Graduation season is upon us! It’s graduation time and graduation gifts are in order. We all know that graduation can be a huge deal for the whole family, so we wanted to share with you how to make that graduation more fun with this sewing project. We are going to show you How To Make A Graduation Gnome! Graduation is a special and exciting time of year. As graduation day approaches, many families will be looking for graduation gifts to give their loved ones. This DIY graduation gnome is the perfect graduation gift! It’s easy to make and can be personalized with an initial on the hat or even custom painted with your grad’s school colors. Seriously, making a graduation gnome for graduation is easy. First, choose your favorite colors to coordinate with the colors of your grad’s cap and gown (or just go with the “typical” black if you’re unsure of what their school is going with.
Next, you’ll want to determine the filling for your graduation gnome. Although I chose to use rice, you can also use beans, plastic poly pellets (perfect if you’re selling the gnome you’re making), pebbles, etc. Once you have those two things in place, you’re ready to go, so let’s get making!
What You’ll Need:
- 1 men’s sock in the color of the cap and gown set so that it coordinates – be sure to use a sock with the ankle (so no shortie anklet socks)
- 1 sheet craft felt in the color of the coordinating cap and gown
- Embroidery Thread for the Tassel
- Small Amount of Cardboard to Stabilize the Hat
- 2 cups Filling for the Body, I used Rice
- 1-inch Wood Ball
- White Faux Fur
- Small Rubber Band
- Funnel
- Exacto Knife or Other Craft Knife
- Hot Glue Gun and Glue
- Scissors
- Optional Rotary Cutter & Mat
- Measuring tape
How To Make A Graduation Gnome
The first step in this how to make a graduation gnome tutorial is to begin cutting your fabric. In this case, you will use a sock and cut it at the heel, cutting off the ankle portion. You can discard this or save it to make another sock gnome by simply sewing the one end of the sock ankle closed.
Next, place the funnel into the open end of the sock and fill with 1 cup of the filling for the body of the gnome. Pinch the open end of the sock closed and gently press the filling down, forcing the sock to reshape into a more rounded shape.
Repeat filling the sock with a second cup of filling and compressing the filling down into a rounder shape, then use the small rubber band to close the open end of the sock.
Next on this graduation gnome tutorial, you will cut off any excess sock material sticking up above the rubber band. Then, to be extra careful, tie a bit of embroidery thread around the rubber band, just in case the rubber band disintegrates over time.
Turn the faux fur face-down on your work surface and using the Exacto Knife or other craft knife, cut through the fur’s fabric backing only in a 3-inch wide by 3 1/2-inch long rectangle to fit the sock as a beard.
To keep the beard of your graduation gnome in place, add a bead of hot glue along the top of the gnome beard on the fabric backing, about ¼-inch from the top of the fabric. Immediately press this to the top of the sock, just under the rubber band closure.
Next on this how to make a graduation gnome tutorial, we will work on the hat To assemble the hat, cut two 4 ½-inch squares from the felt and a 2-inch tall, 9-inch long rectangle from the felt.
Make the tassel by wrapping the embroidery thread around two of your fingers 10-15 times, then cutting the end loose with a long tail. Remove the wrapped thread from your fingers while maintaining the loops by pinching them together at the center, then cut the loops loose on one end.
Wrap the long tail of the loose thread around the looped thread, about ½-inch from the top uncut end of the pinched loops. Wrap this long tail around 5-6 times, then wrap once more loosely and tie the loose end in place. Trim the excess thread from the tied bit off. Thread another piece of embroidery thread (about 4 inches long) through the looped ends of the tassel and tie it tight on top of the looped tassel ends. Trim the excess thread on one end of the tied bit, leaving the other long.
With the tassel done, the next thing we will do on this graduation gnome sewing project is to add it to the hat. Fold one of the felt squares in half and cut a small slit into the center.
Feed the long end of the tassel top through this slit in the center of the felt square, be sure to make sure you like the length of the tassel, then hot glue the end in place on the inside of the felt square (the inside is the side opposite from the tassel).
Trim the cardboard to fit about ¼-inch inside the edge of the remaining black felt square, then place the cardboard in the center of the black felt square. Add a line of hot glue around the exterior edge of the black felt square, then place the square with the attached tassel on top of the prepared square, aligning all the edges.
This will make a sandwich of two black felt squares with the cardboard square in between them. Be sure the tassel is located outside of the two felt pieces.
Place a bead of hot glue on one short end of the long rectangle piece of felt, then roll the felt rectangle to join the two short ends, forming a circle with the felt rectangle. Test fit this on your gnome’s head to ensure that you like the fit.
