DIY Mini Felt Gnomes

Last week on Instagram, you probably noticed a few nods to gnome culture. It's probably got something to do with my fascination with all woodland things but I adore those little guys. I looked everywhere for miniature gnomes but besides ordering them online (which I don't have the patience for when I'm crafting), I decided to create my own. 

These gnomes were born from materials that just about any craftaholic would have on hand: felt, yarn, a toilet paper roll, and a pompom. 

1. Start by cutting your toilet paper roll into various lengths (this will be the body of your gnome so keep them short and stumpy)

2. With the felt that you want to use as the body color, cut strips with a width that is equal to the height of the  body and a length long enough to easily wrap around the tube with about 1/2 inch extra.

3. With the felt that will be used for the hats, cut a cone shape where the curved edge is large enough to cap off the tube.

4. Since this is the only part you will have to sew, start with the hats. Fold the cone shape in half whereas the two straight edges are laying on top of one another and sew a straight line down the seam.

5. Flip the hats right side out and use a chopstick to push the tip all the way out.

6. Now, back to the gnome bodies. Apply a liberal amount of tacky glue (or hot glue) down one side of the tube and a line of glue inside the bottom of the tube. I should have shown this better in the picture but when you're applying the glue to the outside, leave about 3/4 inch uncovered at the top.

7. Wrap the felt around the tube with the bottom of the felt ever so slightly overlapping at the bottom. This will leave a gap at the top of the tube, but that's okay (that's why you don't put glue up there).

8. While the glue is drying, move on to the beards. Make a tassel shape out of fluffy white yarn then trim and shape it until it resembles a beard.

9. Put a small dab of tacky glue at the top center to glue on the beard (try to do this on the opposite side of the felt seam of the "shirt" area)

10. At the top of the beard, glue on a tiny flesh colored pompom to act as the nose. Then glue on the hat leaving only the tiniest bit of the face showing.

Make a couple more and now you have a family of gnarly gnomes :)

Now, these aren't exactly garden friendly because I used tacky glue and cardboard, but that's okay because I have a much better plan for them... You'll just have to wait and see though!

So, what do you think about gnomes? Love em or leave em? I'm hoping your answer is 'love em' because I have a few more things up my sleeve for the next couple of weeks :)

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