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■Lancaster Farming, Saturday, Dec. 4. 1976
64—1
The necessary materials for making cornhusk
dolls are thread, scissors, wire, cornhusk, and a
styrofoam ball.
Before the pieces of the doll are put together, the
head and arms look like this. To add fullness to the
sleeve, an extra piece of cornhusk is added to each
end, also, before the arms are attached to the head.
At this point in the doll’s construction, the arms
and head have been connected and the shoulder
bands have been tied into place.
To connect the skirt to the bodice the head is
held upside down and cornhusk is tied in place and
then turned inside out
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By JOANNE SPAHR
NEFFSVILLE, Pa. - When
Jeannette Dillman, 1014
Hunsicker Road, Lancaster,
looks at a cornfield, she
doesn’t see the many hours
of slow,. tedious labor that
will go into picking it, or the
profits that will come from
the many head of cattle it
will feed. Instead she says
with a laugh and a sparkle in
her outstanding blue eyes,
“When I drive past a corn-
field all I can think of is how
many cornhusk wreaths
there are to be made from
it.”
After two years of making
com husk dolls, flowers, and
wreaths, you could say
Jeannette has a one-track
mind when it comes to
cornfields. Or, you could say
that, like any true craft
person, she is just always
alert for sources of
materials.'
And,, she really is a
craftperson. She has hand
somely decorated her home
with cornhusk art, ceramics,
and Christmas ornaments
which she made herself.
Amazingly, she squeezes it
'all in between 16 to 21 hours,
combined, of working at
Landis Homes Retirement
Center, Lititz R 3, and as a
nurse on other private duty
cases. She is also a wife, and
a mother of two active sons ■
Bradley, age six, and
Gregory, age eight.
In Jeannette’s case, she
manages to do all her bob
bies because she enjoys
working with her hands and
finds it relaxing, but she also
notes that the cornhusk
crafts don’t take much time
out of her day.
“Cornhusk crafts are
easy,” she assures, “and
they really don't take that
long to do,” she adds.
According to Jeannette,
many people shy away from
this hobby simply because
they think it is a difficult
process.
“If they’d try it, they’d be
amazed,” she notes. On the
average, it takes only about
an hour to construct a doll,
and as long as six hours to
make a cornhusk wreath.
But, the skill required for the
wreath is minimal, so it can
be done while watching
television or chatting with a
friend. Therefore, the time
can pass quickly.
Jeannette began working
with com husk about two
years ago when a Mothers’
Club she belonged to taught
this hobby along with several
crafts.
“I enjoy any craft that
comes along,” she admits, so
trying out the corn husk was
a natural for her. Since that
time she has been perfecting
her technique and has even
taught a workshop or two on
the subject.
CORNHUSK WREATHS
The cornhusk wreathes
are probably the simplest to
construct The only
materials needed are ap
proximately two large
grocery bags of corn husk, a
styrofoam ring, sturdy
picks, and wire. Both the
styrofoam and the picks can
be purchased at any craft
store
I'nn tduri'
Dio first slop in treating
the wreaths is lo shred the
' ijni husk into strips about
one lo one and-a hall inches
Cornhusk crafts are
easier than they look
When Mrs. Jeannette Dillman looks has already completed; This cornhusk
at'fields of corn, she sees cornhusk wreath is her favorite because she
wreaths to be made, and when she decorated it with straw flowers and a
looks at her wall she sees those she three-toned bow.
in width. Then, you fold the
strip exactly in half, and
wire the ends to the middle of
the pick. This places the
“fold” about Vz inch above
the top pointed end of the
stick. For a good amount of
fullness, wire as many as
four strips of com husk to
each pick, and then push the
completed unit into the
styrofoam ring. To complete
the entire wreath, add as
many toothpicks as required
to cover the styrofoam.
For this particular project,
the husk does not need to be
soaked as it does for the
cornhusk dolls.
“And, if you are fortunate
enough to get it before it
becomes mildewy, you won’t
have to bleach the husk at
all,” says Jeannette. The
mildew depends on the
weather and the time of year
that you get the husk. If it
does become mildewy, soak
it in chlorine bleach. Then,
let it dry.
Of course, after all the
husk is covering the
styrofoam form, the wreath
will need a few em
bellishments to really make
it attractive.
“That’s where the fun
comes in,” says Jeannette.
“Each person can add his or
her own special touch with
different bows and dried
flowers throughout the
wreath.”
CORNHUSK FLOWERS
The cornhusk flowers are
made m the same way as the
wreaths, except on a smaller
scale. The strips of cornhusk
are shredded into inch
widths and wired onto heavy
wire, instead of picks. Then,
once the cornhusk is wired, it
is taped on with florist’s tape
- just like a boutonniere. To
make the husk look like a
flower, a purchased leaf can
be added when the florist’s
tape is being applied, and
tiny dried flowers can be
glued to the tenter of each
cornhusk flower to simulate
the stamen
“7 t'
Jeannette Oiilman displays an almost completed
cornhusk doll.
CORNHUSK DOLLS
The most complicated on
the cornhusk crafts is the
creation of a doll. And, yet, it
is not a difficult craft once it
has been tackled.
Materials
The materials needed are
50 com, husks, a Vz inch
styrofoam ball, string or
strong thread, flexible wire
about seven-and-a-half
inches long, all purpose glue,
and com silk for the hair.
Procedure
Before making the dolls,
dampen the husks so that
they are flexible and easy to
work with, and blot off the
excess water.
If there are any stains on
the husk, apply chlorine
bleach to remove them.
The assembly of the doll
begins with the head. This is
the point at which the h inch
styrofoam ball comes into
focus. To make this part of
the body, cross two strips of
long corn husk per
pendicularly over the top of a
styrofoam ball, tying them
together at the bottom of the
“head” - forming the neck.
The second step in making
this portion of the doll is to
cover the neck string with V*
inch husk, tying it in the
back. At this point, the neck
extension, or the length of
the husk below where the
neck is tied, should be at
least three inches long.
To make the arms of the
doll, cut a piece of wire
seven-and-a-half inches
Around this, wrap
husks. This forms a tube. Tie
at the center and inch
from each end.
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