How to Make a Raffia Scarecrow

A raffia scarecrow complements country autumn theme decorating, from Halloween through Thanksgiving. It's a quick way to use leftover fabric scraps and half a bundle of unused raffia; the entire scarecrow project takes about an hour, start to finish. And best all all, no sewing or special skills are required, since a good scarecrow is always a little uneven and raggedy. So grab your glue gun and get started.

Things You'll Need

• Raffia, about 1/2 bundle
• Yarn
• Fabric scraps, about 2 square feet total
• Plain tissue paper, 1 sheet
• 10 peppercorns
• Hot glue gun and glue sticks
• Scissors

Instructions

Make the Scarecrow Body

1. 

   Make a form for the scarecrow head. Crunch one square foot of tissue paper into a firm ball about 1 inch in diameter.

2. 

   Cover the tissue paper ball with an 8-inch by 8-inch piece of tissue paper. Tie the tissue paper around the ball to form the scarecrow neck.

3. 

   Cover the scarecrow head with 8-inch long strands of raffia. Overlap the raffia strands and secure them with hot glue so that no tissue paper shows through on the head. Tie the raffia around the neck with yarn.

4. 

   Make a fist sized bundle of of raffia. The length of the bundle should be about 10 inches.

5. 

   Insert the neck of the scarecrow into the top of the raffia bundle so that the head is poking out the top and the tissue paper end is encased in the bundle. Tie the raffia bundle to form the waist of the scarecrow.

6. 

   Split the raffia bundle below the waist to form the scarecrow legs. Tie each leg with yarn.

7. 

   Make two thin bundles of raffia, about 8 inches long each. Each bundle should have no more than 10 strands of raffia. Tie each bundle with yarn.

8. 

   Glue one raffia bundle across the front of the scarecrow torso, and the other across the back. These will form the arms of the scarecrow.

9. 

   Tie each scarecrow arm with yarn, joining the front and back raffia bundles together.

10. 

    Trim the legs and arms with scissors. Also trim any overly long raffia strands at the neck, but don't trim the neck strands too evenly.

Make the Scarecrow's Clothes

1. 

   Cut a piece of fabric for the scarecrow pants. Cut the fabric approximately as long and wide as the scarecrow, or about 6 inches by 10 inches.

2. 

   Fold the fabric length in half. Cut a 1 1/2-inch circular opening in the middle of the fabric.

3. 

   Insert the legs of the scarecrow into the circular opening. Use hot glue to secure the fabric to the scarecrow body at the front and back of the waist.

4. 

   Cut the fabric between the scarecrow legs to form the pant legs. Make the cuts in the front and back, about 2 inches long, from the foot end of the scarecrow to 1 1/2 inches from the waistline.

5. 

   Glue the front and back pant fabric pieces. Run a hot glue bead between the front and back fabric panels, around the silhouette of the scarecrow legs. Leave the feet ends open. Press the fabric pieces together firmly with your fingers until the glue has cooled.

6. 

   Trim the excess fabric from the sides of the pant legs with scissors.

7. 

   Cut an 8 inch square piece of fabric for the scarecrow shirt. Choose a fabric that contrasts with the pant fabric. Cut a 1-inch diameter circular hole in the middle of the shirt fabric.

8. 

   Pull the shirt hole over the scarecrow head. Secure the fabric to the scarecrow neck at the front and the back with hot glue. In similar fashion to how you glued the pants, glue the shirt front and back together by silhouetting the scarecrow torso and arms with a bead of hot glue and pressing the front and back sides of the shirt together. Trim the excess shirt fabric with scissors.

9. 

   Cut a 3-inch diameter piece of fabric for the scarecrow hat. For this fabric, choose a color or pattern that's different from both the shirt and pants.

10. 

    Center the hat circle on the top of the scarecrow head. Bunch and fold the hat around the scarecrow head, securing the folds to the head with hot glue so that a floppy hat brim is formed. Trim the front of the hat brim if necessary, so that you can see the scarecrow face.

11. 

    Glue peppercorns to the scarecrow face for the eyes and mouth. For the final touch, tie raffia strands around the hat and the scarecrow waist.

Resources

• How to Make a Raffia Angel Ornament