How to Make a Witch’s Broom or Besom From a Store Bought Broom

I used to have the coolest little witches broom (also known as a besom) that was kid size, but full of charm. Real wood handle, gnarly broom brushes, and just authentic and solid feeling – no Spirit Halloween plastic handle here!

And then… my dog ate it. I’m not even joking. *sob sob* 

So I’ve been keeping my eyes open for a new broom at rummage sale, thrift stores, yard sales, etc… aaaand it’s been about 3 years now with NOTHING turning up that isn’t super cheap or plastic. Ugh! So you know what that means! Time to get all crafty and make myself a witchy besom from scratch!

A quick little nerdy aside on besoms and why they are associated with witches:

According to history.com in the fascinating article “Why Do Witches Ride Brooms”: As early as the Middle Ages, what we know of as the traditional “witch broom” was referred to, particularly in Western Europe, as a besom. Thanks to propaganda fueled by the Witch Trials in Europe and the Colonies, like 15th century engravings showing witches in flight on this type of broom. 

The earliest known image of witches on brooms dates to 1451, when two illustrations appeared in the French poet Martin Le Franc’s manuscript Le Champion des Dames (The Defender of Ladies). In the two drawings, one woman soars through the air on a broom; the other flies aboard a plain white stick. 

Anthropologist Robin Skelton suggests the association between witches and brooms may have roots in a pagan fertility ritual, in which rural farmers would leap and dance astride poles, pitchforks or brooms in the light of the full moon to encourage the growth of their crops. This “broomstick dance,” she writes, became confused with common accounts of witches flying through the night on their way to orgies and other illicit meetings.

And the rest, as they say, is history! Eventually this ubiquitous household tool has become tied in our imaginations, along with black cloaks, black cats and pointy hats, to witches!

So back to my witchy broom project!

I started my search by trying to source broom brush, and while I found some great options on Etsy and online, they are upwards of $20 or more per bundle. Then I thought, why not just dismantle a cheap $6 broom from Walmart and upscale it into a badass witchy broom? So… I did! Haha.

What’s really fun is, once I decided to go that route, I had planned to spend a day hiking to look for the PERFECT broom stick for my besom, but the weather has been so windy and rainy and dreary. But after a particularly windy day, I was driving with my husband and we saw a large fallen branch off of a Gary Oak tree, sitting in the middle of a public road. And it was PERFECTLY shaped! It was also a fun find, because my husband and I both volunteer with the Gary Oak Society here on Whidbey Island, so having a little piece of Gary Oak for ourselves to keep in the family Halloween decor stash just seems PERFECT.

Anyhoo, if you’d like to make your own besom to prop up next to your front door or in your foyer, as if you just arrived home from a midnight ride for Halloween, check it out!

Materials Needed

• 5′ cut tree limb or large fallen branch
• Brush broom
• Wood stain or fabric dye (optional)
• Bucket for dye (optional)
• Wood Glue
• Wire
• Wire snips
• Strong string
• Natural jute or sisal rope
• Scissors

Start by cutting the nylon cording on your broom brush to allow the broom bristles to fan out. We wanted to dye our bristles dark brown to go for a more dark and rustic look, so we opted to dye our broom brush before moving on with the project. After working with water based wood stain, I think I would recommend fabric dye for this project instead, I hear that option also works just as well and is less… messy and smelly? lol

Once your bristles are dyed and dried, continue to remove the bristles from the brush by removing the central wire wrap. We actually reserved this wire to use to make our repurposed besom, but you can discard it and use your own wire as well.

Take your loose broom bristles and put them together into loose groupings and bundle tightly with strong string. Repeat to create 6-7 birch bundles or enough to go around your chosen tree limb or fallen branch, which will act as the broom’s handle. Reserve one small bunch of loose bristles.

Smooth out your branch to make it as smooth as possible while still leaving character, and then determine where on the broom’s handle you want to attach bristles and then begin to use your wire to wrap the bundles around the handle.

While your bristles are tightly wrapped to the broom handle with wire, apply wood glue between each branch bundle and in any crevices / gaps. Use your last bundle of loose bristles to add wherever needed to fill any gaps between bundles to create a full brush end, and secure with a few more wraps of wire. 

(If you REALLY want to make your besom ultra witchy, you can always add some fun magic or herbal elements to your besom brush wrap, like tucking in a sprig of rosemary or a crystal or a lucky penny!)

Now, begin wrapping the base of your broom with natural rope or jute, wrapping tightly and visually tying together the broom’s handle and brush areas.

Now… you’re DONE!! You have one badass witchy broom!