You start with a tiny section of hair and use embroidery floss (or similar) in whatever colors you want and you "wrap" it tightly around the hair. Usually you knot it at the top first, then wrap, or wrap and then switch colors and make designs with the colors. You can add beads or decorations and then you end up with one colorful thing hanging down the side of your head. My DD loves this and has me do it for her once in a while, but she figures the disney kind will be "cool-er". It does take quite a while and I don't like her to leave it in for many days
because it seems that some of her hair strands break off.