Shampoo and condition your hair as usual, and let it dry until it's barely damp. If your hair hates to hold a curl, fingercomb some setting lotion through it. If you don't have the time or inclination to wash your hair, use a mister to dampen your hair instead.

Section your hair into 1/2" - 1" sections.

Take one of your rags, and lay it alongside a section of hair so that about an inch of the rag is above the roots.

Smooth the strand of hair, and wrap it around the rag in a spiral. Wrapping the hair tightly will give you tighter curls, Wrapping the spiral tighter (using less of the rag) will give you springier curls. Leave yourself at least an inch at the bottom of the rag.

Tie the two ends of the rag together making sure that the ends of the strand aren't sticking out anywhere, and you're done with your first rag! Finish up the rest of the sections of hair and tie them off neatly.

It's time for bed! Go ahead and sleep on your rags. If you left your hair a bit wet, you might consider putting a towel over your pillow - but make sure it's a well-used one, so you don't end up with towel-lint in your curls.

When you wake up the next morning, gently untie your rags - you'll end up with some wonderful sausage curls. A quick spritz of gentle-hold hairspray, and maybe a pretty scarf tied into a headband, and you're ready to head out the door with some great curls. If you'd prefer less obvious ringlets, gently comb through each curls with a wide-tooth comb once or twice, then through your whole head of curls.

NOTES

You can make the sections as large or as small as you like - large sections (more hair) in each section will make waves more than ringlets. Small sections (less hair) will make baby ringlets - take it easy, or you'll just end up with frizz!

Experiment with different setting lotions and gel until you find one that works for you - everyone's hair reacts to different products differently. Just make sure that you use the lightest hold that does the trick. If you use too much or too strong a hold, you'll end up with very distinct curls, but they'll be crunchy, and combing them out will be tough.

If you expect to have to leave the house, make your rags out of different color fabrics, and make the rags part of your hair-style for the day. You're going out in public in rags anyway, so you might as well look festive while making yourself pretty!