and higher, while you can just wrap around one layer between the back of your ears repeatedly. Twist the fabric and keep wrapping it around your head until you've almost run out of fabric.
- Pull the fabric back across your head. Tuck it underneath the scarf in the back, and make additional adjustments if necessary. For this version of the headscarf for women, you'll need to cover all of your hair. If you prefer to leave some of your head peeking out the top, then you can just leave a space when you wrap the fabric around your head.
- You may want to use bobby pins to help keep the turban in place.
Tips
- There is no one way to wrap a pagh or head scarf. Experiment with different styles and techniques of folding.
- If you are using a scarf, opt for thin, soft fabrics that are easier to keep in place. Experiment with different patterns if you want a quirky look.
Sources and Citations
- Videos provided by Pardeep
