Fall Gnomes! DIY Gnome Instructions
November 4, 2020
Fall gnomes made from sweaters

Fall Gnomes! DIY Gnome Instructions

Fall gnomes are the best! Well, Christmas gnomes are awesome too. But then again, so were the Halloween gnomes……so I guess what I'm saying is that any DIY gnomes are waaaay too much fun!

Simple to make with just a few easy to find supplies and they make the best gifts and holiday decor ever.

It's a bit of a 2-for-1, the gentleman gnome is first with the breakdown of how to create the sweater gnome hat. Followed by the girl gnome with the DIY sweater gnome body.

Darling Fall gnomes made from a sweater
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Ate {8} Days of Thanksgiving

Thank you so much for joining me for the first edition of the Ate {8} Days of Thanksgiving! Get it!? Ha ha. I crack myself up. 😂

I’ll be bringing you fun Fall party and Thanksgiving inspiration for the next few weeks and I hope you follow along. Today it’s Day 6 and all about DIY Fall Decor and MORE Gnomes!!

Gentlemen Fall Gnomes Supply List

Thrifted sweater, sock, and rice for no sew sweater gnome

These fall gnomes are so dang easy but you will have to find a few supplies.

Our gentleman is sock gnome with a sweater hat. You can get all the instructions on how to create the sock body HERE with my simple no sew gnome tutorial. For the sweater hat & beard you will need:

NEW Gnome Pattern and Instructions

Many of you have expressed interest to have ALL of the gnome patterns in one place. I've compiled them all and will continue to add any new patterns and you'll be able to download new copies in the future.

You've also asked for measurements and written instructions. This has taken a bit of work but I've got it all completed and added to the shop. And it's now available for purchase immediately. 👏🏽

What you'll get with the No Sew Sock Gnome Pattern Collection:

  • Standard Gnome Beard and Mustache Patterns
  • Standard Gnome Hat Pattern – also use for Wizard Hat and Sweater Hat
  • Skinny Gnome Tree Topper Pattern
  • Witch Hat Pattern
  • Sweater Body Pattern
  • Female Hair Pattern
  • Instructions and Supply List for Group Crafting in case you aren't able to reference the blog post tutorial

DIY Fall Gnome Hat Pattern for Sweater

Choose Sweater and Cut Pattern – Step 1

Finding an old sweater to use is the fun part! Check out your own closet or head to a second hand store. Thrift stores have great prices and a wide variety of patterns. Plus it's nice to upcycle knowing the sweater will live forever in these fall gnomes!

Print the gnome hat pattern for sock gnome and cut it out. If your sweater design is linear, line the hat pattern up so it's straight and evenly spaced. It'll give your hat a much more finished look.

Create the Sock Gnome Body – Step 2

This is super easy when using a sock, just fill with rice, rubber band, trim, and glue the opening for safe measure. You can find a visual step by step of the no sew sock gnome body portion here.

Glue Fall Gnome Sweater Hat – Step 3

4 easy steps to creating gnome sweater hat

Glue along the edge of the hat and roll into a cone. The point is a little tricky so take your time on that section. Once it's glued down properly, continue on to the rest of the seam.

The seam is raw so feel free to add a strip of ribbon or something to cover it if it bothers you but I left mine exposed.

Add Hat Brim to Bottom – Step 4

Now that your simple gnome hat is created let's finish off the raw bottom edge. Take a look at your sweater….it'll have a finished edge around the bottom and neckline. Choose the width you desire and trim it off, leaving some extra for gluing.

Line it up right sides together and glue around the edge making sure to only glue the raw edge, keeping the glue OFF the nice binding. Trim the binding at the seam and glue down tight.

Fold it back and take a look. Add any additional glue to straighten up your line if necessary.

DIY Gnome Hat With Pom Pom

Handmade pom at end of sweater gnome hat

Now that your hat is finished you can choose to add a pom pom to the end. I HIGHLY recommend this as that hat point can get a little squirrely and the pom is a perfect finishing touch. Plus it's just plain cute.

Pom poms are pretty easy to make and I'll add a tutorial on the how-to very soon. To attach, spread open the tufts of the finished pom and add a dot of glue as close to the center core as possible. Then, push the tip of the gnome hat into the glue and hold. Your hat should be centered on the pom with the tip completely covered.

DIY Gnome Beard Pattern

Gnome free beard pattern

To add the beard, print out the free gnome beard pattern and trace it to the back of your furry fabric. Make sure to line the point of your beard pointing down in the direction of the fur or your Autumn gnome will look weird! 😂

ONLY use a craft knife to cut and ONLY cut from the back. Slice through the backing and STOP or you will have a fur storm of epic proportions. And your beard won't look natural.

Trust me. I've learned lots over the last several dozen gnomes!!

Finish Off Your Fall Gnome Gentleman

Attach the beard, nose, and hat using these visual step-by-step DIY gnome instructions. And proudly display your gentleman fall gnomes!

Now let's see how we go about making a girl gnome with a sweater body!

Fall Girl Gnome Supplies

Our girl gnome has a sweater body and color coordinating diy felt gnome hat.

Sweater Gnome Pattern

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    Girl Gnomes Sweater Body

    You might wonder why I used a sweater as the body for the girl gnomes. Since she doesn't have a beard to cover the front of her, the sweater pattern is way cuter than a plain grey sock. Then I stuck with a traditional pointy felt gnome hat.

