Things You'll Need:
- Old pants or bived overalls (they work great!).
- Old shirtor blouse, long sleeve.
- wire or rope
- long pole or stick for upright
- burlap sack or pillow case.
- black spray paint
- cross stick
- one bale of straw or hay
- optional:
- post hole digger
- old gloves
- old shoes or boots
- old hat
- any other accessories you like to add.
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Step 1
scarecrow on backThis is instructions for an outdoor field scarecrow. Old clothes are used because this old fellow will be out in the rain and the wind, the sun and the elements. He will last maybe two seasons before he needs a major overhaul. But then rebuilding him makes great memories for children.
First find some old pants (jeans last longest) and a long sleeve shirt. You can use rope, string or an old belt for a belt. A burlap sack or pillow case for his head.
Next you need a long pole at least seven feet long for the upright stick. A cross stick about four feet long. These will form a "T" for your body, arms and a place to put the "head" on.
Now find a place to lay out your clothes and your sticks. Take the cross stick and run it through the arms of the shirt before attaching it to the upright stick. You do this because once the cross piece is attached you may not be able to get the stick through the sleeves. That done place the upright stick midway on the cross stick. About once foot of the upright should extend above the collar of the shirt for later attaching the head.
Now fasten the two sticks together with wire. You can also nail them together but I like wire, you can readjust it if necessary. It also is easy to cut when you need to redo the scarecrow.
Button the shirt.
Take the pants and slide the upright down one leg of the pair of pants. Pull the pants up and snap and button them. (Biv overalls work great because the suspenders can be fastened over the cross stick so the pants can't fall down!) -
Step 2
stuffing the scarecrowStuffing your scarecrow:
Now you have a the shirt buttoned and the pants up. Now you need to stuff your scarecrow. Traditionally we use hay or straw. I live in the country to it is no problem (I get if from my barn). But any feed store and some garden centers carry hay bales for around $5.00. You only need one.
Now stuff the pants and shirt to your satisfaction. Fill in the arms and legs first. Then the belly and chest. You should be able to tie off a belt of rope or twine that will keep the pants up when you are done. If you have a problem with the pants falling, take some rope or twine and make suspenders going from the back belt loops to the shoulders and down to the belt loops in the front, just like on overalls. Extra straw should stick out the openings for hands and feet.
Finished stuffing now you should stand it up! -
Step 3
My scarecrow is wired to an old tree stump, in the picture it is against the fence. You will need to tie it or hang it from a tree, a fence or lean it against the house or use a fence hole digger and put the upright in the ground.
Once you have it upright you can add the head. A simple way to do this is to take an old burlap sack or pillow case and fill it with straw. When you get it the shape you want, slide it onto one foot part of the upright left for the head, take some sting or rope and tie it in place.
A simple face can be made by using spray paint on your scarecrow. You could also sew a face on your head using patches for eyes, a nose and a mouth. -
Step 4
pumpkin headOther scarecrow ideas and alternatives:
for scarecrow heads are; plastic pumpkins, masks, large gourds or anything you can imagine. Also you can add old hats, boots and shoes, as well as gloves. Change the scarecrow to a female by substituting a dress for a shirt.
