Scarecrow!

My friend Jilene was asked to make a scarecrow for her daughter's school class. The donated scarecrows were to be auctioned off, to raise money for the school. Jilene didn't feel confident in her scarecrow makin' skills, so turned to me for a little inspiration and crafty know-how.

Initially, we were thinking of making a full-sized scarecrow. As I was researching and looking on the internet, I found many smaller versions.... scarecrows as plant pokes, pins, made with candy, as shelf-sitter decorations and holding baskets. Many of these were super cute, so I asked Jilene if the scarecrow HAD TO be full-size. She called the school and found out that making a smaller version would be just fine, so we shifted directions and came up with a plan.

This was our inspiration. I've had him for years...unfinished and kind of sloppy. He was useful in our scarecrow makin' though. I used his general size and shape to make a pattern.

I have since done a few finishing touches on him and he now looks great sitting on my shelf.
I found these old dish towels, yellowed and stained. I don't remember where they came from. Probably from a grandma hand-me-down fabric box. Even though they weren't in perfect condition, I thought they would make a great head/body for a scarecrow.
Scarecrows are supposed to me rustic and dirty, right?

I cut out the body, making the arms and legs really long, so they could wrap around a basket. Next, we ironed on a nose and patch cheeks, stitched a mouth and used buttons for eyes. Then I arranged some raffia around his head and pinned the 2 body pieces together. I sewed around the head and raffia hair, then around the rest of the body, leaving an opening for stuffing. I was pleased and surprised when the raffia hair actually worked. It's a little crazy and Jilene may decide to give him a haircut, but I like him.

Then it was on to making his clothing. I used our inspiration scarecrow to make a pattern, once again. I was able to leave some raw edges and not get too particular about things...because it was a scarecrow for goodness sake. We tied jute around the neck, waist, wrists and ankles and left some raffia sticking out for cuteness.

Here's George..our finished scarecrow. Jilene will probably fill the basket with apples, mini pumpkins or candy for the auction.

I was very please with how he turned out, especially because he was our own creation.

Would you bid on George?