In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to make dreadlocks from yarn.

MATERIALS USED:
Ball of super bulky yarn in your chosen color (I used some I found in JoAnn’s)
Scissors
Sewing machine or needle and thread

So technically these are “elflocks,” but generally people search for dreadlocks, as the two are often confused, so I just called them dreadlocks for the tutorial. Legend has it that elflocks were placed the hair of a sleeping person by fairies or elves (hence the name) and that it was bad luck to remove them.

I’m planning to use my elflocks as part of my steampunk elf costume when I get it finished. So I used the white mix color, because I thought it seemed the most “elvish.” However, the yarn comes in several colors, so use whatever color you need for your costume. Or you can also get plain white and just dye it whatever color you need.

These come in handy when you need dreadlocks for a costume, but don’t necessarily want to dreadlock your own hair. With this method, you’ll end up with kind of a “wig” of dreadlocks or rather elflocks. These are just intended for cosplay. They don’t look real enough to pass for real dreadlocks (up close mine kinda look more like a dust mop than real dreadlocks).

If you want that look, you’d have to individually attach them to your strands of hair with rubberbands. These are just meant as a quick, cheap & easy solution for when you want simple dreadlocks for a costume.

I used my sewing machine to connect the strands together, but you can also sew them together by hand. Just run the thread through them and tie off each end. The great thing about making these out of yarn this way is that you don’t need pure real wool (since you won’t be felting them). You can use any type of yarn from pure wool to pure acrylic or any mix in between. The only thing you really have to worry about is thickness. And as an added bonus, your yarn dreadlocks “wig” will be machine washable.

When you’re ready to wear your yarn dreadlocks for cosplay, just bobbypin the dreadlocks “wig” to your real hair. And then you’re good to go!

Video tutorial by Amber Reifsteck, The Woodland Elf
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