How to Tie a Gele

Reviewed by Melissa Young

Last Updated: December 3, 2021

A gele ("gay-lay") is a head wrap worn by women of western Nigeria as part of their traditional "Buba" attire.^{[1]
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Research source} You can style a gele in a variety of ways, but the most common way to tie up this head wrap involves pleating. Read on for our beginner-friendly tutorial on tying a gele!

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Tying a Gele on Someone Else

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Make sure that the scarf is off-centered, with the right side being longer than the left. The long, folded edge should be against her forehead.^{[2]
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Place both of your thumbs on the bottom edge of the fabric, right above your client's eyebrows. Place your forefingers under the fabric, right against her skin.^{[3]
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Hook your forefingers while bringing them towards your thumbs. Meanwhile, pin the folded fabric down against the rest of the fabric, creating a pleat. Smooth the pleat down and create four more behind it.^{[4]
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4
Extend the pleats down the right side of the fabric. Have your client reach up and hold the pleats against the left side of her head. Use your thumb and forefinger to create more pleat, making sure that they connect with the ones that you already made.^{[5]
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- Keep the fabric nice and taut here.
Take bring both end of the fabric towards the back of the client's head. Take the end that you jut finished pleating (the longer one), and cross it over the other (shorter) end.^{[6]
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6
Pull the pleated end over the top of her head and refold the pleats. Take the long, pleated end of the fabric and drape it over the client's head. Work your way from the right ear down towards the left. Keep the pleats tight and the fabric above them loose.^{[7]
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- Have your client hold the short, left end out of the way.
Manipulate the fabric in such as way that the edges facing the floor are tight, and the edge facing the ceiling are loose.^{[8]
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8
Shape and pleat the fabric on the top of her head. By now, you will have lots of loose fabric on the top of your client's head. Using your fingers, pleat the fabric from top-to-bottom, center-outward. Think of it as creating a halo or crown.^{[9]
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- Leave a layer of fabric covering the top and back of the client's head.
At this point, you will have lots of loose fabric at the back of your client's head. You can fold this fabric upward a few times into a nice, neat band, or you can tuck it into the knot.^{[10]
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Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Tying a Gele Yourself

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Just about any scarf will wok for a gele. It needs to be long enough so that you can drape it over your head, then hold each end in each hand, with your arms outstretched.^{[11]
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Make sure that the folded edge is covering your hairline. The scarf should be centered, with equal amounts hanging off to either side.^{[12]
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3
Pull back the tails and cross them at your nape. Take the left and right ends of the scarf, and pull them back behind your neck. Cross the left side over the right. Hold both ends taut so that the fabric is nice and snug across your forehead.^{[13]
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- Angle the left and right sides so that they cover both of your ears down to the earlobes.
Position the fabric so that the new side edge is just behind the previous edge. Don't worry if your fabric wrinkles—this is actually a good thing!^{[14]
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Pull the right side of the scarf down towards your left ear, and hold it in place. Pull the left end of the scarf upwards so that it covers the right.^{[15]
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Again, position the fabric so that the new edge is just behind the previous one, thus creating more pleats.^{[16]
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If you tied your gele tight enough, you should be able to slip the end of your scarf right under the hem, and not worry about it slipping. If your scarf had a fringe, be sure to tuck all the tassels in.^{[17]
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Adjust the folds and "pleats" across your forehead first. Next, use your fingers to sharpen the creases in the top layers of fabric to create more pleats. There is not specific rule as to how many pleats you should do—just go with what you think looks nice!^{[18]
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Check your gele in the mirror at various angles. If you spot any corners that are hanging out, tuck them unde the band of the gele. Finally, pull the gele back so that it rests right at your hairline.^{[19]
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Tips

Pull the gele tight at first, so that it is nice and secure. Keep the final wraps loose so that you can pleat them.

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There is no specific science to tying a gele. A large part of it has to do with sculpting the fabric.

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Not all fabrics will pleat, fold, and drape the same way.

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