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HOW TO MAKE CHRISTMAS GNOMES
These cute little Scandinavian Christmas gnomes, sometimes called Swedish or Nordic gnomes, are beyond adorable. I’m including instructions for you to make your own NO SEW style or using basic sewing skills. Either way you go, you will absolutely love them and want to make more!
My inspiration for these DIY gnomes was found when I was shopping at a local boutique, Very Violet. I’ve mentioned them in several posts over the years because they have the cutest home decor.
I highly recommend that you find a place that inspires you to create a home you love! Plus, it’s great to get out and support a local business.
MY CHRISTMAS GNOME INSPIRATION:
These cute gnomes look a bit like Santa Clause with their white beard.
Let me just say, if you are in the Kansas City area, just stop by this quaint home decor shop and snatch up a few of these gnomes.
But, chances are good you don’t live around here. SO, I’m going to teach you how to make your own!
I’ll show you a couple different ways to make Christmas gnomes. You may even get some ideas to personalize yours and make a different twist in your gnome creation!
By the way, this year I am honored to join the Deck the Homes Holiday Challenge! An amazing group of DIY bloggers have come together to share various holiday DIY how-to’s for several weeks.
Be sure to read all the way to the bottom of this post where you can peruse all of their fun DIY holiday decor that can be completed in less than 2 hours (that’s this week’s theme!).
NOW, back to the Christmas gnomes.
If you don’t sew, the first tutorial option is for you! The second option requires some basic sew skills. Both are easy, no worries!
SUPPLIES FOR NO SEW CHRISTMAS GNOMES MADE WITH SOCKS:
- Material for hat (see my suggestions below)
- Plain, old sock to hold rice
- Fuzzy socks for body
- Stuffing for bulk in body
- Mongolian/faux fur fabric
- Rubber bands
- Hot glue gun / hot glue
- Rice
- Scissors
- Optional – wooden bead for nose
TIPS TO SAVE YOU MONEY ON YOUR GNOME SUPPLIES:
- For the hat material: WalMart has fleece blankets for $2.50 a piece at the time of this article. This is where I got mine and they had several colors that would fit for the Christmas holiday.
- Don’t buy new socks for holding the rice! Go through your sock drawer and grab some older ones (without holes as they are intended to hold rice) that you’ve been meaning to replace anyway. The color of your plain sock doesn’t matter one bit, any basic sock will do.
- For stuffing: If you have any outdated pillows you’ve been meaning to toss, use the stuffing in them for this project. It’s a great way to save some cash and repurpose!
- Faux fur: This can get expensive. If you are only planning on making a few gnomes, 1/2 yard should work just fine. I loved the faux fur with a couple of different color tones, but get what you love! Before ordering online, check to see if your local WalMart, Hobby Lobby, or JoAnns has any in stock.
- Nose: The wooden beads are really cute as noses. But, to save money you can easily make these gnomes without the beads, which I’ll get to shortly. IF you love the wooden nose look, you might try looking at your local craft store such as Michaels or Hobby Lobby to get a better price than my Amazon link listed in the supplies section of this post! I did find the 1.25 inch wooden bead to be a great nose size.
DIY (NO SEW) GNOME INSTRUCTIONS:
Once you have all of your supplies gathered, this project can be completed in about 30 minutes from start to finish.
1. FILL PLAIN SOCK WITH RICE AND CLOSE TOP OF SOCK WITH RUBBER BAND.
You really need a durable sock to hold the rice as the fuzzy sock would allow the rice to come through.
I tried to use a funnel for filling the sock, but the rice moved too slowly. We ended up just pouring it. If you have a helper, this is a lot easier. My daughter made these with me and we breezed through many of the steps. Plus, it was great mother/daughter time;-)
Just when you think you have enough rice, add some more. Shake your sock to help the rice settle between pourings.
When you get the body to a good size, use a rubber band to tie off the top of the sock to ensure your rice stays contained.
