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Kirstie's Handmade Britain
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How To Make A Scarecrow
Want to make a scarecrow like that featured on Kirstie's Handmade Britain? Follow our instructions to find out how.
By Kirstie Allsopp
Two chunky pieces of wood for the base (ours were 90cm long; 70cm x 70cm square)
Four pieces of wood to support (ours were 50cm long; 20cm x 20cm square, cut at 45 degree angle at the ends)
A tall length of wood for the body some 20cm to 30cm shorter than you want your final scarecrow to be (ours was 40cm x 40cm square)
A piece of wood (the same thickness as the upright) as wide as you want the scarecrow’s shoulders to be or longer if you want him to have outstretched arms.
Hacksaw, screws and a screwdriver
Old pairs of tights, a hessian sack and old pillowcases
Straw/newspaper/material scraps/cardboard for the stuffing
Old clothes, including a waistcoat, handkerchief, wellingtons or boots and a hat and wig
Glue gun, staple gun, rope or twine, safety pins and big needles and wool for fixing
Fur fabric, buttons, net, pipe cleaners and endless imagination for accessorising your scarecrow
Skill
You needn’t have any skill to make this, although someone handy with woodwork will be helpful at the beginning.
Budget
You can make the whole project from recycled items and bits and pieces other people don’t want. Ask around friends for the kit before you start.
Time
Allow a day from start to finish, but a team of you could get it done in half a day!
Step One: Prepare The Base
Cut a square notch in the middle of both of the chunky pieces of wood. Each notch should be cut halfway through the piece of wood, so that they then slot together and lay flat to the ground.
Step Two: Prepare The Frame
Cut a notch halfway through the upright at the height where you want the shoulders and a corresponding notch on the cross-beam. Screw and/or glue these pieces together, leaving about 10cm to 20cm of wood above the join as this is where you will affix the head. It is easier if you attach these pieces together before attaching to the cross base.
Step Three: Screw The Frame
Screw this upright and shoulders to the cross base using a really long screw up from the bottom.
Step Four: Secure The Frame
Cut the four thinner pieces of wood at a 45 degree angle at each end, and using smaller screws, attach them at a diagonal between the base and the upright.
Step Five: Make The Body
Using large hessian sack or big pillowcase, staple it to the shoulders, leaving the head support and shoulders/arms sticking out of the top and sides and leaving a hole to poke in the stuffing. Fill with old newspaper, straw or material scraps, and staple or sew it closed. This is the scarecrow’s body. If you want your scarecrow to have arms hanging down, you can attach filled stockings to this body for the arms, or just stuff rolled up cardboard or packaging up the arms of the clothes when you have dressed it.
Step Six: Attach The Legs
Fill a pair of old tights or two stockings with your stuffing. These are the legs. You can either attach them to the bottom of your sack now before you ‘dress’ your scarecrow, or you can use them to stuff a pair of trousers which you then attach to the body pre-stuffed.
Step Seven: Make The Face
Stuff a skin-coloured pillowcase and decorate the face of the scarecrow. We used buttons and ribbon and made a fabric 'carrot', but you can draw it on with permanent marker. Secure it to the scarecrow by tying it around the neck. You may need a tall person to do this.
Step Eight: Dress The Scarecrow
Dress your scarecrow with mismatched clothes and a hat. Stuff straw or wool under the hat for hair. Stuff the legs into boots or wellingtons with straw sticking out of the top. Put on his hat and scare the crows away from your vegetable patch!
- Make your scarecrow's clothes look older by sewing or gluing on patches of mismatched material.
- Use safety pins to affix clothes as you put them on, as this makes it easier to adjust them.
- If you want your scarecrow to be able to hold something heavy, tie a piece of rope to the shoulder and let it hang down through the sleeve of his jacket. You can then tie the other end to a trug, bucket or watering can and make it look like the scarecrow is holding it.
- We decorated our scarecrow with little animals, and even made him a pocket watch.
- To make the mice, roll a piece of fur fabric around a tail made of twine, wool or leather; take half a pink pipe-cleaner and bend it into a little nose and two ears; wrap a tiny piece of fur fabric around this; glue the two pieces together.
- To make a mole, make little feet out of pink pipe-cleaners or card; roll black fur fabric into a mole shape and glue on the feet; glue on a big pink button for the nose and two small beads or buttons for eyes.
- To make a pocket watch, print off a picture of a clock face and stick it into a plastic lid, attach a piece of gold chain (we used strips of gold net for the same effect). Cover the back of the lid with gold paper.
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