    Measure and Cut Sweater – Step 1

    I'll include a pattern for the body rectangle but it's quite easy, measure out a 7″ wide x 6.5″ tall rectangle. I measured my width and cut a strip as long as I could in my particular sweater and was able to get 2 sweater gnome bodies out of it.

    Make sure are you cut to follow the lines of the sweater for a nice lined up pattern.

    Glue Fall Gnome Fabric into Tube – Step 2

    Now that your rectangle is cut, glue the edges together to form a sweater tube. We are basically just creating our own version of a crew sock!

    4 easy steps to creating sweater gnome body

    Rubber Band Bottom – Step 3

    After your tube is complete, turn it inside out and use a rubber band to secure the bottom. Then turn it right side out again and press the bottom down flat.

    Complete Fall Gnome Body – Step 4

    Fill your new sweater gnome body with approximately 1 cup of rice. You decide how tall you'd like your girl gnome to be and adjust accordingly. The more rice, the taller the body.

    Once you are happy with the proportions, tie another rubber band around the top and trim the top. Add a dot of hot glue to the top to ensure it won't leak even if the band were to break at some point.

    DIY Gnome – Adding the Rice

    DIY Gnome body filled with rice

    Now adding the rice can be a VERY messy situation, even with a funnel. SO the best ay I've found to get them stuffed is to place the rice in a tall glass, stretch the body over the end and simply pour the rice in as you turn it upside-down.

    Simple right? You can also choose to stuff the body with polyfill, popcorn kernals, styrofoam beads, etc. if that's easier for you to find.

    *Just take note that the heavier materials help the DIY gnomes sit more securely.*

    DIY Gnome Felt Hat

    The gluing of the hat can be tricky so I've created a very rough {don't judge! I'm doing this for the beginners} and simple video on how to make a gnome hat diy to walk you through it.

    But please let me know in the comments if you need more help. I'm happy to create a few more videos to help out.

    Girl Gnome Hair Pattern

    The darling pig tails are what make this girl fall gnome so dang cute! You want to do these the same as the gentleman's beard:

    Sweater Gnome Pattern

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      • Download the pattern above
      • Cut out the pattern
      • Trace it to the backside of the fur
      • Use the craft knife to cut through the backing {then STOP!}
      • Glue onto the body
      • Tie pigtails with bakers twine or thin ribbon

      You can find visual step-by-step diy gnome instructions that can help with the final stages of adding your nose, and hat over at my No Sew Gnome Simple Tutorial.

      Finished Girl Fall Gnome

      Fall gnomes made from sweaters
      You may notice the lines aren't straight on the finished girl gnome's body in the photo above. At first I tried to creating the body from a circle but much prefer the tube method for ease of creation, height of the final product, and ability to keep patterns straight and uniform.

      Add a few fall accessories to her hat or braids and you are all finished and ready to make another!

      I added this photo of the different sizes of bodies I made using every last scrap of my sweater. If you end up with a smaller body, just shrink down the hat pattern accordingly.

      A droopy hat would be cute on the girl gnome as well but I like the contrast of the two different hats if you are planning to make the gentleman and lady gnome couple.

      Fall Gnomes to Display

      Boy and girl fall gnomes

      Now that your darling fall gnomes are accessorized they are ready to display! I used a cupcake stand to give the gentleman gnome a little boost as our girl gnome has her lovely pointed felt gnome hat.

      With their matching sweaters they're looking quite the dapper little autumn gnomes! How are you going to use yours? As a centerpiece for your Thanksgiving table? A piece of fall mantel decor? Or just a cute little autumn gift for neighbors and friends?

      If you made one, or a dozen of these sweater gnomes I want to hear about it in the comments below. And if you share photos, I want to see it too! Please tag us @partieswithacause on FacebookInstagram, and Pinterest. We love celebrating all your hard work! 

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      Until next time my friend! Signature and photo
      Girl fall gnomes with darling pigtails

      8 Comments

      1. Marj

        Love them!!!❤️

        Reply
        • Brianna Adams

          I’m so glad. They really are such a fun and easy project to do. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have!

          Reply
      2. Norma

        Your cute little sweater gnomes are now on our to-do list. They may be beyond our skill level but have to give it a try. Thank you for the inspiration Bri!

        Reply
        • Brianna Adams

          I’m so glad to hear it! You enjoy it. I’ve grown rather addicted to making them!

          Reply
      3. Sheila

        Please help….I cannot get the Gnome Hat & Pigtails Hair pattern needed for the Sweater Gnomes.
        I’ve entered my email address and all it says is Awesome. You are on your way to crafting bliss. I haven’t received an email to print these. Not sure what to do now.

        Reply
        • Brianna Adams

          Hi Sheila, Can you please check your junk mail folder for me just so I know. But I’ll send them over right now. Thanks,
          Bri

          Reply
      4. Natalie Mayhew

        I love these little guys so much! Such cute ideas to make them unique!

        Reply
        • Brianna Adams

          Thanks Natalie! They’re so fun to make. I’ve had fun coming up with different ways to make them.

          Reply

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      Gingerbread houses in a row as table runner centerpiece for a Christmas Cookie Exchange Party I’m Bri of Parties With A Cause. I’m a mother to three crazy awesome kids, interior designer, & party planning junky. I love reading, globe trotting, and frozen yogurt. And I’m elevating the party experience one cause at a time! Read More

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