Gnome for Valentine’s Day

 Gnomes are very popular right now and have been for a while. They are not just for your garden or Christmas. This tutorial is to help you make an easy gnome for Valentine’s Day. You can decorate your gnome for any season or holiday. If you like to decorate for Valentine’s Day check out my tutorial for making a Valentine’s Day wreath.

These little guys make me smile every time I look at them. They are so cute. They are as wide as they are tall. I love them so much!

You can leave the hearts off of your gnome if you want to display it on a shelf year around. These little guys are very versatile. Let’s get into it!

 Note: You do not have to do any sewing if sewing isn’t your thing. You can use this fabric glue instead.

Supplies

Small piece of fleece
1 Wooden 3/4 inch ball
Felt for hat
Needle and thread ( or fabric glue if you do not want to sew)
Styrofoam 1.5-inch ball 
Yarn 
Glue gun and glue sticks
Stuffing
Rice 1/2 a cup 

Make the body

Fold the fleece in half with wrong sides together. Place the body pattern on the fold. Cut around the three sides while leaving the bottom in tack. Sew (or use fabric glue) up both sides. 

Turn the fabric right side out. It should resemble a diaper. It will look like a short fat body with a pudgy little butt when the gnome is done. I promise! Lol! 

Add a 1/2 a cup to a cup of rice to the bottom of the gnome’s body. Use your judgment on how full you want it. I used 1/2 a cup. Fill the body the rest of the way up with stuffing.

Create the head

Get ready to hot glue the styrofoam ball to the inside of the body. Before you start to add the glue, make sure that the hole at the top of the body is big enough for the styrofoam ball to sit inside without any gaps. You do not want it to be too tight. Add glue one section at a time and then flatten the fabric over it. Glue in sections until you get to the end. The fabric should be even all the way around when finished.

Time for the beard and hair!

Cut several pieces of yarn to 12 inches in length. I used Bernat Softee Chunky yarn. You can use whatever kind of yarn. I like the chunky yarn because it fills the space quicker. Craft fur would work too. Before you start to glue the yarn onto the head, make sure you get an idea of where you are going to put it on the head so there will be room for the hat. The hat will be placed on top of the yarn.

Fold a strand of the yarn in half and glue it a little bit over the fleece. Try to keep the strands even. Do this all the way around the head.

If the first layer of yarn seems too thin, like you see in the image above, add a strand of yarn folded in half here and there underneath what you just glued to make it fuller.

Glue the nose to the middle of the head just under the beard line using hot glue. Tacky glue can be used too but will take a little longer to dry.

Let’s make this little guy a hat!

The easiest way I have found to make the hat is to take the edge of the felt and wrap it around the head to figure the length, including the beard, let it hang over just a bit and cut it. You could cut the felt in the shape of a triangle, but it will look weird in the back once it is together. Instead of having a point on each edge, I blocked them and then cut it into a triangle shape. The measurements that worked for the 1.5-inch styrofoam ball are in the illustration below (7.5 x 1.25 x 6 x 6x 1.25). When we glue the hat to the head, the two blocked sides will meet. 

Now is an excellent time to add any decoration to the bottom of the hat. I used a needle and thread to sew a line across so it wouldn’t look so dull. I started to sew a stitch, then go back and do a back stitch. I realized that it was easier to sew a line of stitches then go back and sew the back stitches. This step is entirely up to you. You can add anything you like. 

Almost there!

Glue the hat beginning in the back of the head with your glue gun. Be sure to glue the hat evenly across the yarn to hide the styrofoam ball and the edge of the yarn. You may have to work with the positioning of the felt a little. So glue in sections like you did when you glued on the yarn. You may have to start turning the felt to shape into a cone. 

Finish twisting the hat to form a point at the top. Glue it down.

The hat will be uneven in the back. Trim it straight.

It’s time to decorate! You could totally leave your new little gnome just like he is. 

I want to use my gnome as Valentine’s Day home decor. I glued a small red glitter heart to a larger white glitter heart. I added it to the gnome’s hat. Wah-la! He’s all ready for Valentine’s Day!

Click to save for later!

For more inspiration, check out the Valentine’s Day Wreath I made. Let your kids get in on the fun too! Let them make their  Valentines for their class this year. Check out these DIY Lego Valentines.