How to Make a Gnome for Your Home

Everyone’s Home Needs a Gnome!

Gnomes aren’t just for your garden anymore! In the last few years, gnomes have become a staple for holiday decorating and home decor. Why go out and buy a gnome when you can make one for yourself? These yarn gnomes are fun and easy to make and can be made with just a few common craft materials. They make great ornaments or can be cute decorations for any holiday or special occasion!

Supplies

To make a basic gnome, you will need yarn, a pair of scissors, a pompom, a toilet paper or paper towel tube, some cardboard or cardboard boxes, and a hot glue gun.

Instructions

How to make the hat:

1. Take the color of yarn you would like to use for the hat and wrap it 40 times around the middle of a 9” piece of cardboard, then cut the yarn on one end. You can also use a crayon box or a small notebook. If you want to use two colors, wrap each color around 20 times; 4 colors, 10 times per color; etc. When done, cut the yarn at one end, making 40 strands that are the same length.

2. Cut a half-inch ring from a cardboard paper tube for the base of the gnome hat.

You can get 4 or 5 rings from one toilet paper tube

3. Double one strand of yarn to create a large loop.

4. Place the folded strand of yarn through the cut tube.

5. Push the cut ends through the yarn loop, then pull tight to make a knot. Repeat until all the strands are on the tube. Make sure you have the knots on the same end every time you knot the yarn.

Pull tightly and do each additional loop beside the previous one

6. Once you have finished looping and knotting all the 40 pieces of yarn, then push all the yarn through the inside of the cardboard ring.

Stuff the yarn strands back through the tube

When done, the knots will be at the bottom of the hat

7. Cut a longer piece of the yarn and tie all the yarn from the hat together at the top. Trim off the extra yarn above the tie to the length you like. If you want to make your gnome an ornament, tie the long piece of yarn together at the top so you can hang it.

It helps to get someone to hold the first knot in place while you tie the second one

8. Trim the top of the hat.

You can trim it as long or short as you like

How to make the beard:

1. Take the color of yarn you would like to use for the beard and wrap it 60 times around the middle of a 9” piece of cardboard, then cut the yarn on one end.

This is the same process you did for the hat

2. Cut another piece of the yarn and fold the rest of the yarn strands in half. Tie this in a knot.

3. Tie another piece of yarn in a knot an inch or two below the folded part of the other yarn, making a tassel.

How to make the gnome:

Put some hot glue in the inside of the hat, then push the top of the tassel into the hat. I push it in with a pair of scissors so I don’t get hot glue on my fingers

Adults should be the ones to use the glue gun

By pushing it in with scissors, the hot glue can’t seep through the yarn and burn your fingers

2. Trim the beard to the length you like. Choose a pompom for the nose, then glue the pompom just under the hat onto the beard.

Making a gnome only requires a few basic supplies. — I usually use a pompom that is one of the colors used somewhere in the hat

Your gnome is complete!

Ideas to Make Your New Friend Extra Special!

I like to add rhinestones, buttons or charms to the top of my gnomes’ hats to fit the holiday or theme of the yarn gnome I’ve made. Here are a few examples:

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