This Valentine gnome is SO CUTE!! Transform a sock and a few simple craft supplies into this no-sew Valentine’s gnome. It’s such an adorable and easy craft for both kids and adults.
Use our free printable template for the gnome’s hat and beard, and then give the sweet gnome to your Valentine or display it as DIY “gnome decor”. It’s such an inexpensive and fun way to share the love this Valentine’s Day!
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DIY Valentine Gnomes
Materials:
- FREE Printable Valentine Gnome Template
- Felt (red and grey)
- Faux fur
- Grey sock
- Dried beans (or rice)
- Fiber fill stuffing
- Rubber band
- 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 Valentine gnome template (find the link in the materials list above!) and cut out both pieces.
- Place the hat piece on red felt and trace around it with chalk or a gel pen.
- Cut out the hat.
- Place a piece of faux fur on a cutting mat, fur side down. Place the beard template on top of the fur.At this point, check the direction of the fur! If you place the template point towards you, the fur should be going down towards you as well.
- Use a craft knife to very gently cut through the backing of the fur. Slice just until it cuts through -- you don't want to cut the fur itself.This may require several careful slices.
- Cut out a heart from grey felt that's about 1 inch across.Repeat until you have 8 felt hearts.(Check out our heart outlines post for help creating a heart shape!)
- Cut the toe portion off an adult sized grey sock, just before the heel.
- To make your Valentine gnome you'll also need dried beans and stuffing for the gnome, as well as a wooden ball for the nose.
Step 3: Assemble the gnome
- Pour 1 cup of dried beans 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 beans will stop the gnome from 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 red 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.
- 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.
- Turn the gnome around, roll up the hat at the back, and add a line of glue.Again, roll it back down and press it to the sock until the glue is dry to attach it to the body.
- Add hot glue to the back of one of the felt hearts.Try to spread the glue close to the edges so the heart looks flush when it's attached to the hat.
- Attach the heart to the hat, placing it randomly.
- Continue gluing hearts to the hat in different positions and at different angles.
- Your Valentine gnome is complete!
Helpful Tips:
- Use different colours of felt for the hearts to give each gnome a unique personality! We used grey, pink, and white.
- This no-sew gnome is a great way to use up lone socks! You can also use red, pink, or white socks for the body of this Valentine gnome.
- For help cutting a heart shape from felt, use our heart outlines! The “many sizes” option of each heart has a small heart in the top right that will work well on this gnome hat.
Download our free printable Valentine gnome template:
Click on the link below to download our free, printable Valentine 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.
>>> Valentine’s Day Gnome Pattern <<<
What can I stuff my Valentine gnome with?
We used poly-fill stuffing to stuff our gnome, but you don’t have to buy special stuffing if you don’t already have some in your craft stash. Use stuffing from an old pillow, or buy a 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 turn out lumpy!
Do I have to add beans to the Valentine gnomes?
We do recommend adding dried beans or something similar to the bottom of your gnome. It gives them a bit of weight at the bottom, meaning they can stand up effortlessly and not topple over.
We’ve used rice in the past, for our sock snowman, but you can also use aquarium gravel, or poly-pellets that are meant for stuffed animals.
What else can I use for the nose of a Valentine’s gnome?
We like using wooden balls or wooden beads for our gnomes’ noses, but you can also use a large pom pom. Or paint a small styrofoam ball or place it inside a stocking to give it some colour.
How else can I decorate the Valentine gnome’s hat?
We like the felt hearts we added to our Valentines gnomes, but you could also cut the hearts from glittery or plain craft foam. Or add on heart shaped buttons or even pom poms for a cute textured look!
You can also buy fabric with a cute Valentine’s Day themed print on it and make the hat from that. If your fabric is too thin you may want to make a cardstock base for under the hat, so that it doesn’t collapse on itself.
Nordic gnomes are a really popular home decoration, and these Valentine gnomes are such a fun and playful spin on that! Place your Valentine gnome on the mantel or the table at your Valentine’s Day party — it’s a really simple but adorable homemade decoration.
Here’s even more Valentine’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
Let us know what you think: