Melania...let's give her an arm.

Needle in two layers of stitches to attach

Stitching through painted gesso is no fun. I made the mistake of painting the torso then realized that it does get a little hard to pass the needle. Well, with a good thimble and force I was able to attach the arm to the shoulder.





Blending clay over the shoulder will take more than one pass. I first rolled a thin snake of paper clay to fill in the gap and cover the stitches. Once that was pressed in and allowed to set for a bit, I smoothed the edges and with a damp finger adding more clay to finish filling the gap.

Remember, if you apply too much water to the clay, it will show cracks when dry.  If by chance some cracks do appear after drying, smooth on a bit more paper clay to cover and sand smooth when dry. 



Knot thread and tuck in towards fold


Don't worry how your stitches may look, just make sure the arm is secure and sewn tight to the shoulder, remember to follow the slope of the neck for a natural look.