Make a scarecrow

Now that you are sowing lots of vegetable crops, why not make a scarecrow to frighten away birds from the new plants as they start to grow?

What you'll need

• 1 sturdy stick or bamboo cane, about 2m long
• 1 sturdy stick or bamboo cane, about 1m long
• 1 sturdy stick or bamboo cane, about 30cm long
• Old clothes – shirt or jumper, trousers, hat
• Old pair of tights
• String
• Straw or leaves

What to do

Make a frame

1. Tie tightly the 1m stake to the 2m stake about 15cm from one end, in a cross shape and then tie the other stake in the same way about half way down. This is the frame for your scarecrow.

Make a head

1. Cut one leg from the tights and fill with some straw.

2. Push the straw firmly to the end and make it into a head shape. Tie a piece of string around the tights to stop the straw from falling out.

3. Paint a funny or scary face on it; you could make some glasses and maybe a beard.

4. Now tie the head on to the top of the frame.

Dress your scarecrow

1. Placing a shirt on the top crossbar and the trousers on the smaller bar is the standard scarecrow design but you can clothe your scarecrow as you wish.

2. Tie off the bottom of the legs of the trousers with string and stuff them with straw or leaves.

3. Button up the shirt and tie the ends of the arms then stuff the sleeves with straw or leaves.

4. Push some straw under the hat and leave it dangling out to look like hair.

5. You can design your scarecrow to look like a favourite book or film character.