Create a Cornhusk Doll for Gifts, the Top of the Tree, and Ornaments

If you have just purchased enough corn for an army or have been collecting and air-drying cornhusks all summer, you are ready to make an ornament that screams, "Little House on the Prairie." If you haven't collected and dried 35 to 45 clean, white cornhusks, you can purchase them at craft shops.

Begin by soaking the husks that you so carefully dried, in warm water until they are pliable and you can work with them. Before you remove the husks from the water, lay a protective canvas or towel down. This will save quite a bit of clean up time.

Find a relatively large cornhusk, place a 1" diameter foam ball directly in the center and tightly close the husk around it, by bringing the sides together, making certain that the ball is completely covered. Twist the husk bottom and the top to secure. Bring the two ends together and twist, securing the connection with a piece of dental floss. Waxed or unwaxed, flavored or not, it really doesn't matter. (Yes, there will be a question if this isn't mentioned.) You now have the foam ball on the top, covered totally with the husk, and a "tail" of husk hanging down.

To make the arms, you will need two cornhusks. Lay them with the narrow ends overlapping one another by 2 inches. Roll the two together so one wraps around the other slightly and tie them off close to the middle of the overlap. Bring each open end toward the middle and secure with more dental floss. This should give you a 6" piece that will be the arms. You will need two more pieces of floss to tie 1/2 inch from the ends, forming the hands.

Open up the two pieces hanging from the head and insert the arms. To make it easier, you can secure it if you would like. Wrap several pieces of cornhusks around the shoulders as though you were putting a shawl on the doll, crossing them in the front to give bulk to the chest area.

Begin layering husks at the waist area with the narrow ends if the husk at the waist. Build the skirt all the way around and layer until you are satisfied with the fullness, and then tie it at the waist with another piece of floss, wrapping the floss around several times. At this point, I always contemplate how dental floss and corn somehow have a karmic connection.

You can now trim and even the skirt, even make a ruffley effect by layering the top cornhusks shorter than the ones underneath.

Put light dots of glue on the head and use dried corn silk as hair. You will need to dampen the silk ahead so that you can easily work with it. Once you are satisfied with the location, sprits it with hairspray. (What else would you use? It's meant to be hair!) Allow this to dry completely.

Make a bonnet for our little friend. Fold a cornhusk lengthwise and wrap it around the head starting at the crown and going down the sides and toward the back. Make certain that the fold is in the front. Work the back part of the husk until you are happy with the shape and tie it into place on the head with more floss. Cut a piece of husk that is about 8" X 2" and wrap around the head from the back to the front, to hide the floss. Tie it in the front with two knots and trim away the excess husk from that and the back.

Wrap two thin bands of husk around the waist to cover the floss and trim it off. If you notice any cornhusk above the waistband, trim it also.

You will need to make final adjustments on the doll. Dampen it if the husks are too dry and hard to adjust. Fluff, shape, and bend the arms. Fluff the skirt out and place the doll onto a Styrofoam cup to dry.

You will need to make a shawl and nothing is better for that than a piece of gauze. The gauze should be 4" wide and 22" long. In order to change the color to a more appealing tone, soak the gauze in tea for about an hour or so. You can work with it while it is still damp. Wrap the gauze around the arms and under them, and allowing it to drape on down the skirt.

You can add a halo using a gold pipe cleaner, if you choose. Another option is to fill a small basket with a bit of florist foam and glue in dried flowers. Glue this to the doll's hand. Add cranberries on a string for decoration around her neck, or gold cord. You can glue dried flowers around the front of the bonnet.

The doll is a wonderful tree topper and goes well with string of berries and popcorn decorations. Smaller dolls for ornaments can be made quite easily by layering 4 husks, tying the tops with floss, and turning them inside out. You will need to tie off a section for the head, using raffia or dental floss, insert arms made of a smaller piece of husk rolled and tied at the end for arms, and tying off under the arms and fluffing out the skirt. You can add raffia or corn silk hair, bonnets, or shawls. Small chains of beads or dried flowers can be added to these dolls.