If you’re not quite ready to decorate for Halloween, try a scarecrow, the perfect “transitional” decoration for fall. You can make one in less than a couple of hours!
You will need:
- Flannel shirt
- Blue jeans
- Straw hat
- Package of raffia
- ½ yard burlap
- Scrap of red and black felt
- Black yarn
- Newspaper
- Glue gun
- Stick (or old broom handle)
Head: Using a dinner plate, draw a circle on the burlap. Sew on your line (be sure to leave 6 or 7 inches open). Trim off the excess around the circle only. Don’t cut off the bottom. That will be the collar.
Turn the head right-side-out and stuff with newspaper. Face: Cut two half-moon shapes from black felt for the eyes and a red triangle for the nose. Glue in place. The mouth is a simple running stitch using black yarn.
Body: Stuff the jeans and shirt. I used an old stick (but a broom handle will work) in the back to give the body some stability. I cut a slit behind the collar and stapled the shirt to the stick.
Raffia: Cut 8 inch “chunks” of raffia. Tuck into the shirt cuffs and jean legs. Tie with a long piece of raffia to hold in place. Do the same at the neckline. Glue raffia to the top of the head for hair. Finish him off with a straw hat.
I taped my scarecrow to a stool. If you can sit yours on an old chair, use a belt to keep him from toppling over.
When it gets closer to Halloween, add jack-o-lanterns or ghosts or other scary props.
