Sourcing Lacefronting Supplies

To get started you will need the following:

• Handle
• Needles
• Lace

Suppliers I’ve tried, and want to try:

Handles

Handles first, because they usually come with needles and you can probably skip the needles secion if you’re buying a handle for the first time!

Arda Canada: https://ardawigscanada.ca/collections/lacefronting-wefting-supplies/products/lacefronting-supplies?variant=25447025929

Arda USA: https://arda-wigs.com/collections/lacefronting-supplies/products/lacefronting-supplies?variant=35118840908

Arda Europe: https://ardawigs.eu/collections/wholesale-qualifying-styling-tools/products/lacefronting-supplies?variant=35879169065127

Jagazi: https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/592318524/asian-needle-and-ventilating-holder-1-2?ref=shop_home_active_80&crt=1

AliExpress: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001431364333.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.5ee726a8npaN4k&algo_pvid=3008a582-0a6a-4e07-b97a-ab88e6330a20&algo_exp_id=3008a582-0a6a-4e07-b97a-ab88e6330a20-0&pdp_ext_f=%7B%22sku_id%22%3A%2212000022262665965%22%7D

Needles

The needles are around a centimeter long and have a little hook on the end. The “size” is typically a reference to how many fibers you can easily grab at a time with the needle. It can be tricky to find the needles sold individually, rather than as a set with the handle included so I wanted to make sure I shared where I’ve seen them.

Where to get them:

AliExpress: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32970893046.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.27424c4dzeZLUr

Jagazi: https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/592318524/asian-needle-and-ventilating-holder-1-2?ref=shop_home_active_80&crt=1

Amazon.ca: https://www.amazon.ca/Laimiko-Extension-Ventilating-Needle-Crochet/dp/B09G671KS3/ref=sr_1_37?dchild=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwkvWKBhB4EiwA-GHjFjmBpoiIQpJG_jyyRaYmOsFDxPsbFivi2BPZ84TCsYP5Zmbr130lEhoCXnwQAvD_BwE&hvadid=208346888334&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9001073&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=17722887271206257896&hvtargid=kwd-301853026925&hydadcr=27646_10507469&keywords=ventilating+needles&qid=1633567552&sr=8-37

Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/Ventilating-Needles-Brass-Holder-needle/dp/B073S2FW97/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=ventilating+needles&qid=1633568154&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzQU1MNUpNNVFTSFFNJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNTE0NTk4RzdUNVdPSUtXN0ZEJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA2NDI3MTZHOU9VRzlYNkZESk4md2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGYmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl

Lace/Mesh

Finally the one that can be hardest to find, the actual lace (usually called ‘swiss lace’ at the wig shops). As far as fabric goes this stuff gets pretty expensive, but I’ve found some better ways to get that will give you much better colour variety. I think it suffers from the “niche industry” markup. It’ll be advertised as “1/4 yard” but then the bolt was only 20 inches wide, so you end up paying 10-25$ for a piece of fabric that’s 18×20 inches, but it goes by other names.

Amazon.com https://www.amazon.com/Making-Closure-Toupee-Foundation-Accessories/dp/B00KB057AW/ref=pd_vtp_4/140-0391487-7562807?pd_rd_w=Mk0PU&pf_rd_p=016e3697-91be-4dc2-9533-ef9350e7e73d&pf_rd_r=7AJA5SNCQY1AJ37BWY5V&pd_rd_r=1617eb7b-7b8d-4887-a45a-1ba0337465c5&pd_rd_wg=8UtaL&pd_rd_i=B00KB057AW&psc=1

Jagazi: https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/592159612/lace-for-making-or-ventilating-frontal?ref=shop_home_active_86&variation0=839697393

Now for the unorthadox sources! After buying some of the “real” stuff, I noticed that most lace appliques come on the same mesh. Just make sure there is enough white space in the pattern to get a piece the size you need.

You may also find it labelled as “bridal tulle” in fabric stores So here are a few other sources, that open up oppourtunities for colour matching bodypaint:

Fabricville.com “Embroidered Mesh”: https://fabricville.com/pages/search-results-page?q=Embroidered+Mesh

AliExpress “Soft Tulle Mesh” comin in with a rainbow of colours: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32915555128.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.109e18a8FotTfT&algo_pvid=052f355e-11a6-418f-963f-8580b6a7dafa&algo_exp_id=052f355e-11a6-418f-963f-8580b6a7dafa-25&pdp_ext_f=%7B%22sku_id%22%3A%2265939078548%22%7D

Fabric.com any of the “Embroidered Mesh” options as long as there’s enough empty space, their “Micro Stretch Mesh” also looks like a great option: https://www.fabric.com/find?searchText=mesh&page=1

Honourable Mention

Honourable Mention goes to this Amazon.com starter kit that comes with all these supplies in a very economically priced set: https://www.amazon.com/Ventilating-Needle-Wig%EF%BC%8C1-Transparent-Making/dp/B09DPH1L93/ref=sr_1_21?dchild=1&keywords=ventilating+needles&qid=1633567933&sr=8-21