#cornhusks

William Eggleston

Photographer Frank Berry captured this image of corn husks in the early 1900s. Although we can’t be certain, the husks were possibly used as decoration for Halloween or a local harvest festival. #LibraryHarvest 

See more images from our Frank Berry Photographic Negative Collection here.

Today’s craft-a-long is one I’m very pleased to share. 

Seeing as how Josefina’s birthday is coming up on March 19th, I wanted to do something connected to the events of Happy Birthday, Josefina!. And I found the perfect project in the 1997 classic Josefina’s Craft Book. 

Josefina was the last character to get a book just for crafts, as the AG Pastimes line of books was discontinued once Pleasant Company was bought by Mattel. Which is a shame, because they were really knocking it out with this book AND her cookbook. They’re both full of fun stuff. If you’re wanting to find any Pastimes book set, I recommend these.  

First, please check out this cheeky smile on Josefina’s face. Look at how proud she is of her little treasure chest. Doing crafts and making art is definitely right up Josefina’s alley. She’s the character you probably identified with if you were more of the quiet type of child. She doesn’t often complain about having to follow the rules of propriety, or having to be ladylike. She was proud to carry on traditions taught to her by her mother and all the women in her life, but her personality never becomes dull or predictable because of this. She’s still often lively, fast-thinking, and empathetic even though she doesn’t feel compelled to challenge social norms.

In Josefina’s place and time, 1824 New Mexico (back then a colony of Mexico) women and girls had a lot more rights and freedoms than their counterparts in the neighboring United States. They kept their surnames after marriage, they could inherit and own property and pass it down to their daughters, and their clothing was far less restrictive. After the United States forcibly occupied and stole New Mexico and Arizona in 1848, after winning the Mexican War, women there lost a great deal of legal rights. 

Josefina would have seen all this happen in her thirties. 

But before all of that, on the day before she turns ten, she and her friend Mariana have a chance to play with their dolls together. Josefina has her cloth doll Niña, and Mariana has a doll made of cornhusks.  

“The girls pretended that their dolls were sisters. They made necklaces for them out of tiny wildflowers, and boats from curves of bark.”

Mariana lives at the nearby pueblo (unnamed in the story) and Josefina’s father has been friends with Mariana’s grandfather Esteban for a very long time. When they are together, Josefina admires Mariana’s pretty hair and shoes and the way she wears her colorfully-trimmed manta over one shoulder. Mariana gives Josefina a melon for her birthday and says “my heart goes with it.” Then they hold hands and look shyly at the floor. As one does. You know. Gals being pals. 

(I’m not kidding. This actually happens. Read the book if you don’t believe me.) 

Mariana’s people, the Pueblo people, are to thank for inventing drought-resistant corn of all sorts of colors and with an unprecedented level of genetic variation. Not being nomadic had its advantages: they’ve been carefully engineering this corn for centuries to grow in a land of hot summers, difficult-to-find water, uneven terrain, and harsh soil. But it’s an incredibly versatile food, and when it’s dried it stores well and keeps all through the winter, when other food is scarce. 

When the Spanish began to settle in the area, in the 1500s, they quickly realized how much they needed corn. From the book: 

Growing up on a rancho that produced all of its own food, Josefina would have had plenty of opportunity to make cornhusk dolls of her own. In Meet Josefina, she and her sisters are peeling the husks from the dried roasted corn as they discuss how to keep their beloved aunt from leaving them.

The craft book states that it was Clara who teaches Josefina to make the dolls from the husks, which is nice, finally seeing practical Clara loosening up and doing something quite impractical. The chapter header photo shows them blissfully crafting a whole family of cornhusk dolls. 

This tutorial has two parts. First, you’ll make a larger doll for yourself in order to practice the technique, as it gets more challenging at smaller scales. Then once you’ve got an idea of how you want your doll to look, you’ll cut the husks in half, and make a doll that’s even smaller, small enough to fit in your American Girl’s hands!   

You will need: 

20 dried cornhusks. You should be able find them at grocery stores. Check the produce section, or the Latin foods section. At my grocery store, they run about $3 for a huge bag with more than enough for this project. 

Cotton twine or yarn

Scissors

Wool, yarn, or corn silk. This will be the doll’s hair.

Glue

Fabric scraps, tiny flowers, or beads to decorate the doll

First you will need to soak the corn husks. Fill a big pot or a sink with hot water, and stuff the husks in there until they’re wet. Let them soak for about an hour. 

When they’re ready, take out 8 of the husks, and squeeze out the excess water in a kitchen towel. Leave the remaining 12 to stay soft in the water. Then stack them all on top of each other. Tie a piece of twine in a knot around the narrower ends of the husks. 

Pull it tightly. 

Now separate 4 of the husks from the other 4 husks. You’ll have two “legs”.

Bend both legs backwards and over the knotted twine. 

Flip it upright, then tie a piece of twine tightly around the husks right below that bunched up knotted part. Arrange the husks to cover the knotted twine. This is the doll’s head. 

Take two husks out of the water where they’re soaking. Roll them tightly into a rod shape, and tie twine a few centimeters away from both ends. This will be the doll’s arms.

Now take this rod and slide it up between the husks and up towards the head. 

Flip it back over. This is what you should have. You can see the doll start to come together. 

Now take a long piece of twine, and crisscross it over the doll’s shoulders and torso several times..

Trim the doll’s skirt to help it stand up. 

Okay! That’s it! If it went well and you’ve go the hang of it, then you’re ready to make an even smaller version of the doll! 

To do that, make another stack of 8 husks, and cut the husks in half horizontally. Use the halves with the pointy narrow end, and repeat all the steps. Depending on the size of your husks, you should end up with a doll that is teeny tiny enough for your American Girl doll to hold. Trim it down if it’s too big.  

I used a tuft of soft alpaca fiber for the hair. Your package of corn husks may or may not include dried corn silk, depending on the manufacturer. This also makes excellent doll hair. It can be dark reddish-brown or a golden yellow/

You can make it a shawl by cutting up a bit of fabric and pinning or glueing it over the doll’s shoulders. Make a baby by wrapping strips of husks around each other and pinning it together.

You can even make a little mule by following this tutorial [here]. 

If you soaked a lot more husks than you used, you can also make doll-sized tamales by folding a bit of cornhusk over a cylinder of clay and tying it with another smaller strip of husk. Remember, corn is a staple food for girls like Josefina! Use every part of it and let nothing go to waste! 

And where better to keep your little doll than in this treasure box, which is appliquéd with cut-out husk shapes. This is a very old and very traditional craft from the southwest.

We’ll learn how to make the box next week, so save your bag of husks!