Beech Mast Fairy

When the beech mast starts to fall in the autumn it's time to make fairies.

My friend was sent some fairies from Germany, They were glued together and the glue had weakened over time. One fairy fell apart and my friend let me adopt her so I could see how they were made. I mended her with yarn instead of glue so she will last longer.

I found lots of beech mast in the park after a windy night so have made several. I will keep one for the Christmas tree, share some with family and take the rest to the park to find new homes.

2 dried beech mask husks

1 bead 15-20mm wide

1 circle of fabric

some yarn or thin string

a needle, scissors and a thin drill

optional: a tiny peg

About beech mast. You should find the mast, complete with beech nuts under the tree in autumn. After windy weather you may find whole twigs with leaves and green mast still attached, these will be cleaner than the dry ones that have fallen individually. As the husks dry out they spread out to release the nuts.

You need two small holes near the centre of each hull. The hull will have 2 triangles marked where the seeds were attached - these are good places to drill.

Tie a secure knot at the end of your yarn.

Thread up through the bottom of: the fabric for a skirt, a hull for the cloak, the bead for a head, a hull for the hat.

Then thread down through the top of the: hat, head, cloak, skirt.

Pull a loop of yarn up from the hat before you tie another firm knot under the skirt.

If you're not sure about your knots add a dab of glue to them.

Hang them up by the loop of yarn.

I used a peg to fasten these to leaves so I could include a rehoming message.