Decorate for the spooky season with these adorable Halloween gnomes! Make your own festive gnomes using simple supplies, like a spare sock and some felt.
These DIY gnomes look SO CUTE dressed up for Halloween, and they’re surprisingly easy to make! Follow our step-by-step photo and video tutorials to make an enchanting witch, Frankenstein zombie, and eerie vampire Halloween gnomes. They’re such cute fall gnome decor!
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How to Make Halloween Gnomes
Materials:
- Grey sock (or other colour)
- Rice
- Polyester fiber fill
- Felt (multiple colours)
- Rubber band
- Gnome beard
- Wooden ball (1 inch)
Frankenstein Gnome:
- Free Printable Frankenstein Halloween Gnome Pattern
- 2 Bottle caps
- Embroidery floss (black)
Vampire Gnome:
- Free Printable Vampire Halloween Gnome Pattern
- White cardstock (or felt, or craft foam)
Equipment:
- Fabric scissors (optional)
- Sewing machine (or needle and thread)
Watch the step-by-step video tutorial:
Instructions:
Step 1: Find what you need
- Gather your supplies and materials.The supplies pictured here are for witch gnome. Check the materials list above for any other items you may need!
Step 2: Make the gnome’s body
- Cut the toe portion off an adult sized grey sock, just before the heel.Set the top part aside for later.
- Add 1 cup of dried rice to the bottom of the sock. This will stop the gnome from falling over.
- Now add stuffing to the gnome body until you’re happy with the size and firmness of it. Leave a space at the top, at least 1 inch tall.
Step 3: Make the gnome’s arms
- Cut the top of the sock into two long halves.
- Fold each piece in half, lengthwise, with the inside of the sock facing out. Pin the edges in place.
- Sew down the long edges of both sock pieces, creating narrow tubes.
- Use your fingers or a loop turner hook to turn the tubes right side out, hiding the seams inside.These are the gnome’s arms.
- Compare the arms to the gnome body and see how long you want them to be. We cut ours to about 6 inches long.
Step 4: Make and attach the hands
- Cut 2 pieces of cream/tan felt to be 2 by 4 inches in size.
- Fold one of the pieces in half and sew the two sides together in a “U” shape, with an opening at the top.Repeat with the second piece of felt.
- Flip the felt pieces right side out, creating little rounded hands for the gnome.Add a bit of stuffing to each hand to give them dimension.
- Add a small line of glue to both sides of the hand near the opening.
- Place the hand inside one of the ends of the arms.
- Repeat, attaching the second hand to the other arm. Then arrange the arms on either side of the gnome’s body.
Step 5: Connect the body and add the beard and nose
- With the hands facing down, gather the arms and the top of the body together.
- Use a rubber band to close off the top of the sock and connect the arms to the body. If you don’t have an elastic you can also use a piece of string.(To keep the arms in place more easily you can also glue them to the body first.)
- Add a line of hot glue to the top back of the beard. Then add more glue going down the middle.
- Attach the beard to the body just below the rubber band.
- Add glue to one side of the wooden ball and attach it towards the top center of the beard, creating the gnome’s nose.
Step 6: Make the witch gnome hat
- Print our free witch Halloween gnome template (find the link in the materials list above!) and cut out the hat pieces.
- Place the hat and brim pattern on a piece of black felt. Trace around them with chalk or a gel pen. Then cut out the pieces.Use purple or another witchy colour for the hat band.(You can also pin the patterns in place and cut around them.)
- Add hot glue to the rounded edge of the hat. Place the purple band into the glue.
- Set the hat down with the point at the top. Fold 1/3 of the hat over and add a line of hot glue along the edge.
- Fold the other side of the felt into the glue, holding it together until the glue is dry.
- Now add hot glue to the spiked inner ring of the brim.
- Press the glued part of the brim into the cone shaped hat, completing the witch hat!
Step 7: Make the witch gnome broom
- To make the witch’s broom, begin with a couple pieces of raffia folded in half.
- Fold the raffia in half two more times, until you have a bundle that’s around 3 inches long.
- Push the blunt end of a wood skewer into the middle of the bundle. Continue until it’s about 3/4 of the way into the raffia.
- Cut a 6 inch piece of twine. Wrap it around the raffia and the skewer, near the folded top of the bundle.Secure the twine with a double knot and then cut off the excess near the knot.
- Trim the raffia at the bottom to create even broom bristles.
- Cut the top of the skewer off to create a shorter broom handle.Our skewer extends about 4 inches above the raffia.
