Making the choli
The choli is made using silk ribbon. Debbie of www.minikitz.com has the most fabulous silk ribbon which can be used in several innovative ways. You can find this ribbon in her Fabric Lace Trims >> Variegated silk ribbon section. Glue is applied in a V on the doll's torso as I want a choli with a deep V neckline. Another popular neckline is a square one.
The ribbon is applied to the start of the neckline and glued on in pieces.
The same is done on the other side.
The V is now finished at the front.
The ribbon meets at the back to form another V. Go a bit easy on glue or spread it in a thin coat as it may seep through the ribbon if an excess is used.
The bottom of the choli is created by wrapping another length of ribbon around the doll. This serves the dual purpose of hiding the raw edges as well.
To assemble the arms, glue pipe cleaners to both arms and add some tacky glue in the hole in the dolls shoulders where arms will fit.
Insert pipe cleaners into the holes and wipe of excess glue with a damp cloth.
You can also make a modified sling using rubber bands to ensure that the arms stay in position. This sling can be removed when the glue is half dry and the arms can be pushed up further.
The next step is to add the sleeves. The same ribbon is used. Just put a thin layer of glue as shown in the picture and attach the ribbon around the arm, overlapping slightly.
Once the second sleeve is done, you will need to add a second row of ribbon to increase sleeve length, since choli sleeves are usually just above the elbow.
The blouse may not look very neat at this stage but don't worry as we will be doing a bit of a cover up job using some lace.
Feel free to decorate the blouse and hide any joints so that the garment looks professionally finished. You could also do a bit of beadwork or mirror work on the blouse as embellishment. Just let your imagination take over and have some fun. I have used some lace. Another interesting effect could be achieved by using lace and then following the pattern in the lace by using some beads or perhaps painting in a pattern.
All seams and joints at the back are being hidden and it makes for an interesting pattern on the choli.
The joints in the sleeves are also camouflaged in a similar manner.
The choli is done.
| Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4 | Page 5 |