Corn Husk Dolls

An early American craft, dolls were made from readily available corn husks. The early season corn held the yellow silk which could be used for blond hair, while mid season corn was reddish brown, and late season was darker brown.

The husks are removed by cutting around the top and bottom of the cob with a sharp knife. Try to remove the silk in one hunk. Dry this silk apart from the husks. The larger pieces are used for sleeves and skirts and the smaller pieces for heads and bodies.

Spread the husks in the sun to dry. Don't put them in the oven as they become brittle. Outside drying takes a few days. When they are completely dry you will find differences in the colors, some are pale green and some are beigh brown. Store your dried husks in a plastic bag. Store the silk separately from the husks.

A doll can take about 15 husks to make a body and 30 husks to dress it. In addition to the silk for hair, you will need wire cutters , some floral stem wire and a spool of neutral colored thread.

Soak some husks in tepid water until they can be shaped readily. Cut one 6 inch length of wire for arms, and one 3 1/2 piece for the body. Lay out a towel on your worktable and take one soaked husk, and blot it dry on the towel. Blot each piece before using. If you plan to work on this project over several days, the husks must be resoaked, and the doll must be resoaked to make it pliable to work on.

The Body:

Place the 3 1/2 wire longways on the husk near one edge and fold the top and bottom of the husk down over the ends of wire. Roll up the wire in the husk and tie each end with strong thread.

Arms:

Take a 6 inch length of wire for the arms and lay flat two husks overlapping in the middle. Place the wire to one side of the husks, fold over the ends and roll and tie as for the body. Tie in the middle to hold the overlapping husks in place.

Head:

Try to round this as much as possible. Having a round ball of cotton is very helpful. Take two soaked husks, laying one on top of the other for double thickness. Wrap and twist these tightly around the top of the body to make a ball. Take another two husks to make a double thickness and place them over the front of the body. Holding all in place, give them a twist at the top of the head. Bring the material above the head, down, and tie tightly at the neck. Try to make the front of the head as smooth as possible. Most painted dolls only have eyes.

Sleeves:

Use enough husks to give a full filled out sleeve, overlapping each husk over the next one. Arrange them around the wrist of the arm, facing away from the arm. Tie them around the wrist on the inside of the sleeve. Fold all the sleeve husks back towards the center. This will give you a puffed sleeve, and expose a hand area. Repeat this on the other side for the other sleeve.

A fancy cuff is an addition which is optional. This needs four overlapping husks for each arm with the widest part facing towards the dolls hands. Fold under the ends of the husks at about 1 inch to meet in the center of the arm. At the hand end of the arm, cut the edges (a pinking shears works great). Roll the four husks around the arm and tie at the wrist. Repeat for the other arm.

A straight sleeve is suitable for a male doll. It is similar to the fancy sleeve but both ends are folded under before rolling the sleeve around the arm.

Assembly:

Lay the sleeves across the top of the body, allow space for a neck. Cut a 6 inch piece of wire and wind diagonally across the chest from shoulder to waist over the other shoulder and finish at the waist.

Fold one or more husks into a 1 inch square and lay this on the chest over the crossed wire. Take four husks two doubled from the front, two from the back and criss cross them over the square to hold them in place. Tie all with thread at the waist, tightly.

Skirts:

Roll hunks in bundles and overlap enough husks round the bundle to make a full skirt. Them them at the waist. Trim the hem end evenly so it can stand. Husks could be tinted for colored aprons. Kneeling figures can be made by only half filling the skirt with padding husks, then covering the padding with longer ones, folding the excess skirt length under at the knee level back to appear sitting on its knees.

Hair:

A little glue helps hold the corn silk around the head for hair. Tie in a bunch at the back of the head.

Parts can be made by sewing a single thread along the part line. Little husks can be used for head scarves tied at the back of the neck .

Arrange your finished doll in position while still wet and allow them to dry for about two weeks at room temperature. A light spray with hair spray will preserve them.

It was said these first dolls were made in a manner which would have been used to make a rag doll had material been available, as it would have been near a city. In the frontier, they made do with husks, and cattail down.