Need a simple and easy-to-make prop witch's broom for a Halloween display or costume?

I needed one, but wasn't keen on spending very much time or money on it. Here's what I came up with, and it only cost me about $5 and 30 minutes of time.

Step 1: Materials

You need a straight-ish stick that is about 5 feet long, and a cheap broom, preferably the cheapest you can find.

I was looking around for suitable materials for the sweepy end of the broom, and considered gathering sticks and twigs, but spending $5 on a cheap Walmart broom just seemed so much easier!

You will also need some strong cordage, preferably a natural-looking variety like hemp or jute.

Step 2: Disassemble Broom

The top end of the sweepy bristles on my broom were wrapped tightly with thin wire, held to the handle with a small nail. I pulled the nail out with a pair of needle nose pliers, and unwound the wire until the bristles started to come loose.

The bristles were sort of "sewn" together with some strong nylon-like twine, which I cut with a utility knife and unraveled from the bristles.

I set the handle aside from some later project, and stacked the bristles into a semi-uniform pile.

Step 3: Set Stick on Bristles

Set one end of the stick about half-way down on the bristles.

Step 4: Prepare for Wrapping With Twine

Pull out about 12 feet or so of twine, and tie a loop in one end. Leave the tail end of the loop about 3 inches or so, which will aid in tying off the twine later on. (I left mine too short, but still managed to make it work.)

Slip the loop end under the bundle of bristles and stick end, about halfway between the end of the stick and the top of the bristles, and feed the long end of the twine through the looped end.

Step 5: Wrap

Pull the long end of the twine tightly through the loop, and begin wrapping it round and round the bristles. For the first few wraps, make sure the bristles are distributed around the stick fairly evenly.

The short tail end of twine from the tied loop needs to be accessible when you are done wrapping, so be sure not to wrap over it completely.

Continue wrapping as tight as humanly possible!

If the bristles tend to tilt in the direction of your wrapping, just gently push them back so they align with the stick. Keep wrapping tightly until you get near the end of the twine.

When you get to the end, tie this long wrapped end of the line to the original short tail from the looped end.

Pro tip: Soak the knot with several drops of superglue, and it will never come undone!

Step 6: Fasten Bristle Bunch to the Stick

The bunch of bristles will still slide up and down the broom stick, unless we fasten them somehow.

I used two one-inch roofing nails, driven through the twine and into the stick on opposite sides to accomplish this. Roofing nails work great, as they have a nice wide head on them, but in a pinch you could use any other kind of nail that is about 2" long. Simply drive it halfway, and then pound it over flat onto the twine.

If you are OCD, you can now wrap a few additional layers of twine to cover the nails, or just leave it as is.

That's it!