Step 8: Attach the hat and broom
- To attach the witch’s hat, add a couple dots of hot glue to the gnome’s body, near the top corners of the beard.
- Place the hat onto the gnome, carefully pushing the inside of the hat onto the glue spots. Hold the hat in place until the glue dries enough that it stays by itself.
- To connect the witch’s broom, add a short line of hot glue to one of the hands.
- Place the broomstick into the glue and hold it until it stays in place.(You can also attach the broom by stitching around the stick into the hand with a matching thread colour.)
- Your witch gnome is complete!
Step 9: Make the Frankenstein gnome hat
- Use the template to cut the hat from green felt.Place the hat with the point at the top. Fold 1/3 of the hat over and add a line of hot glue along the edge.
- Fold the other side of the felt into the glue, holding it together until the glue is dry.
- Thread a needle with a full piece (all 6 strands) of black embroidery floss.Insert the needle from inside the hat and make a vertical stitch about 1/2 inch tall.
- Continue, adding about 5 more lines across the hat. Make them a bit uneven in height and spacing.
- Now add a horizontal line that goes across the vertical line, making it look like stitches.Continue across the rest of the lines.
- Add another line or two of stitches to the hat.
- Apply hot glue to the rim of a bottle cap.
- Place the bottle cap on the side of the hat, about 1/2 inch above the bottom.Repeat, attaching a second cap to the opposite side.
- Now follow the instructions above to make another gnome body and connect the hat to your gnome.Your Frankenstein gnome is complete!
Step 10: Make the vampire gnome
- Use the template to cut the cape pieces from felt. We used purple for the larger cape piece and collar, and red for the inner collar lining.
- Add hot glue to one side of the red piece.
- Place it onto the purple collar piece, lining it up at the bottom. The purple should still show at the top and sides.
- Now add glue to the top edge (the shorter one) of the cape.
- Attach the layered collar into the glue, attaching the two pieces.
- Use the pattern to make the vampire’s hat from felt. Attach it to your gnome. (See steps 6 and 8 for more detailed instructions.) Cut 2 pointed teeth (about 3/8 inch long) from white cardstock, felt, or craft foam. Glue them to the beard just below, and on either side of, the nose
- Now attach the cape to the gnome with hot glue. Add a couple dots to the cape, at the corners where the collar meets the cape.
- Attach the cape to the sides of the gnome, just below the hat.
- Your vampire gnome is complete!
Have fun displaying your gnomes:
- Set out your Halloween gnomes to celebrate the spooky season!
Helpful Tips:
- Follow our colour palette or choose different colours for the gnome body and accessories! You can even make 2 witch gnomes with different colours of hat bands.
- If the hat doesn’t sit the way you want it to, add some stuffing or crumpled up paper inside it before gluing it in place.
Get our free printable Halloween gnomes patterns:
The links below will take you to our free, printable Halloween gnomes templates! The PDF files will open in a new window. Then simply print the patterns on 8.5 x 11 (letter size) printer paper.
>>> Witch Halloween Gnomes Pattern <<<
>>> Frankenstein Halloween Gnomes Pattern <<<
>>>Vampire Halloween Gnomes Pattern <<<
How many socks do I need to make Halloween gnomes?
You’ll need 1 sock per gnome you want to make. The bottom (toe portion) of the sock becomes the gnome’s body and the upper ankle part becomes the arms.
What type of sock is best for making a Halloween gnome?
We recommend using an adult (preferably men’s) crew sock to make your gnome. Thicker cozy socks make better gnome bodies, and stretchable fabric will make it easier to fill the gnome.
Can I make beards for my Halloween gnomes?
You can cut a beard for your gnome from faux fur if you don’t want to buy a specific “gnome beard”. Check out our Valentine gnomes post to find a template for the beard and specific instructions on how to cut it.
These Halloween gnomes are sure to bring some festive charm and whimsy to your home this autumn. These gnomes can be customized to fit your favorite Halloween theme—whether you want a witchy gnome, a Dracula vampire gnome, or even a little zombie Frankenstein!
Plus, if you don’t glue the hats and accessories to the gnome you can swap them out for every season and holiday!
Here’s even more gnome craft ideas:
Our book Low-Mess Crafts for Kids is loaded with 72 fun and simple craft ideas for kids! The projects are fun, easy and most importantly low-mess, so the clean up is simple!
Where to buy:
You can purchase Low-Mess Crafts for Kids from Amazon, or wherever books are sold:
Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Books-A-Million | Indiebound | Amazon Canada
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