Corn Husk Doll

I have loved natural crafts since I was a kid and I decided to make a corn husk doll.  I bought a bag of corn husks used for making tamales, from the grocery store.  The doll you see below only took about 1/3 of the bag so you could probably get 3 good sized dolls from one bag.  

My doll ended up 11" tall.  That was after I trimmed 1" - 1 1/2" off the bottom of her skirt.  Otherwise I used the entire length of each husk straight out the bag.

Before you can assemble your doll, you must soak the corn husks in a bowl of warm water so they are pliable and bendable.  Otherwise they will crack and break upon bending.  I soaked them 20-30 minutes.

I used cranberry water and strong coffee to stain some of the husks pink and beige.  I simply boiled a bag of cranberries and drained the juice BEFORE adding the sugar to make cranberry sauce.  You don't want sugary corn husks!

Don't worry if the husks don't get evenly dyed by the cranberry water.  They look better unevenly dyed in my opinion.  I created hair on my doll by gently tearing thin pieces of the husks I left out of the neck bundle at the top of the doll.  I then tied two pieces of husk around the hair to make pigtails.   

After trimming the skirt bottom so it was even, I placed two wadded up paper towels inside the skirt from the bottom (see photo) to hold it open so it dries that way.  This is important so she will stand up!  You can leave the paper towels in or remove them.  I removed them.

I also tied a piece of twine around her skirt near the bottom to help it keep its shape upon drying.  I removed it after she dried.  I also placed her pigtails inside her folded arms so they would dry hanging down instead of sticking out to the sides, which I didn't want to happen.  They stuck out slightly after she dried but I think it added to her personality!  

There are many methods out there in how to create a corn husk doll!  I really enjoyed making this and I invite you to try it sometime.  All the materials are listed below.  I think it would be cool to make a corn husk man and woman as a pair!  Have fun!

Materials: corn husks, twine or yarn, scissors, bowl of water, paper towels, dyes or inks to dye husks (opt.)






Done!




















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