Make a Grass Reindeer

I collected dry grass from the dune. You can use straw left over from fall decorations, of course. Just make sure you use a dry material.

Soak the dry grass overnight to make it pliant and less likely to fray.

You also need scissors and thread. I only had wool yarn on hand, but thread would look much neater.

Separate a handful of soaked grass.

First, tie the back of the reindeer's barrel.

Now, divide the grass in half, and then in half again for the back legs, and tie at the top and bottom and trim the hooves.

Tie the front legs at the top and bottom and trim the hooves.

You need a longer sheaf of grass for the head and antlers than for the tail.

Bend the grass for the neck. Try to make the neck wider at the bottom by spreading it out a little bit.

Tie at the top of the neck and divide the grass in three. Tie the muzzle and spread the straw at the top of the head to make it wider. You may have to tie the muzzle to the top of the neck to keep it tucked down. Trim the nose in a rounded shape. The other two pieces are for the antlers.

Divide each antler into three and braid. Tie. Trim.

Divide the back of the reindeer into enough for a tail, and slightly more grass for the rear.

Braid the tail upwards and tie.

Trim the grass from the rear closely. To help your reindeer dry the way you want, stand it up and prop some magazines close to the hooves, to hold them in position.

When it is dry, you can use it as a free-standing decoration, or you can sew red thread through the bottom of the barrel and up through the top to make a loop for hanging your reindeer on the Christmas tree. Check in the margin for directions on how to make a grass horse, too!