~ a corn husk dolly honours the corn goddess and the bounty of the earth, and can be made during any of the autumn harvest festivals, such as lughnasadh, held in the beginning of august, or the upcoming autumn equinox ~
~ the corn dolly is the embodiment of the spirit of the grain; safe-keep her over the winter months to ensure fertility next harvest ~
directions:
- after drying the corn husks (the corn husks shrink as they dry, therefore making the dolly before the husks are dried will result in the string holding the dolly together becoming too loose), soak them in water for a couple hours. This will make the husks more pliable to work
- drain off the water and set the husks flat on paper towel, if necessary dab off excess water, but don’t let the husks become completely dried out again
dried corn husks soaking in water, and laid flat to dry
making the head of the dolly:
- gather the corn silk and the green leaves (if desired), and place in the centre of a corn husk
- fold the edge of the husk over and roll around the one side of the silk and leaves, leaving some extending from the rolled husk — this will be the hair for the dolly
- fold the rolled husk over into a ball and wrap in another corn husk
- add more corn husks to achieve the desired size
- place aside, for now
making the head of the corn dolly
making the arms of the dolly:
- take three to four corn husks and lay them against each other
- roll together length-wise and tightly tie string at the ends for the hands
- if desired, trim the excess husks, so that they are blunt and even
- place aside for now
making the arms and hands of the corn dolly
combining the head and the arms with the torso:
- place the ‘head’ of the corn dolly inside two or three corn husks, running the silk ‘hair’ along the length of the husks
- cover with another two or three husks
- wrap the husks around the ‘head’ and tightly tie at the top of the ball
- fold down the husks, careful of the silk and green leaves, and then tie at the bottom of the head
- take the arms and place inside those husks on either side of the ‘head’ and tie beneath
attaching the skirt for the dolly:
- take a dozen or more corn husks and place around the dolly, a few centimetres from the end of the corn husks making the ‘torso’
- bunch and tie very tightly, trimming the edges, if desired
- carefully fold down the husks to make the skirt
attaching the corn husk skirt
finally, place the dolly in a place of honour
corn husk dolly upon an autumnal equinox alter
