Wooden Spoon Scarecrow

This wooden spoon scarecrow can be made in six easy stages that will occupy adults and children alike on a wet afternoon. The scarecrow will take about a couple of hours to make, depending on how simple or elaborate you decide to make him (or her). You will need to make up some simple paper pattern shapes for the clothes. The size of these will depend on how big your wooden spoon is. Draw round the spoon, and then draw a hat shape on top of it that is a little larger, to leave room for the scarecrow’s hair. Make a T-shape for the jacket and a rectangle for the trousers each just a little longer than half of the length of the spoon’s handle, so that the jacket will completely cover the trousers at the scarecrow’s waist.

You will need

A wooden spoon

Pipe cleaners for the scarecrow’s arms

Good strong waterproof glue or (optional) a hot glue gun

Needle and thread or (optional) a sewing machine

Paints and a paintbrush

Felt and (ideally) non-fray fabric scraps for clothes

Wool for hair

Twine or raffia to finish trouser bottoms and jacket cuffs

Small quantity of stuffing

Collage materials like buttons, beads, ribbons, feathers, sequins etc. to decorate your scarecrow.

Step One

Carefully paint a face onto the head of the wooden spoon using paints or felt tip pens. You can use either the front (hollow) or the back (bulging out) side of the spoon for the face. I have used the bulging out side for my face. You may want to paint the whole head in a flesh-coloured paint to begin with, so that the features stand out clearly.

Add the features to the bottom half of the ‘face’, i.e., the stick end. Paint a pair of eyes and add some eyelashes and eyebrows; alternatively self-adhesive goggle eyes are fun! I added a small offcut of wood for a nose, and painted in a red mouth and some pink cheeks.

Stick some hair made from wool or scrunched up paper around the top of the spoon; i.e., the crown of the head. Remember that we are not aiming at total realism here. Weird is good!

Step Two

Cut a hat shapes from a piece of felt, folded double. Sew the back to the front and turn through. Glue the hat on the scarecrow’s head and shape it to make a brim. Decorate.

Step Three

Cut a simple t-shaped jacket from a folded piece of felt. The fold needs to be at the top of the jacket. Pinking shears give a good edge effect to the jacket’s hem and sleeve ends, but they are not essential. Make a small hole at the top centre of the jacket for the spoon to poke through. Sew the side seams up by hand or machine and, if you don’t want the stitches to show, turn through. You may want to add some buttons to the front at this stage.

Push the spoon through hole in the top of the jacket and push the whole jacket right up to the top of the spoon. Twist one or two pipe cleaners tightly around the top of the spoon close to the head, to represent the scarecrow’s arms. Secure them with a blob of glue. Push the pipe cleaner arms down the sleeves.

Pull down the jacket and stuff it lightly to give your scarecrow a tummy. Tie the waist loosely with twine, to make a belt. Add a jolly bandana round the scarecrow’s neck.

Step Four

Cut a pair of trousers in a contrasting colour from a rectangle of fabric, folded double. Cut three quarters of the way up the middle of the long side to make two legs. Sew up the side and centre seams and, if you want to, turn the trousers through to give a neat finish.

Push the spoon handle down one leg. Tie the top of the trousers at the waist with twine, underneath the jacket where it cannot be seen. Stuff both legs lightly with stuffing to give them ‘body’.

Stuff the open ends of the arms and legs with some raffia, shredded paper or straw to suggest hands and feet, and tie the ends of the sleeves and trouser bottoms firmly with twine to hold both the stuffing and the raffia in place.

Step Five

Now comes the fun part. Decorate your scarecrow with buttons, sequins etc. Maybe your scarecrow is carrying something, like a flower, fluffy chicken or a dog? Use your imagination!

Step Six

Put your scarecrow in a place where you can admire him, or her. Maybe s/he can guard your kitchen herbs, houseplants, or seedlings? Remember to push the end of the spoon firmly down into the soil to ensure that your scarecrow is secure.