Gnomes!

I have recently discovered some super cute gnome patterns from TheGnomeMakers on Etsy and thought I would share with you the ones I’ve created. I started with this basic pattern (here) and modified it to develop my own gnome characters.

I try to not use hot glue on my projects unless there’s absolutely no other choice, so everything is sewn in place on these characters. A hint for when cutting the fur is to mark and cut from the back side. Use a really sharp pair of scissors and make sure you are only cutting the backing. This way you get the more natural looking beard the Grinch is sporting.

The Grinch: This Grinch gnome was really fun to create. I purchased some green fur (here) from Amazon to create his beard and found a perfectly matching paint for his tiny wooden nose.

When I looked at photos of the Grinch, I noticed his nose was sort of smallish, so I used a much smaller wooden bead for his nose. I improvised his hat and added white fur around the bottom and a white fur pompom on the top. The fur pompom was just a circle with a gathering stitch and stuffing. Make sure you draw and cut your circle from the back side of your fur as described above.

Woodland Gnome: This next gnome is sort of a woodland gnome and instead of fur I used wool roving for his beard. You do have to be careful with the roving because it isn’t spun and is easily pulled apart.

You can see how natural the roving looks and why I chose it even though it’s a little fussy. This guy has the hat from the pattern and I added a bell to the end. I made three little berries out of red felt and sewed them along with a ribbon onto his hat. I used oil pastels to put a blush on his nose.

Bunny Gnome: I purchased this additional pattern (here) from the same Etsy store and got to work on my Bunny Gnome. I think he turned out pretty darned cute as well.

You can see how addicting these can become. You can make them up in a couple of hours and they can become almost anything you like. I’ll post some additional images as I make new versions. I also found a pattern for a Toadstool Gnome (here) and can’t wait to get started on him. So, definitely more to come…