These cute little brooms are functional as well as decorative. Made of broom corn, they are excellent as hand brooms.

You will need:
Broomcorn (also called ornamental grass/sorghum)
Material for dress, face, and hands
Cotton
Yarn
Markers
Raffia
Needle and thread
Glue

Before the invention of nylon brooms, broom corn was (and often still is) used to make corn brooms. It is not actually a type of corn, but in fact a very large grass. The nickname of broom corn was derived from the fact that the grass stems are so large they closely resemble cornstalks.

Shuck The Seeds

Begin by shucking the seeds from the broom corn heads (if your broom will be merely decorative, the seeds can be left on for the colorful effect) Tie several of the shucked broom corn stalks together with raffia just above the heads, and again about an inch from the broom’s top. Form a raffia loop, and attach this to the top tie.

Cut The Fabric

Cut 2 identical dress shapes from material and sew them together. Make sure the neck hole is large enough to fit over the broom handle. Cut a head and a pair of hands from material. Stuff them with cotton. Sew the head to the front half of the dress. Sew the hands to the sleeves of the dress.

Put It All Together

Slip the dress over the top of the broom handle, sliding it down until the skirt part of the dress covers the heads of the broom corn. Leave about an inch and a half of the broom corn peeking out beneath the dress. Using the markers, draw a face on the broom lady. Cut a few pieces of yarn and glue them to the top of the head as hair. Embellish the broom ladies with miniature baskets or tiny brooms of their own glued to their hands.

By Amber Reifsteck, The Woodland Elf

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