Come On England!

I’ve finished my monster scarecrow! He’s a whopping 2.5m tall (about 8 feet) top-to-toe, and 1.6m wide (about 5 feet) between his fingertips. He weighs 10 kilos (22 pounds). He is supported on a rigid, cross-shaped wooden frame. This is a simple scarecrow design that is often shown on websites, but it has limitations that can prove rather frustrating. Here’s what I learned, while making my massive England fan.

The armature for my scarecrow was made from two pieces of wooden tiling batten (50mm x 25mm). The vertical batten measured 2.4m long (7’ 10”) and the horizontal one was 1.3m long (4’ 3”). He is so tall because husband David assured me that the finished scarecrow would need to be hammered a good 600mm (2 feet) into the ground, so that he would stand securely. David cut a sharp point at the foot end, to make it easier to drive into the ground. If I were to make another scarecrow using this method, I’d definitely scale the whole frame down by about a third to make it easier to handle.

I started by fixing the two battens together into a cross shape with four screws, inserting two from each side on opposite diagonals, to prevent the frame from twisting. The horizontal batten is at the shoulders, so it needs to be set only about 300mm - 350mm (12" - 14”) down from the top. A common mistake made by novice builders is to set the horizontal batten too low down the vertical stake, so that the head is marooned at the top of a very long neck. To avoid this, remember that the horizontal batten should be set at shoulder height, not at arms height.

It soon became obvious that I’d have to unscrew the horizontal batten again, in order to put my supporter’s clothes on. Here’s the dilemma! If the arms are long enough to appear lifelike, it is impossible to pull the sleeves of a costume over the scarecrow’s arms, because the horizontal bar of the frame is too long and rigid. Dressing him in a shirt that buttons up down the centre front makes it a little easier to put his clothes on, but not much.

Shortening the horizontal batten to about 600mm across (about 2 feet) makes the scarecrow easier to dress, but his clothes will dangle down limply from his shoulders even when well stuffed. Alternatively, it is necessary to slot the horizontal batten for the shoulders and arms through a T-shirt or jumper before screwing it to the vertical torso batten. Remember to put the vertical batten up through the neck of the T-shirt or jumper as well, before you screw the horizontal and vertical battens together!

I made a small innovation to the usual cross-shaped frame by screwing a small piece of thin plywood, 150mm (about 6”) square, to the top of the vertical batten at the head end. This fits inside the middle of the head bag before it is fully stuffed, so that the head cannot twist around on its neck. 

My England supporter’s head was made from a 300mm by 500mm (12” x 18”) white cotton bag that I ran up on my sewing machine. Note that this is the size of the finished bag; i.e., with the fabric doubled and seamed. Allow another inch or so for the seams. Leave one of the short ends of the rectangular bag open at the chin end, so that the head can be stuffed. I used white cotton because it takes colour well, but if I made another bag head, I’d use unbleached calico so that it would not be so stark.

I drew on a face with coloured pencils (acrylic paint is equally good) and I added two large button eyes. I have placed the features too high up on my England supporter’s face. For future reference, I have learned that the eyes need to be placed at least half way down the empty, flat face bag, otherwise, when stuffed, the scarecrow will not have a forehead and he will look distinctly odd, as mine does here.

Once I’d drawn on the face and stitched on the eyes, I stuffed the head with scrunched up newspapers put inside a plastic bag to protect the paper from the rain. At this point I attached the head to the scarecrow’s armature, easing the head bag carefully around the small wooden frame that I described earlier. After adding more stuffing to firm up the head, I fixed it tightly to the neck with duct tape. This method gives a really firm head that cannot flop about.

Once the head was held firmly in place, I finished the features. I cut out an oval nose and two large ears from cotton, stuffed them with a little Fibrefill, and stitched them onto the face to make it more three-dimensional. I’d do this again, as it does not take long, and I think it looks more realistic.

My football supporter’s orange hair and eyebrows are made from inexpensive, chunky acrylic wool that was on special offer at my local craft store, probably because it is so lurid. It certainly makes a statement! Too much of a statement, perhaps? His England hat, sourced from Party Mad (see yesterday’s blog) was stuffed with a small plastic bag filled with scrunched newspaper, and sewn to the top of his head. Fortunately, this disguises my scarecrow’s lack of a noble, high forehead!

I’ve already mentioned that I put my scarecrow’s jumper on before I fixed the armature together. Once I’d finished the head, I stuffed his jumper-covered body with plastic bags filled with newspaper, first the sleeves and then the torso. Here’s another lesson! My supporter’s clothes were sourced from husband David’s cast offs. This won’t do!

Ordinary street clothes are normally far too dull to work well for a showy scarecrow. I am making this one to test the method, but so far as a competition entry is concerned, I can only reiterate what I stated on my blog the other day, that a good theme is far more important than a well crafted scarecrow. 

Mine is reasonably well crafted but it did not start with an inspiring story line, just a heap of old clothes. His hands are made from rubber gardening gloves, currently 2 for 1 at Frost’s Garden Centre at Woburn Sands. My fan is holding an England ‘car sock’ in one hand. I may give him an England balloon to hold in the other hand whilst the scarecrow trail is on.

My England supporter’s trousers are also sourced from David’s cast offs. I made a small hole in the centre back seam and pushed the trousers up the vertical stake to the waist, where the trouser waistband met the bottom of the jumper. I pinned the two together with safety pins. This is a brilliant and easy method that beats sewing the two garments together hands down. It takes about 16 safety pins to secure the top to the trousers without gaping. Trouser waistbands are quite stiff. Watch that you do not prick your fingers, if you use this method!

The trouser legs have been stuffed with the usual plastic bags, filled with scrunched up newspapers. The legs positively eat newspaper so next time, I’m planning to try stuffing an old pair of tights, and pushing them down the trouser legs, to see if this works better.

My England supporter’s feet are made from old socks, stuffed as per usual and sewn to the bottom of each trouser leg. I wish I’d had some colourful stripy or spotted ones, but no such luck! David is thinking about buying a new pair of builder’s boots to wear on site visits. If he does, his old ones will be appropriated by my football fan, but I dare not steal them away yet!

To complete the England theme, I’ve pinned a ‘Come on England’ banner to the scarecrow’s shoulders, to ‘make sense’ of his long, outstretched arms. He’s a flying fan! However, the biggest drawback of his simple frame is the rigidity of the finished scarecrow. My football supporter is not poseable. Most themes require a bendy scarecrow that can adopt a more realistic posture. To achieve this, I would prefer to use pipe foam insulation for the scarecrow’s arms and possibly for his legs as well. My England supporter is now lurking in the bushes in our front garden. I hope the neighbours don’t mind.