light weight n convenient head coverings

work(construction) is not a friendly environment for any hair let alone dreads...... when i only had a couple handfuls of dreads i could throw my hair up in a bandana cap n run with it... now with all dreads my hair is alot shorter than it was so i cant throw it all in a band and cant get them into a cap.... i use bandanas but crawling around crawl spaces i get hooked on all sorts of things n makes loosies,,, a tam would make the heat unbearable and a turban would make things even cozier,,,, any suggestions for something to cover the whole head n hair without making my brains boil in the process?

i have thought about taking a couple bandanas n sewing them somehow so that i could cover all the hairs n still be fairly cool at the same time,,, any ideas would help...

 

Yeah, I'd say a big bandanna or lightweight headscarf is your best bet. I have the same issue, since I blow glass, and I don't like accidentally setting my dreads on fire!

A while back I made this big, functional head cover for myself, that's just this big piece of lightweight patchwork (calicos and such, I'd say about 18x25 inches) and lined the whole thing (putting in a stash pocket of course ), and added a couple of strap things placed at about the middle of the short side. It's not SUPER lightwieght, since it's two layers, but I can use it in a number of ways, folding it in various patterns, to tie my hair up or back or totally cover it, depending on what look/function I'm going for.

The same thing could work with any big scarf thing. You might even want to check at goodwill or something, you can usually pick that wort of thing up really cheap, and find something tissuey and lightweight.

Tip for keeping cool: When I'm in a hot situation and it's driving me crazy, like a few years ago when I spent July living and working outdoors in Death Valley, if I have a good source of cool water, I will regularly rinse whatever headwear I have in cold water. My dreads too. You've got to watch out for this and make sure it's drying pretty quickly (you don't want mold!). A couple of times in this situation I've even kept headscarves in the freezer, soaked in a little water. Having cool water in you dreads and sitting in the shade with a slight breeze is like having a built-in air conditioner!

 

i also suggest the bandanas, but a secure one. My old man works in construction and he always wears a bandana over his dreads. He ties his up really well, like a pirate and then secures the ends with a tight knot and cord... usually holds up pretty well and he can fix it on break.

 

I'd say a tam and than wrap an elastic around it like a ponytail.

 

I have this really awesome tam I actually got from target for like 4 bucks in the clearance aisle (SCORE!!)... its just straight up cotton, and its pretty big and keeps all my dreadies outta the way. Its got an elastic thing so it stays on and stuff.

 

Just in addition to this topic, I need a similar thing for my dreadies so I was wondering if I cut a nice big piece of fabric if that would work but does anyone have folding techniques?