Not-so-scary Scarecrow
Fall is my absolute favorite season! And one of my favorite fall activities is attending the local festival where they have crafts, rides, and best of all, a make-your-own scarecrow booth. Hubby and I started the tradition of making one each year long before our Little Crafter was born, and now he looks forward to it too. We’ve found that they’re cuter {and fit better on our porch} if we make them child-size, but you can make them as big as you want. Here’s how you can make your own right at home:
SCARECROW
Materials:– one pair of pantyhose
– straw {you can buy it at craft stores or even our grocery store had some on sale}
– shirt, pants, and other accessories {hat, necktie, etc}
– felt
– twine
– scissors
– craft glue
Sorry in advance that I don’t have a photo for each step…
STEP 1: Stuff legs of pantyhose with straw. These will be the scarecrow’s arms. Make sure you measure them against your shirt to keep them an appropriate length. We saw one family build one that ended up with arms longer than its legs. Especially if you’re using child’s clothing like we did, you may want to tie the legs off about 2/3 of the way down to keep them from stretching too much.
STEP 2: Stuff waist/crotch area of pantyhose. This will be the scarecrow’s head. Tie a knot at the top.
STEP 3: Place scarecrow’s arms inside shirt arms and button shirt. Tie a piece of twine at the bottom of each sleeve.
STEP 4: Stuff the shirt with straw to make the scarecrow’s torso, then set it aside.
STEP 5: Stuff legs of pants and tie off at the bottom of each leg with a piece of twine.
STEP 6: Cut two small slits in the front and back of both the shirt and pants and use twine to tie the two piece together.
STEP 7: Cut felt pieces to make eyes, nose, and mouth, and glue in place.
STEP 8: Accessorize with hat, necktie, or other clothing articles.
That’s all there is to it! It’s actually a pretty cost-efficient project if you already have old pantyhose and kids’ clothes lying around. They’re fun to make and a cute piece of decor for your fall porch…not to mention that a certain Little Crafter likes to hug ours every time we go in or out the door. 🙂
Have a great day!
