@@SomethingCorny Ah, I will! I've just watched the 5 straw weaving video, which is another really informative and useful video. You have such a lovely, clear teaching style.
Thank you very much for this great video! It is the only one I have found that explains how to prepare straw. I wanted to ask how long and how one can keep the straw after preparing it. What I mean is this: after soaking the straw for an hour, and then leaving it in the towel for half an hour, should I keep it in the towel while I am working, for example for a few days? Or should I take it out of the towel, but then I am guessing it will dry, so how long should I keep it until I have to soak it again. I am asking because I can work on straw mostly in the evenings, after work. So if I should soak it for an hour and let it sit in the towel for half an hour every evening, it's a lot more organization than if I can keep it for days. Thanks again very much!
Glad you are finding the video helpful. Timings can be a problem but You could soak the straw before you go to work and it would be ok soaking until you can work in the evening. As long as it it soaked for 3/4 hour to 1 hour, you might not feel you need to let it sit in the towel for the other 1/2 hour, that's just my personal preference. I might choose to soak the straw as soon as I got home from work and then by the time you have eaten etc. it should be ready to work. It's best not to leave it damp from day to day as the grains will start to germinate and before you know it you will have roots growing through your towel. Also the beautiful sheen that the straw has starts to dull if it's left damp and it might actually start to go black with mould if it is left for too long. A friend of mine actually popped her unused straws into the freezer and when she wanted to work them again she just took them out and ran some warm water through them and they were ready to use.
@@SomethingCorny Thank you VERY MUCH for taking the time to reply, and for such a comprehensive answer. If I understand correctly, it cannot be kept for long without having to resoak it, right? I'll have to soak it back every day. I can manage to organize the way you described. How many hours do they stay "fresh" though? For example if you soak them in the morning, they'll stay OK to work the whole day? Thanks again VERY MUCH
Thank you so much for this helpful video! I got into making a corn dolly quite coincidentally. Our garden birds threw out wheat grains from the bird feeder and we now have a tiny wheat field below the feeder. We had the idea to pick up the old folk tradition of making good luck harvest dollies and I'm now trying to learn the craft. If I cut the wheat myself, I don't have to dampen it again if I use it right away or should I dry and/or soak them anyway?
Hi Fiona, what a great story! You are right that you can plait as soon as you cut the wheat without having to dampen it. My straw is dried so that it will keep throughout the year and that is why it then needs dampening to make it more pliable. You don't get too much shrinkage with wheat so working from green is absolutely fine.
@@SomethingCorny Thank you! I can't wait to try it out. The stalks are a little short, but for practicing and a small dolly it should be fine. I guess, it's a good practice for joining!
Thank you again very much for this video! I wanted to ask you another question. Is it possible to also use the parts of the straw in between the knots, and not only the top part? I am asking because I am trying to use the straw from the wheat that I grew. It was my first time growing wheat, the result is very bad, the plants are short and thin. I have very few plants with tips thick enough to be used. I can imagine that using the bottom parts would be less convenient, since they are shorter, but is there any other problem with using them? Thank you again very much for the help!
There is something special about planting a grain and making something with the results. I know the frustration of a harvest that hasn’t produced the best. It’s all a learning curve. If the stems are too fine then it could be that the seeds are planted too close together. Keep working at it though. The second section is often used for straw marquetry and flattened straw work. I even use the nodes as beads sometimes too. The other thing I use the second section for is if I need a core of straw to plait around, this is not seen but can be an important part of your project.
Your videos are critical for the survival of traditional straw arts. Keep going! Thanks for educating us.
Thank you so much
Gracias por la claridad de sus explicaciones
This is a fantastic tutorial! ❤ Thank you so much!
Thank you!
I have just received my order of lovely wheat from you and this video is so useful to prep the straws properly. Thank you so much!
HI Jenny, glad you find this one useful and keep an eye out as I am hoping some more videos will appear very soon!
