by Vicki
ORIGINAL MESSAGE:Does anyone have the directions for braiding the topknot for everyday wear? It is braided such that it lays flat down the back of their head. Thanks.
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braided topknot?
by Vicki
ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
Does anyone have the directions for braiding the topknot for everyday wear? It is braided such that it lays flat down the back of their head. Thanks.
DISCUSSION:
I never saw a braided topknot that laid down the back of the head, but I have seen 2 braids done on either side of the head that laid to the side. I did this on my Puff and it really turned out cute. I had to use hair gel to keep the strands of hair together because it was so fine, but it stayed in really nicely, better than a topknot. She didnt seem to mind it as much, so she didnt try to pull it out.
Sandy and Puff
I will try - Deanna has a knack for describing this, but it's pretty easy. Pull the hair up into a single ponytail, held loosely away from the head. With a tail end of a comb or a fingernail divine the hair bewtween the rubberband and the scalp, then pull the long ends down through the split toward the back and gently pull to snug. This creates an almost braid that lays flat against the head and holds better than any other method I hadve ever tried! With practice it litterally takes seconds to do it!
Leslie R
The braided look is very beautiful. I have two old prints (copies) of Annchen's ink sketches of Maltese that have braids. The hair is parted in the middle and the braids fall to the side in front of the ears. The hair must be very long to do this. If you make one braid starting over the eyes and bring it to the back it would also be lovely but might put more pressure on the hair over the eyes. I would love to see more Maltese done this way. Having clumsy fingers I could never manage it.
Mary Lou
Vicki: Last winter Deanna told us to use a small pony tail band, put it around 3 times losely. Separate the hair in the middle and pull the front through to the back. It's not braided but gives that look. It seems to stay in longer too. Hope I've explained it right. I can't use it on Shayna her hair is too fine, but works great on KoKo.
Shelley
Vicki: Last winter Deanna told us to use a small pony tail band, put it around 3 times losely. Separate the hair in the middle and pull the front through to the back. It's not braided but gives that look. It seems to stay in longer too. Hope I've explained it right. I can't use it on Shayna her hair is too fine, but works great on KoKo.
Shelley
Cann't say for sure, but I'll bet they did a french braid. Good luck Mary P
Mary Palmer
Vicki, this is the method I know of -- Leslie summed it up very well but here are the detailed instructions. It isn't a braid but a twisted ponytail that stays flat and close to the head. The Beasties breeder showed me how to do this method. My apologies to those of you who've seen it before. I had trouble for a while with Squirrel pulling Moose's ponytail out every day (would have been funny if it wasn't so frustrating) so I have to use one of those "ouchless" polyester bands in Moose's hair....Squirrel can't pull that out. The Beasties tussle with each other all day and these poytails STILL stay in. Here's the method :
This is REALLY easy to do, looks great and only takes a couple of minutes. You take one of those tiny terry-towelling hair bands (about an inch in diameter) and work with your malt facing you. Part the hair from ear to ear, but in front of the ears. (You want the ponytail anchoring site to be close to the front of the head, not right in the middle, otherwise the short strands will escape.) Use only the hair which would normally fall into their eyes - don't use the side bits of hair or the ponytail may be
uncomfortable for them. Do a small ponytail at the front of the head and wrap the band 3-4 times around or until secure. (Don't have the band too close to the head, the ponytail should be hanging down slightly over the face.) Divide the hair between the skull and the band in two, make a gap and push the loose end of the pontyail through the gap in the hair, away from you, making sure that the band goes through too. The ponytail bit should now be lying on the top of the head, with the end pointing toward
their tail. Tighten by dividing the ponytail in two and gently pulling the halves in opposite directions - the band will slide down to fit snugly against the head. The end result is an attractive flat twisted look (rather than a "fountain") which will stay tidily in place for 1-2 days and which they seem to find very comfortable. It will actually stay in for longer but
gets knotty under the band if you don't redo it at least every other day. Try using an "ouchless" polyester band if you find that the ponytail comes out (ie, if you have more than one maltese and they like to "re-arrange" each other's hairdo!) just wrap it around enough times until it is well secured. It doesn't look quite as nice as the terrycloth band, but it will better defy efforts to remove it!
Deanna (Moose & Squirrel)
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