Snood Perfection for the Unconvinced

If my dual tutorials (1, 2) have not been enough to convince you, my dear readers, of snood excellence, I present a final piece of imagery: the beautiful and talented Beth Riesgraf in the most recent episode of Leverage.

As Parker, Beth dons a gorgeous range of outfits – sweaters from Anthropologie, hats of all descriptions, blouses with peter pan collars and sometimes even fluffy feathered dresses, but the black lace snood and matching dress above are my favorites by far.

It also helps that Beth wore this outfit for perhaps the most “classic Parker” moment of this season:

ELIOT: Did you take a bite of all these?
PARKER: Well, I had to see which one I wanted.

**a big thank you to leverage-caps.tumblr.com and fishnightlight.tumblr.com for screencapping the episode so meticulously**

How to Wear a Crocheted Snood

Hello friends! Today, I’d like to dive right in and explain how to wear a crocheted snood. Crocheted snoods are simple to put on and keep on, making them the perfect hair solution for quick trips around town. I guarantee your errands will feel glamorous if you don one of these! And an added benefit for those in the colder climates: crocheted snoods are incredibly warm. It’s like wearing a hat without the hair-smushing drawback.

You will need:

• a crocheted snood (see below for where to buy one or how to make your own)
• hair pins (I use bobby pins from Sally’s that match my hair color)

Step 1

Style the front of your hair. In the photo above, I have two huge pincurls rolled to towards each other to the middle. My hair was parted slightly off center before I made the curls, so they are not the same size and slightly askew.

Step 2

Brush out your back hair. I often curl the ends a little, too. I do this with a round bristle brush: Take a section of hair, position the brush at the ends and gently catch the ends in the brush, curling the hair under in a circular motion. This helps give the back hair more body once it’s inside the snood.

Step 3

Gather up your back hair and pin it in a large loose pincurl at the nape of your neck. Not too many pins, only about three or so. This pincurl bun doesn’t need to hold very long, it only needs to keep your hair out of the way while you pin on the snood.

Step 4

Take the snood, with the ribbon ends positioned at the top of your head (if it has a ribbon) and wrap it around your head, covering the pincurl bun. Now you pin it in place:

Pin the top, behind your front hairstyle

Pin the sides, behind your ears

Pin the bottom, under the pincurl bun

Step 5

Reach into the snood mesh and remove the pins holding together the pincurl bun. Fluff the hair into the snood so it fills out.

Step 6

Tie the ribbon at the top.

Here’s a little demonstration gif so you get the idea:

Where to find one

Premade snoods are available from a variety of online sellers. My green one in the photos above was a very thoughtful present from our lovely friend Patricia. She discovered The Snood Lady – a dear woman who meticulously reproduces snoods in modern yarns from a vintage pattern. The Snood Lady even sells fancy jeweled snoods for weddings and special occasions. (Edit 10/24/12 – The Snood Lady is closing up her website, so see the other links I’ve provided for premade snoods.)

Of course, there is Etsy – a wealth of premade snoods in a variety of colors: Aprils Bag and Stitch In Time Design in the US and Eden Valley Vintage and Gin Poodle in the UK (thanks Tanis for letting me know about your shop!).

And if you are a crocheter, you can make your own! The free pattern I used to make my red snood is here (Ravelry link). I added a couple more rows of crochet to this pattern so I could thread a ribbon around it (details on the exact stitches are on my Ravelry page for the project). Annalaia’s shop has 10 vintage crocheted snood patterns and a special pattern for containing layered hair can be found in Patterns ala Carte’s shop.

I hope these ramblings encourage you vintage ladies to give snoods a try! And as always, if you have questions or if I didn’t explain something good enough feel free to speak up.

How to Tie a Snood with a Scarf

Let’s chat about snoods. I realize some of you may find the title of this post crazily repetitive, particularly if you hail from across the pond. But in the 40s sense of the word, a snood is a “a netlike hat or part of a hat or fabric that holds or covers the back of a woman’s hair.” It’s a casual alternative to pinning your hair up, as Ann Sheridan so beautifully demonstrates above. I’m fond of wearing snoods because they lend a 40s look in a quick, easy fashion and are great for days when your hair decides to strike. In my world, there are two types of snoods: special crocheted versions and scarves I tie myself. Today, I’d like to share the instructions for tying a regular 24″ square scarf into a snood.

You will need:

• a square scarf that is at least large enough to tie completely around your head – something in the 24″ square range. If you can wear it as a babushka, it will work for this. Triangular scarves work just fine, too. In fact, the two lace snoods seen in my photos are actually triangles. Any material will work, but scarves with a sheer quality are more authentically snood-ish.
• hair pins (I use bobby pins from Sally’s that match my hair color)

Step 1

Prepare your hair. Style the front with large pincurls, a little rabbit ridge or just pin it back. If you have bangs, you are all set. The back of your hair need not be brushed or straightened. In fact, this is a great style to tame freshly pincurled hair for a few hours.

Step 2

Fold your scarf diagonally, from corner to corner, creating a large triangle. Flip your hair forward while bending at the waist, so your hair falls over the top of your head. Tie the scarf around your head with the square knot just touching your forehead (so it will be over your front styled hair for now). Leave the scarf ends loose.

Step 3

Adjust the point of the scarf to become a pocket for your hair, tucking in loose pieces. Roll up the scarf from the point, corralling your back hair in the pocket created. Secure the top of the pocket with hairpins.

Step 4

Move the top knot behind your front hair, carefully untying it and retying it if necessary. To finish, take one of the loose scarf ends and tuck it into the side it falls closest to, securing with pins. Repeat for the other loose end. Tuck any flyaways and secure with more pins as needed.

If you are confused, have a look at my little gif:

If you have any questions or if something is unclear, do be sure and speak up! I’m happy to help. And keep an eye out for my next snoody post – next week I’ll be writing about crocheted snoods – how to make and wear them!

Posh Frock Friday

Dress: Thrifted

Hat: TJ Maxx (I think – it was long ago)

Shoes: Anthropologie – my only Anthro pair!

Shawl: Target

Scarf/Snood: Vintage (It’s a triangle head scarf I tied the wrong way to make a snood. I’ll do a tutorial, if anyone’s interested.)

Clutch: Vintage

Gloves: Vintage