Gorgeous Little Seasonal Display Gnomes Tutorial


I have seen these little gnomes many places and am sure once upon a time I came across them in this lovely book Feltcraft (which i don't yet own)
(I do now! As of May 2011 ☺ )
Nor did I take a copy of the pattern. But all is not lost!

These gnomes are so simple that, I have not only come up with a pattern myself, they turned out to be quite fetching little fellows once completed!

Aha! Start with a round (my button tin) lid.
Well, a circle about 20cm across
 
Divide the drawn circle into quarters. Then cut out a single quarter.
The semi-circle indents are cut out for the face to poke through
(a clever friend suggested that, I can't take all the credit)


I cut a circle to make a base to help the little guy stand upright once complete.
I just found another circle (empty bead container)
that was slightly bigger than my finished cloak.
About 5cm diameter.
I prefer to find a contrasting thread than a matching one.
Personal choice!
When hand sewing, I always find beeswax to be a lifesaver.
It naturally helps keeps threads from tangling.


I often like to sew with a blanket stitch, especially when using a contrasting colour thread.
So, with this stitch, it's important to start right ☺

Once the hood is complete, finish off and start on the remainder of the cloak.
Again, I always start the first stitch in this way.

To finish off I like to thread back through the stitches on the inside and knot there.
It looks a bit neater and makes the sewing more secure.
We're on our way!
Now to make a defined head. Start here with a gathering stitch.


Sew all the way around and leave enough thread at either end,
to pull tight and knot.

♫ Like clouds

Sheep fleece I was lucky enough to receive in it's raw state.
It took a little reading and work, but now I have loads of free,
unbleached, clean 100% wool stuffing!

I rolled a lovely fluffy piece of fleece, as tightly as I could and pushed it into the cloak,
as far into the hood as I could.
Making sure the face was smooth and full of personality!

I pull the two ends of thread as tightly as I can
(this is where the gathering stitch comes into it's own)
Then I tie a knot, then a bow and another knot.
Finally I sew on the base, again using blanket stitch.

What do you think?

When I asked Mr Turtle for ideas on how to display these little guys for a photo,
he opted for them all facing each other.

Interacting like little people would ~ of course! ღ

Labels: , , , , ,