@@SomethingCorny Ah, I will! I've just watched the 5 straw weaving video, which is another really informative and useful video. You have such a lovely, clear teaching style.
@@jennycolley7265 Thank you!
Wonderfully well explained, thank you
Thank you!
Love it, thank you!
Thank you very much for this great video! It is the only one I have found that explains how to prepare straw. I wanted to ask how long and how one can keep the straw after preparing it. What I mean is this: after soaking the straw for an hour, and then leaving it in the towel for half an hour, should I keep it in the towel while I am working, for example for a few days? Or should I take it out of the towel, but then I am guessing it will dry, so how long should I keep it until I have to soak it again. I am asking because I can work on straw mostly in the evenings, after work. So if I should soak it for an hour and let it sit in the towel for half an hour every evening, it's a lot more organization than if I can keep it for days. Thanks again very much!
Glad you are finding the video helpful. Timings can be a problem but You could soak the straw before you go to work and it would be ok soaking until you can work in the evening. As long as it it soaked for 3/4 hour to 1 hour, you might not feel you need to let it sit in the towel for the other 1/2 hour, that's just my personal preference. I might choose to soak the straw as soon as I got home from work and then by the time you have eaten etc. it should be ready to work. It's best not to leave it damp from day to day as the grains will start to germinate and before you know it you will have roots growing through your towel. Also the beautiful sheen that the straw has starts to dull if it's left damp and it might actually start to go black with mould if it is left for too long. A friend of mine actually popped her unused straws into the freezer and when she wanted to work them again she just took them out and ran some warm water through them and they were ready to use.
@@SomethingCorny Thank you VERY MUCH for taking the time to reply, and for such a comprehensive answer. If I understand correctly, it cannot be kept for long without having to resoak it, right? I'll have to soak it back every day. I can manage to organize the way you described. How many hours do they stay "fresh" though? For example if you soak them in the morning, they'll stay OK to work the whole day?
Thanks again VERY MUCH
Thank you so much for this helpful video!
I got into making a corn dolly quite coincidentally. Our garden birds threw out wheat grains from the bird feeder and we now have a tiny wheat field below the feeder. We had the idea to pick up the old folk tradition of making good luck harvest dollies and I'm now trying to learn the craft.
If I cut the wheat myself, I don't have to dampen it again if I use it right away or should I dry and/or soak them anyway?
Hi Fiona, what a great story! You are right that you can plait as soon as you cut the wheat without having to dampen it. My straw is dried so that it will keep throughout the year and that is why it then needs dampening to make it more pliable. You don't get too much shrinkage with wheat so working from green is absolutely fine.
@@SomethingCorny Thank you! I can't wait to try it out. The stalks are a little short, but for practicing and a small dolly it should be fine. I guess, it's a good practice for joining!
Thank you again very much for this video! I wanted to ask you another question. Is it possible to also use the parts of the straw in between the knots, and not only the top part? I am asking because I am trying to use the straw from the wheat that I grew. It was my first time growing wheat, the result is very bad, the plants are short and thin. I have very few plants with tips thick enough to be used. I can imagine that using the bottom parts would be less convenient, since they are shorter, but is there any other problem with using them? Thank you again very much for the help!
There is something special about planting a grain and making something with the results. I know the frustration of a harvest that hasn’t produced the best. It’s all a learning curve. If the stems are too fine then it could be that the seeds are planted too close together. Keep working at it though. The second section is often used for straw marquetry and flattened straw work. I even use the nodes as beads sometimes too. The other thing I use the second section for is if I need a core of straw to plait around, this is not seen but can be an important part of your project.
Can you please make a video on how to dye straws?
I hopefully will have more videos soon and I will definitely think about dyeing as it is something a lot of folk are interested in.
Are the tips for cleaning straw ears if they have a bit if dark mildew? Could I use a diluted bleach solution?
Belíssimo 😘
how do you make the mushrooms behind you?
The patterns for mushrooms will be in my next book which should be out later this year.