hello
Creating the body and head of the African American doll followed a similar method to the other amigurumi I make. The most challenging aspect of this project was making her beautiful braids.
helloI watched YouTube tutorials to learn different techniques of attaching the hair and experimented with them to create the hairstyle I was looking for. Each strand of the twisted yarn resembles the thin braids that many Fulani women wear. To embellish the yarn-strand “braids,” I threaded colorful beads that matched her dress.
The Indian Doll was a fun way to explore the different clothing and jewelry that women wear across India.
helloI chose to make her lehenga (skirt) in a deep teal fabric to complement her tan skin. I embellished the skirt with gold jewelry and lace to make it look like the festive lehengas I wear to Indian parties. From my collection of ribbons, I found one in turquoise and gold which I used to make her dupatta (scarf).
helloMy favorite part was creating the traditional Indian hair jewelry called the shinka. It was the perfect opportunity to incorporate jewelry-making techniques into my crochet work. I used pliers to attach the chains to the flower-shaped tikka on her forehead and then sewed these chains underneath her bun to emulate the traditional jewelry in a miniature version.