Thanksgiving Project: Corn Husk Wreath This cornhusk project is not hard to make at all. It is a lovely fall and earth project to make to decorate your front door at Thanksgiving or at Autumn. Materials Large hay or straw wreath* Glue gun and glue sticks Wire String or twine Magic marker or demensional paint in red and black. Artificial hair* Felt in black, brown, yellow 1/4 yard of unbleached muslin Scissors Wide ribbon in Fall colors and designs 2 packages of cornhusks Bowl full of ice water Gardener's picks 14" foam balls Autumn picks (small artificial representations of harvest) Blue paper ribbon Package of artificial or real Autumn leaves * Many of these items were obtained from my local craft store. Instructions Prepare the Corn Husk Dolls Soak your corn husks in warm water for about an hour until they become pliable. Gather several damp husks and tie them together tightly with twine, about 12 inch from one end. To make the head, hold the knotted end in one fist, the fold the husk down so they cover the knotted end. I used a small foam ball to which I folded 4 husks and tied the ends with twine. To make the arms, roll up a single husk and tie it off at both ends. Position the arms up between the husks under the doll's neck. Smooth the husk over the arms to form the chest and back, then cinch in the waist with twine. Make the Clothes: Pilgrim man: I used a free hand pattern for the doll's vest and cut it out of brown felt. I used a freehand pattern for the pants and cut it out of black felt. I will show the patterns here. I also made the doll a top hat. After I sewed the pieces together, I dressed the doll carefully. I took several strands of fake hair in black and glued it on the pilgrim man's head. Then I glued the hat on. With demensional paints in black and red, I dotted two eyes (in black) and a dot for a mouth in red. Pilgrim Woman: For her vest, I rounded out a square piece of muslin. I cut out a small square for the upper portion of the apron. I sewed both pieces together and attached a string at both ends--one on top and one around the the waist. Next, I made her cap using a square of muslin. I folded it in half and folded the corners together forming a nurses' hat and glued the two lower corners together. I, then, gathered several strands of fake hair and glued it on her head, giving the doll long tresses. You can play with it and give her a nice hairdo. For her skirt, I used several strands of blue paper ribbon. First, I unwound the ribbon and wrapped it around the doll's waist, letting it cascade down. Next, I draped some blue ribbon around her chest. I, then, placed her apron on and tied it on the back. I glued on her cap. I, then, gave the doll two eyes and a mouth with my demensional paints. Prepare the wreath: As before, soak the husk in warm water for one hour. Make sure the wreath form being used has a hanging loop. If it does not, make one with twine and secure it with hot glue to the back of the wreath (this will become the top of your wreath). Next, take a husk and and bend it like a leaf. Secure with gardener's pick, pinning it at the ends to the wreath. Continue covering the entire wreath with cornhusks, overlapping the previous husk so that the ends will not show. Next, glue one end of the wide Fall-patterned ribbon to the back of the wreath at the top, loop the loose end to the front and through the center, wrapping the ribbon loosely around the entire circumference of the wreath until you return to the top. Cut the ribbon and glue the end at the top back. Next, arrange the Autumn leaves around the upper portion of the wreath. Make a large, multi-looped bow out of the wide Fall-patterned ribbon with tails hanging down. Glue or pin the bow unto the bottom of wreath, letting the tail cascade down. Glue the cornhusk dolls adjacent to each other, one at each side of the wreath. Glue the Fall picks around the sides of wreath or where you think it is pretty. Corn Husk Dolls in Use Corn husk dolls have been made by Northeastern Native Americans probably since the beginnings of corn agriculture more than a thousand years ago. Brittle dried cornhusks become soft if soaked in water and produce finished dolls sturdy enough for Penobscot (a people indigenous to the region) children's toys. In addition to their use for amusement, some cornhusk dolls are used in sacred healing ceremonies. A type of Iroquois corn husk doll was made in response to a dream. The doll was then discarded, put back to earth to carry away the evil of the dream. Both boy and girl dolls are made using the corn silk tassel for hair. Feet and body are stuffed with leaves and tied while arms and legs are made from braided or rolled husks. Dolls measure anywhere between four and ten inches tall. Sometimes a face is drawn, or red dots are painted for cheeks; but more often than not the doll's face is left blank. The dolls are often dressed in cornhusks, animal hide or cloth but some are made without clothing. Personal equipment is produced for many dolls, and this helps children practice to prepare the things needed for everyday life. Girl dolls would be given cradle boards, hoes, sewing kits or other women's things; while boys could be provided with bows and arrows, canoe paddles and warrior's accuterments. Story of the Corn Husk Doll This legend is told by Mrs. Snow, a talented Seneca craftswoman. Many, many years ago, the corn, one of the Three Sisters, wanted to make something different. She made the moccasin and the salt boxes, the mats, and the face. She wanted to do something different so the Great Spirit gave her permission. So she made the little people out of corn husk and they were to roam the earth so that they would bring brotherhood and contentment to the Iroquois tribe. But she made one that was very, very beautiful. This beautiful corn person, you might call her, went into the woods and saw herself in a pool. She saw how beautiful she was, and she became very vain and haughty. That began to make the people very unhappy, and so the Great Spirit decided that wasn't what she was to do. She didn't pay attention to his warning, so the last time the messenger came and told her that she was going to have her punishment. Her punishment would be that she'd have no face, she would not converse with the Senecas or the birds or the animals. She'd roam the earth forever, looking for something to do to gain her face back again. So that's why we don't put any faces on the husk dolls. From: Our Mother Corn Mather/Fernandes/Brescia 1981 The history of the cornhusk doll is taken from: NativeTech [http://www.nativeweb.org/NativeTech/cornhusk/corndoll.html] --submitted by MGonzalez01 Return to Miscellaneous Crafts Return to Main Page This page and its graphics were created by exclusively for The Yahoo! Crafter's Place Chat Club. It is best viewed on a 800x600 screen set for True Color with or and is hosted by . Get them NOW!