Hairwork Bobbin Weights
New and improved bobbin weight sets. Lead-free bag options are now available! All feature soft-tipped clips. Please see the photos, read the descriptions below, and make your selection in the drop-down menu.
Set of (10) Lead 3/4oz Teardrop Bobbins and (1) Lead 3oz Cannonball Counterweight in a small drawstring bag.
Painted Black = $40 or Unpainted = $35
Set of (5) BAG Bobbins with (1) Counterweight Bag = $10
These are designed for you to add your own weights to them; adjustable as needed. For example, adding (8) pennies to each bag will give you the same weight as one lead teardrop. Mix & match colors; you'll want at least two sets to start with!
Read more product details below...
New and improved bobbin weight sets. Lead-free bag options are now available! All feature soft-tipped clips. Please see the photos, read the descriptions below, and make your selection in the drop-down menu.
Set of (10) Lead 3/4oz Teardrop Bobbins and (1) Lead 3oz Cannonball Counterweight in a small drawstring bag.
Painted Black = $40 or Unpainted = $35
Set of (5) BAG Bobbins with (1) Counterweight Bag = $10
These are designed for you to add your own weights to them; adjustable as needed. For example, adding (8) pennies to each bag will give you the same weight as one lead teardrop. Mix & match colors; you'll want at least two sets to start with!
Read more product details below...
New and improved bobbin weight sets. Lead-free bag options are now available! All feature soft-tipped clips. Please see the photos, read the descriptions below, and make your selection in the drop-down menu.
Set of (10) Lead 3/4oz Teardrop Bobbins and (1) Lead 3oz Cannonball Counterweight in a small drawstring bag.
Painted Black = $40 or Unpainted = $35
Set of (5) BAG Bobbins with (1) Counterweight Bag = $10
These are designed for you to add your own weights to them; adjustable as needed. For example, adding (8) pennies to each bag will give you the same weight as one lead teardrop. Mix & match colors; you'll want at least two sets to start with!
Read more product details below...
Compact size. Since my braiding tables are short and portable, I designed these bobbins to be as small and useful as possible.
“3/4oz” Lead Teardrop Bobbins are 7.5cm long and weigh 24g & “3oz” Lead Cannonball Counterweights are 8cm long and weigh 88g.
For the bag bobbins you’ll need to add your own weights as needed; coins, marbles, rocks etc. For reference pennies are 2.5g each, nickels 5g, dimes 2.2g and quarters 5.67g.
Gentle clips. The tips on the smaller clips (for the outside weights) have soft plastic sleeves, so they are gentle and will not snag on your hair while holding it securely in place, which is very important. The bigger counterweights have stronger smooth metal clips, without teeth. Traditionally, in hair work, the hair strands were wound around the weighted bobbins (sticks) and secured with a hitch knot, but I find these modern clips to be a much quicker and easier improvement.
Adjustable weights. The clips are attached with metal hangtag pins, which are easy to open and close if you’d like to add/remove weights to each bobbin quickly. Although I’ve found this 3/4oz size to work well for most patterns, you may find some instances when adjusting the weight of your bobbins is desired.
Dual-purpose storage bag. The storage bag has another strong clip attached, so it can also be used as a custom center counterweight for patterns requiring a different weight distribution. Fill it with anything heavy you have around your house to get the weight you need.
*Optional black powder coat paint. The lead weights are individually heated, hand-dipped, and then oven-baked to achieve this durable glossy finish OR choose unpainted if you’d prefer to finish them yourself (which is only necessary if you deem it so).
How many bobbins should you get? Your pattern will determine how many bobbins you will need for your project, one for each strand/section of hair. For example, the round braid pattern I like to teach is 10 sections, and another ring pattern is 16. Most patterns are adjustable and require either odd or even numbers of bobbins. The standard 7” braiding tables will fit around 24 strands maximum at one time. If you’d like to work with more strands (25+), you may consider getting a larger table top.
Final Sale/No Returns. International orders are responsible for their own customs & taxes.
Please review these details on my FAQ page before checking out. If you have any questions or need assistance before placing your order, please email me.
How to learn hairwork?
This type of hair work is called “table work” or “table braiding.” Please check my Events for classes, but if you can’t make it to one of those, fear not; I am currently developing online materials. In the meantime, you’re welcome to read the book that started it all for me and give it a go! “The Art of Hairwork” by Mark Campbell (Chicagoan), 1867. You can find it free on Project Gutenberg, but the scans aren’t so great, and the braiding patterns are difficult to see - https://www.gutenberg.org/files/38658/38658-h/38658-h.htm
For this reason, I’ve had my personal 1893 edition of the book professionally scanned, and it is now available for you to download in the highest quality PDF available. Plus, it has bonus pages too!
