Soak about a dozen dry husks in a bowl of water for a few minutes. The entire process will be worked with wet husks. Choose six large husks and lay them on top of each other with the wide edge at the top as in Illus. 4.
About an inch from the top, gather the husks and tie them tightly (Illus. 5). Cut off the top of the husks, and round it into a head as in Illus. 6.
Holding the head in your hand, peel one end of each husk down over the other, like a banana, pulling firmly and smoothly (Illus. 7). Don't be afraid to pull-the husks are tough. If the head turns out to be smaller than you intended, roll up another piece of husk and push it inside the folded-down husks to add to the size (Illus. 8). Tie the husks to make a neck like that shown in Illus. 9.
Make the arms now from two husks rolled together one on top of the other into a long piece and inserted between the ends of the head husks as in Illus. 10.
Separate the ends of the husks that extend below the head and pull them firmly apart. Place the arrn roll tightly against the tied neck.
Some people like braided arms (Illus. 11) instead of rolled ones. They are also easy to make, Just tie three husks at the top and braid them, tying off the ends. Insert the braid just like the rolled arms.
Tie the arms in place with a criss-cross over the chest and back as in Illus. 12. Don't tie the ends of the arms yet, even though they are obviously too long. Wait until the doll is otherwise finished so you can trim the arms in proportion to the doll's height. Now take two more husks and fold each one into a strip about an inch wide. These will be the shoulders. Place one over each shoulder position and cross them over the chest and back, as in Illus. 13. Tie these pieces tightly around the waist.
THE SKIRT
One kind of skirt is made of long, wide husks laid on well above the waistline, as in Illus. 14, tied tightly and trimmed so that the excess will not show above the waistband. For this, fold another husk into a band about 1 inch wide and tie it over the skirt top, as in Illus. 15. Cut off the skirt at a length proportionate to the doll's size. Then bend the arms down and cut them off at a point about one third of the way down the skirt.
(If you decide to turn this doll into a male, just separate the skirt, wind the husks around the legs, and bend the ends of the legs up for feet.)
If you let the doll dry now, the skirt will flare out and the arms will stick out like a scarecrow. Bend the arms any way you like, perhaps folded as though holding something, and tie them loosely until they dry. Put a loose string around the skirt to hold it in place until it dries. Once dry, the doll will retain its shape.
For a fuller, gathered skirt, put the husks in place as shown in the illustration above. With the wide part of the husk on top, the pointed end will extend about 2 inches below the waistline. Gather six or seven husks around the waist and tie them firmly. Then pull down the husks into a skirt. Tie it in place and let it dry.
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