CORNHUSKS DOLLS FOR FUN AND PROFIT

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Bread. It's fun to pose your doll with her hands offering a loaf of homemade bread. Next time you bake, set aside a small lump of dough about the size of a golf ball. Divide this into nine parts, roll each into a thin rope, and braid three tiny loaves of three strands each . . . or just bake the dough into a miniature round loaf.

Bucket. Find a 1 -inch high tapered cork to serve as a form, wrap a small piece of wet husk around it, and tie the cornshuck in two places with thread. Let the husk dry on the cork. When you remove the form, touch the edges of the bucket with glue and also dab adhesive on the thread binding to hold it in place.

To give the bucket a bottom, cut a circle slightly larger than the diameter of the pail at its smaller end and notch its edges with scissors. Spread white glue around the inner edge of the container's wall where the bottom is to fit, and push the disc of husk down into position with the eraser tip of a pencil.

Finally, the handle: Braid three thin strands of husk, tie the ends of the plait with thread, and glue them to the bucket. Loop the bail over the doll's hand.

Knitting. Use two round toothpicks as needles, and cast on about 12 stitches of lightweight string or wool. Knit an inch or so. Then wrap the end of the "yarn" into a small ball and glue the last few strands around the bundle to prevent unraveling. Tie the work to the doll's hands and let the ball of wool fall to the "floor" or dangle partway down.

A great deal of the fun offered by this craft comes from modeling sticks, twigs, weeds, and wild findings into tools for your little people. I'm sure you'll think of other touches to add to your dolls: various objects for them to hold, different poses for them to assume. There's plenty of scope for imagination. Go ahead, play with the husks, discover their possibilities . . . and yours.

SALES

After a bit of practice and family fun with dollmaking, you might want to try selling some of your better efforts . . . both as a source of extra cash and as a marvelous excuse to turn out still more cornhusk people. In that case, the following hints may be useful to you.

POSSIBLE OUTLETS

Cornhusk dolls can be sold through a wide range of outlets: farm market stands, fruit growers' sheds, country stores, gift shops, craft fairs, natural food stores, antique dealers, and interior decorators.

Some shop owners are glad to take articles on consignment (an arrangement by which the dealer pays you when the piece is sold and retains a commission of 20 to 30 percent for himself). Others will buy items outright. Although I've sold crafts both ways, I find that the consignment system is most commonly used and often leads to repeat sales. If your creations move well, the merchant is usually just as pleased as you are.

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