How to Make a Scarecrow

Steps

1. 1. Lay Out Your Materials

   Get everything in one place before you start. You want old clothes, hemp twine, a bale of straw, a sewn burlap bag for the head, and two bamboo poles - one about seven foot for the body, one about four foot for the arms.

   Tip: Netting is listed as optional and it genuinely speeds this up. Stuffing a loose net tube and sliding it into a sleeve beats packing straw down the sleeve by hand.

   

2. 2. Stuff the Netting to Build the Arms

   Pack straw into a length of netting to form each arm. Push it in firmly and keep going until the tube holds its own shape - a loosely packed arm sags at the elbow within a week.

   Tip: Straw, not hay. Hay holds moisture and rots from the inside out.

   

3. 3. Slide the Arms onto the Four Foot Pole

   Thread a stuffed arm onto each end of the four foot pole. Work the netting along the bamboo until both sides sit evenly and you have bare pole left in the middle for the lashing.

   

4. 4. Start a Clove Hitch on the Tall Pole

   Cut yourself five or six feet of twine. About six inches down from the top of the seven foot pole, make two loops in the same direction, slip one behind the other, and drop the pair over the top of the pole.

   Tip: Six inches of pole above the hitch is what the burlap head sits on later. Go much lower and the head has nothing to grip.

   

5. 5. Lash the Crosspiece On

   Lay the arm pole across the tall one and start wrapping. Take the twine under, over, under, over the crosspiece three or four times.

   

6. 6. Finish with an X and Tuck the End

   Make an X across the join with the last of the twine, then slip the loose end under the cross to lock it off. No knot needed.

   

7. 7. Dress the Frame in the Shirt

   Feed one sleeve over an arm, then the other, and button the shirt up the front. This is where the oversized button-up earns its place.

   

8. 8. Tie Off and Stuff the Trouser Legs

   Tie off the bottom of each trouser leg with twine so the straw cannot fall out the ankles, then pack both legs full. Once they are stuffed, lash the waistband to the frame.

   

9. 9. Rig Twine Suspenders

   Cut two lengths of twine, three to four feet depending on how tall your scarecrow is. Run them from the front belt loops, up over the crosspiece, and down to the back belt loops - exactly like suspenders.

   

10. 10. Stand Him Up and Pack His Chest

    Lean him against a wheelbarrow or a fence so he stays upright while you work. Push handfuls of straw in at the waist and up through the shirt until his chest fills out.

    Tip: A bit of straw poking out at the cuffs and collar is the look. Do not tidy it away.

    

11. 11. Make the Burlap Head

    Turn the sewn burlap bag inside out so the seams sit on the inside, then draw a face on it with waterproof paint markers. Waterproof is not a suggestion here.

    

12. 12. Add the Head, Hat and Accessories

    Push the head down onto the top of the pole so it sits tight against the shoulders. Add a straw hat, tie on a bandana, and knot a few strips of bird scare tape to the arms if you have it - the flash and rattle does more work than the scarecrow does.

    Tip: Move him every couple of weeks. Birds work out very quickly that a thing which never moves is not a threat.