MAKING HARVEST CORN DOLLIES

Image Gallery Corn dollies were originally designed to represent the harvest gods.

SUNDAY AFTERNOON

By RANDY KIDD

Wheat weaving is as old as farming, and a heck of a lot easier. If you can braid hair or tie an overhand knot, you'll be weaving in no time. Because I grow wheat right in back of my house, I've had plenty of experience making wheat handcrafts for a long time now. "Corn dollies;" which were designed over a century ago, are probably my favorite crafts project. For years, people have given these wheat-made figures to friends and family members during harvest time — they were originally created to represent the gods of harvest. (In Europe, corn once referred to all grains; "dolly" comes from the word "idol.") I've certainly given my own share of dollies as gifts, and I've saved several for myself, too. I love knowing that woven into each of these figures is a history as rich as the fields in which the grain grew. And now I pass the tradition onto you:

The first step to making a corn dolly is choosing the wheat you'll use, and there are some basic rules to follow. You should select long wheat stalks that stand erect and straight (stalks should measure more than 18 inches from the base of the head to the first joint on the stalk), and the stem of your stalk should be slender and golden. The stalks in the prime of ripeness are those that are most golden; avoid any stocks with green, which will never ripen to golden.

Just before you start your project, temper the stalks by soaking them for 20 to 40 minutes in cool to lukewarm water. Don't use hot water, which will remove the natural shine and gloss of the wheat. After soaking, wrap the stalks in a wet bath towel and let them set for about 15 minutes or so. The stalks are then ready for weaving, and you can use the wrapped straw all day long (or at least until it gets soggy).

There are a few different techniques used in wheat-weaving. The one that you will be using is called "weaving around a base." This creates a thick spiral of wheat with a hollow center — the hollow core's size depends upon the size of the dowel used. The design is made by working the wheat around a removable dowel core (or a core of "waste" wheat stems). You should probably start with a pencil-size dowel; then, as your fingers get better at weaving, you can move on to a larger size.