These St. Patrick’s Day gnomes are SO CUTE and they’re so easy to make using mismatched socks!! Have fun making this simple, no-sew St. Patrick’s Day craft — maybe it will bring you the luck of the Irish!
Gnomes don’t have to be just for Christmas! Have fun using inexpensive dollar store supplies and our free printable template to make these St. Patrick’s themed leprechaun gnomes.
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How to Make St. Patrick's Day Gnomes
Materials:
- FREE Printable St. Patrick's Day Gnomes Template
- Felt (green, black, yellow)
- Grey sock (or other colour of choice)
- Rice (or dried beans)
- Fiber fill stuffing
- Rubber band
- Gnome beard (orange or ginger colour)
- Wooden ball (1 inch)
Check Out The Video Tutorial:
Instructions:
Step 1: Find what you need
- Gather your supplies and materials.
Step 2: Cut out the pieces for the gnome
- Print our free St. Patrick's Day gnome template -- find the link in the materials list above!
- Cut out the pieces from the template. To cut the center part of the buckle, fold the piece in half.
- Place the hat pattern piece on green felt and cut around it. You can also trace it first with chalk or a gel pen.
- Place the belt template onto black felt and cut around it.
- Finally, cut the buckle piece from yellow felt.
- To remove the center of the buckle, fold the felt in half with the buckle template still on it. Cut inwards on either side, and then cut across to make the cutout.
- Cut the toe portion off an adult sized grey sock, just before the heel.
- To make your leprechaun gnome you'll also need dried rice and stuffing for the gnome, as well as a wooden ball for the nose and a faux fur beard.
Step 3: Assemble the gnome
- Pour 1 cup of dry rice into the bottom of the sock.If you need help stretching out the sock you can ask a friend to help, or stretch it over the top of a drinking glass.The rice will help the gnome to stand without falling over.
- Add stuffing into the gnome until you're happy with the size and firmness of its body.
- Use a rubber band to close off the top of the sock. If you don't have an elastic you can also use a piece of string.
- Add a line of hot glue along the top edge of the back of the beard.
- Press the beard to the gnome's body, so the bottom of the beard reaches the bottom of the gnome.
- Add glue to one side of the wooden ball and attach it towards the top of the beard.
Step 4: Make and attach the gnome's hat
- Place the green felt hat piece with the point at the top. Fold 1/3 of the hat over and add a short line of hot glue along the top edge.
- Fold the other side of the felt into the glue, holding it together until the glue is dry.
- Add hot glue down the rest of the edge of hat, connecting the other side.
- Add a line of hot glue to the back of the hat (the side with the seam) close to the bottom edge.
- Place the hat on the gnome, with the seam at the back (opposite from the nose).
- Roll the hat up a bit at the front and add about 1 inch of glue just above the nose.
- Roll the hat back down so that the glue sticks to the top of the nose.
- Add a line of glue to the center third of the hat belt.
- Attach the belt to the hat about 7/8 inch above the bottom, with the center of the belt at the front.Then glue the rest of the belt in place, going around the hat.
- Add glue to the belt buckle and attach it to the front center part of the belt.
- Your St. Patrick's Day gnome is complete!
Helpful Tips:
- This is a great craft to use up a lone sock! You can use a grey sock, a green or white sock to match the holiday, or any colour you’d like.
- You can also use one of our free, printable shamrock templates to decorate your gnome’s hat.
Download our free printable St. Patrick’s Day gnomes template:
Click on the link or picture below to download our free, printable St Patrick’s Day gnome template! The PDF file will open in a new window. Then simply print the template on 8.5 x 11 (letter size) printer paper.
>>> St. Patrick’s Day Gnome Pattern <<<
What can I stuff my St. Patrick’s Day gnomes with?
We used poly-fill stuffing to stuff our gnome, but there’s no need to buy special stuffing if you don’t already have some at home. You can also use stuffing from an old pillow, or buy an inexpensive pillow at the dollar store!
You can also stuff your gnome with cotton balls or fabric scraps. If you use fabric, make sure you cut the pieces small, so your gnome doesn’t look lumpy!
Do I have to add rice to a St. Patrick’s Day gnome?
We do recommend adding rice or something similar to the bottom of your gnomes. It gives the gnome some weight at the bottom, meaning they can stand up effortlessly and not topple over.
We added dried beans to our Valentine gnome, but if you’re using a white sock for your gnome, use rice or white beans that won’t show through.
If you don’t want to add rice or beans, you can also use a bit of aquarium gravel or poly-pellets that are meant for stuffed animals.
Where can I buy a beard for my St. Patrick’s Day gnomes?
We bought a pack of different coloured gnome beards on Amazon. Etsy also has a good selection, and you may also be able to find them at a craft store like Michael’s.
Or if you can’t find a pre-cut gnome beard you can also cut one yourself from a piece of faux fur, like we did for our Valentine’s Day gnome! Check out that post for instructions and a beard template.
How else can I decorate the St. Patrick’s Day gnome hat?
We love the look of the leprechaun gnome, but we also had fun decorating gnome hats with shamrocks cut from felt. You can look at the dollar store for different St. Patrick’s Day decorations that would look cute on a hat.
Or buy fabric with a fun St. Paddy’s Day print on it and make the hat from that. If your fabric is too thin you can make a cardstock base for under the hat, so that it doesn’t collapse in on itself.
Make your own St. Patrick’s Day gnomes with simple craft supplies! Use our free template and follow our step by step photo and video tutorials to make a leprechaun gnome, or create a gnome with a shamrock on its hat. They’re so much fun!
Here’s even more St. Patrick’s Day 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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