Applique Cloth Pillar - Madurai
Making of applique cloth pillar starts with preparing the ring, which gives the pillar its shape. Depending on the height of the pillar, the number of rings can be increased or decreased. For a pillar of about 5 feet, approximately five rings are used. The rings are made using thick wires, which are rolled to form a ring. This decides the diameter of the cloth pillar. The diameter is approximately one and a half feet. The cloth pillar can be made out of cotton, silk, or velvet fabric. A single piece of cloth slightly larger than the circumference of the ring is measured and cut. This cloth is attached with threads at an equal distance for tying the ring together with it. This cloth acts as the lining for the design, which is stitched together along with it. The motif cloth is made up of many coloured pieces stitched together, having various motifs on it. The most commonly used motifs are flowers, elephants, geometric forms, etc.
To make the motifs, the designs are sketched on the newspaper or some kind of plain paper. After sketching, the designs are cut out of paper by using scissors. Once the design is ready, the colour and fabric for the design are chosen, and it is folded into layers to make multiple pieces at a time, which are used repeatedly on the cloth pillar. The fabric is folded in such a way that it is slightly larger than the design to be cut. The paper cut out is stapled onto the folded cloth placing in the center. Once the designs are cut, the cut motifs are placed in their respective places on motif cloth as per design. Then cut motifs are pasted onto the strips of motif cloth using glue. These motif cloths are of two different sizes, alternating each other throughout the length of the cloth pillar.
Once the pasted design dries, the border piping around the motif is stitched on each motif. Once the piping is ready, different sized motif cloths are stitched together, alternatively changing the size along with the lining fabric. This shows the various designs on the cloth pillar separately. The design is stitched in such a way that the threads have appeared on the backside of the cloth.
The entire design is folded axially and stitched so that it forms a tube, allowing the motifs to be inside the pipe, leaving the threads to tie with the rings outside. Zari border is attached at the bottom of the cloth pillar and the top of a cone. Now each ring is individually tied equidistantly on the cloth pillar. The rings are attached one after the other, depending on the length. The cloth tube is pulled inside out to expose the design. After tying all the rings and turning the pipe inside out, the cloth pillar is ready.
