No-Sew Scarecrow Doll

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No-Sew Scarecrow Doll on a Swing

by Jane Lake

This cute little no-sew scarecrow costs next to nothing to make - just like a real one. This doll stands only 7" high, however, and is made from a miniature 6" corn broom.

You may also like to see our Yarn Doll Scarecrow fall craft project.

Mini Scarecrow
What You Need:

6 inch corn broom

1¼ inch styrofoam ball

raffia

plastic bottle cap

two buttons

household twine

small scrap of wood

small square of felt for the hat

fabric remnants for the clothes

permanent markers

glue gun

scissors

Instructions

Following the picture above, use markers to draw the facial features on the Styrofoam ball. You can also create pink cheeks, if desired, by rubbing a tiny bit of lipstick on the cheek area.

Next, take the corn broom and divide the bottom into two legs, each tied off at the ankle with a small length of raffia.

Now create the arms from a 6" bunch of raffia, tied off at the wrists. Insert the broom handle in the center point of this raffia bundle, extending past the raffia by about 1/4". Hot glue in place on the broom handle.

The pants are made by tracing around the doll legs and creating a pattern, adding about 1/4" around and cutting out two pieces, one front and one back, with the pant length coming to the ankle and allowing the corn feet to show beneath. You can draw the pattern directly on the back of your fabric with pen or marker.

Don't make the waist too high, as the waistband is cut from a separate length. Place the doll on the back leg pattern, then place the front pattern on top of the doll, and use the glue gun to fasten the pants in place along the inner leg and outer leg "seam" lines. Now cut a strip of fabric for the waistband and wrap around the doll at waist level, covering the top edge of the pants. Hot glue in place.

The shirt is just a fabric remnant, approximately 4" square. Fold the square diagonally to form a triangular poncho, and poke a hole in the center. Slip the poncho over the broom handle, tuck the ends into the waistband and secure with hot glue.

Cut two strips of fabric for the pant straps and hot glue over the poncho. You may want to glue on two small buttons just below the straps as ornamentation. Another little addition is the bow tie, which is a tiny rectangle of fabric or felt tied in the middle with thread and glued in place.

Now poke a hole at the bottom of the Styrofoam head (a pencil works well for this) and position on the broom handle. Secure with hot glue.

Use raffia to create the scarecrow hair and glue in place the way you want it. The hat is made from a plastic bottle cap, about 1-1/4" in diameter, covered in felt. Just cut out a felt strip to glue around the cap, then a round piece to cover the top. The brim is just a circle of felt that extends beyond the bottle cap by about 1/2" all around. Push the middle of the brim circle into the inside of the cap just slightly as you glue the two pieces together to allow the head to fit. This also makes the brim take on a jaunty angle. Place the completed hat on the head and secure with hot glue.

You will need a small piece of wood the desired size of the swing (about 5" long by 1-1/2"). On either side of the swing, drill a hole about 1/2 inch from the center of each end. The rope swing handle is made by braiding three pieces of household twine to the desired length. The one shown is about 20" long when finished. Start with strings about 50" long to achieve this finished length; there should be enough to allow you to poke the braided rope through the drilled holes in the wood and to knot each side at the bottom.

Carefully bend the scarecrow's feet so that he can stand on the swing. The broom will be resilient enough to take the bending and strong enough to stand up without extra support. Glue the feet to the swing.

Lastly, position the swing rope inside the raffia hands so the scarecrow appears to be holding on. Glue in place. You can add a feather or other ornament to the hat if you like -- then find a spot to hang the scarecrow and enjoy!

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