Check out our tutorial and learn how to make adorable little felt gnome ornaments. You can use the ornaments to decorate your house for the Holidays or proudly display them anytime of the year.

Materials needed: 

To make one felt gnome ornament, you will need:

– A little piece of felt for the hat (about 3″x4″).
– A little piece of pipe cleaner for the beard and a full strand of pipe cleaner for the body.
– A small, 15mm spun cotton ball for the gnome’s head
– A little piece of string for the hanging loop.
– A pair of wire cutters and a pair of pliers.
– A pair of good scissors.
– Needle and thread (or a sewing machine if you have one).
– A black ball pen to draw the face.
– A small piece of cardboard to make the hat template.

Step by step directions: 

1. Prepare the felt hat

1. Start with the hat template. On a piece of cardboard, draw an 8″ diameter circle and cut out a pie wedge about 45º. When done, cut off the tip as in the picture below.

2. Outline your template on a piece of felt and cut along the outline. You now have a felt cone.

3. Prepare a hanging loop: make a loop with a piece of string and tie a knot. Trim the excess.

4. Place the string loop onto the felt cone and make sure the knotted end sticks out from the top.

5. Fold your felt cone onto it self and sew the two edges together with very short stitches (important).

6. Turn the hat inside out. You can use a pencil or a bamboo skewer to help. If you have done everything right, the knot is now in the hat.

2. Work on the face and the beard

1. With a pair of scissors cut the bottom of the hat at a beveled angle. To find out where to cut, insert a ball in the hat. The point where the ball cannot be pushed down anymore is where the hat needs to be cut.

2. Wrap the ball with the piece of pipe cleaner. Twist the pipe cleaner a few times to lock the ball into place. When you are done, gather the two strands together.

3. Pour a generous amount of glue in the hat and insert the ball into the hat. Make sure the two strands of pipe cleaner make contact with the glue.

4. Draw the eyes and the mouth of the gnome with the ball pen. You could display the gnomes as is or continue with the next step and add a pipe cleaner body.

3. Add a pipe cleaner body.

To fashion the pipe cleaner body, you can check out our tutorial „how to make pipe cleaner animals„.

You are done :)

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and I hope you are motivated to get started with your own felt gnome ornaments. Happy crafting and as always, if you have any questions, do not hesitate to get in touch.

Check out our tutorial and learn how you can make a lightweight and comfortable paper bead necklace from ø 15 mm spun cotton balls.

Paper Bead Necklace – project materials

– ø 15 mm Spun cotton balls.

– Strong black thread and a needle.

– Acrylic Paint and a paint brush.

– Two pairs of pliers.

– A clasp mechanism such as the one pictured below:

Step by step tutorial

Step 1: Paint all the beads.

The beads are easier to paint if you mount them on sticks, toothpicks and bamboo skewers work great.

Step 2: Prepare your necklace line.

Make the line at least 6 inches longer than the desired length of your necklace because the knots will shorten the line and also because you need enough thread at the end to tie your last knot comfortably.

Double our quadruple your line to make it stronger.

Your line should look like the one in the picture below. Notice there are two knots on one side.

Cut off the excess thread.

Step 3: Thread the first bead.

Insert the needle into the pre-existing hole, and exit on the other side. Slide the ball until it covers knot #2 and tie a third knot just next to it.

Step 4: Thread the other beads.

For tall the other beads, insert the needle from the opposite end and exit from the pre-existing hole (like in the picture below). After each bead, tie a new knot to secure them into place.

Step 5: The last bead.

When you thread your last bead, you should be left with at least 3 to 4 “ of line. At this point, cut the end of the loop to free up your needle and create a new loop by tying a new knot just next to the last bead. Trim the excess thread.

Step 6: Attach the clasp.

With two pairs of pliers, one in each hand, open the clasp rings and attach them to the thread loops. Close up the clasp rings.

YOU ARE DONE :)

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and as always, do not hesitate to comment below if you have any questions. For more DIY necklace projects, you can also check out our other tutorial : how to make a fabric covered bead necklace.