2. COVER PLAIN SOCK WITH FUZZY SOCK
Simply slide the plain sock into the fuzzy sock. I used the heel area to create a nose for the gnome.
After the white sock was successfully inside the fuzzy sock (the body of the gnome), I put stuffing inside the fuzzy sock, right at the heel and tied it off with a rubber band to create a big round nose.
You could also use an old rubber kids bouncy ball for this! My daughter did that on hers.
Use a rubber band to close the top of the fuzzy sock as well after inserting the plain sock!
Don’t worry about contrasting fabric showing around the edges of the nose. All of this will be covered by your gnome’s beard later.
SHOULD YOU DECIDE TO USE A WOODEN BEAD FOR NOSE:
If you prefer a wooden bead for the nose, simply hot glue it in place, about the level of the heel of the sock. After gluing, be sure to hold it in place for several seconds to ensure a good adhesion.
As I mentioned above, don’t worry if the heel is a different color if you decide to use a wooden bead. The beard will cover the majority of the sock on the front side and if you elect to put the heel on the back side the hat will likely cover it.
3. MAKE THE BEARD
I love a good craft, but I am no artist. Free-hand drawing the beard will work just fine. Draw a “U” or long-tongue shape and this should work.
Don’t overthink this! I don’t have a pattern to share, but you really don’t need one. I promise. If you look at my drawing, that should give you comfort to know yours will turn out great;-)
To measure the width and length of the beard: Width: simply measure from one side of the fuzzy sock to the other. Think from ear-to-ear. Length: Measure distance from top of nose to bottom of sock.
TIP: Use caution when cutting out the beard. This faux fur is challenging to cut. You want to avoid an overly trimmed beard for these nordic gnomes! Clean cut just isn’t their look.
It helped me to determine where I would cut, then pull the fur away from the cut line.
4. HOT GLUE TOP EDGE OF BEARD ONTO GNOME
TIP: Be incredibly careful using the hot glue. I burned myself a few times!
Apply glue to top edge of beard. Then, tuck the beard directly under his nose, curving edges slightly upward so the hat (we’ll get to that in a moment) will cover the sides of the beard. Press and hold the beard in place to allow hot glue to dry somewhat.
5. MAKE DIY GNOME HAT
Use your material of choice. As I mentioned earlier, fleece blankets can be cut into hats on the cheap. Felt is another great choice for gnome hats. Pick what YOU like. If you already have some fabric that would work, perfect!
- Measure (roughly) around the diameter of the gnome for the width of the hat. Then add a couple of inches as it’s easier to cut it down if it’s too big than deal with a hat that is too small. For reference, my sock gnomes’ hats were approximately 11 inches tall by 11 inches wide (at the bottom).
A couple different ways (both easy) to make these hats. TIP: It’s best to use the edge of the blanket for the bottom of the hat so you already have a nice hem that you don’t have to bother with!
- Draw a simple triangle if you are fairly good at free handing.
- OR (if you are not good at free hand drawing), cut out a square in your fabric. Fold in half, then draw a line for one side of the triangle angling from the bottom outside edge of the fold to the top inside edge of the fold (see below). Then, cut along your line for an even-on-both-sides triangle!
6. HOT GLUE HAT ONTO GNOME
Once again, be careful with the hot glue!
If you opted to use felt, it is a bit more sturdy than flannel or fleece. It will likely stand upright without much (if any) stuffing. I liked the stuffed hat look.
- Start by hot gluing the base of the hat to the gnome, tucking the center of the hat under the top of nose. Hold hat in place several seconds to allow it to dry. Make your way around the head, gluing the hat into place.
- Next, use hot glue to glue all the way up the back edges of the hat. If you’d like a hat that stands upright, add stuffing as you go!
I cannot stress enough: be careful with the hot glue!
YOU NOW HAVE A PRECIOUS DIY SOCK GNOME!
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