We are almost done with this cute graduation gnome tutorial! Flip the joined felt square piece over so that the tassel is down on your work surface. Place a bead of hot glue on the edge of the circle of felt, then press this glue-side down onto the center of the hat, with the seam side to the back of your hat (if you have a back designated at this stage).
With the assembled hat in hand, place a bead of hot glue along the inner edge of the hat, then press the hat down onto the gnome’s head, pressing along the hot glue line to join the hat to the gnome body. Take care that you place the seam of the hat in the back of the gnome body.
Gently part the faux fur where you want the nose to sit (just below the edge of the hat in the center of the beard). Hot glue the wood bead in place where you have parted the faux fur.
And that’s it! Now your graduation gnome is ready to display! Such a fun and easy DIY gnome for graduation, you’re going to be making them for all the grads!
If you liked learning how to make a graduation gnome, make sure to pin it to your favorite Pinterest board or share it with friends on social media. If you decide to make this simple project on your own, make le certain that you take a picture afterward and tag us on social media as we love seeing the fabrics and color choices that people use!
How To Make A Graduation Gnome
This fun little project is a cute gift for the graduate in your life. Simple and quick to make!
Materials
- 1 men’s sock in the color of the cap and gown set so that it coordinates - be sure to use a sock with the ankle (so no shortie anklet socks)
- 1 sheet craft felt in the color of the coordinating cap and gown
- Embroidery Thread for the Tassel
- Small Amount of Cardboard to Stabilize the Hat
- 2 cups Filling for the Body, I used Rice
- 1-inch Wood Ball
- White Faux Fur
- Small Rubber Band
Tools
Instructions
- Cut the sock at the heel, cutting off the ankle portion. You can discard this or save it to make another sock gnome by simply sewing the one end of the sock ankle closed.
- Place the funnel into the open end of the sock and fill with 1 cup of the filling for the body of the gnome.
- Pinch the open end of the sock closed and gently press the filling down, forcing the sock to reshape into a more rounded shape.
- Repeat filling the sock with a second cup of filling and compressing the fillind down into a rounder shape, then use the small rubber band to close the open end of the sock.
- Cut off any excess sock material sticking up above the rubber band.
- Tie a bit of embroidery thread around the rubber band, just in case the rubber band disintegrates over time.
- Turn the faux fur face-down on your work surface and using the Exacto Knife or other craft knife, cut through the fur’s fabric backing only in a 3-inch wide by 3 1/2-inch long rectangle to fit the sock as a beard.
- Add a bead of hot glue along the top of the gnome beard on the fabric backing, about ¼-inch from the top of the fabric. Immediately press this to the top of the sock, just under the rubber band closure.
- To assemble the hat, cut two 4 ½-inch squares from the felt and a 2-inch tall, 9-inch long rectangle from the felt.
- Make the tassel by wrapping the embroidery thread around two of your fingers 10-15 times, then cutting the end loose with a long tail.
- Remove the wrapped thread from your fingers while maintaining the loops by pinching them together at the center, then cut the loops loose on one end.
- Wrap the long tail of the loose thread around the looped thread, about ½-inch from the top uncut end of the pinched loops. Wrap this long tail around 5-6 times, then wrap once more loosely and tie the loose end in place.
- Trim the excess thread from the tied bit off.
- Thread another piece of embroidery thread (about 4 inches long) through the looped ends of the tassel and tie it tight on top of the looped tassel ends.
- Trim the excess thread on one end of the tied bit, leaving the other long.
- Fold one of the felt squares in half and cut a small slit into the center.
- Feed the long end of the tassel top through this slit in the center of the felt square, be sure to make sure you like the length of the tassel, then hot glue the end in place on the inside of the felt square (the inside is the side opposite from the tassel).
- Trim the cardboard to fit about ¼-inch inside the edge of the remaining black felt square, then place the cardboard in the center of the black felt square.
- Add a line of hot glue around the exterior edge of the black felt square, then place the square with the attached tassel on top of the prepared square, aligning all the edges. This will make a sandwich of two black felt squares with the cardboard square in between them. Be sure the tassel is located outside of the two felt pieces.
- Place a bead of hot glue on one short end of the long rectangle piece of felt, then roll the felt rectangle to join the two short ends, forming a circle with the felt rectangle. Test fit this on your gnome’s head to ensure that you like the fit.
- Flip the joined felt square piece over so that the tassel is down on your work surface.
- Place a bead of hot glue on the edge of the circle of felt, then press this glue-side down onto the center of the hat, with the seam side to the back of your hat (if you have a back designated at this stage).
- With the assembled hat in hand, place a bead of hot glue along the inner edge of the hat, then press the hat down onto the gnome’s head, pressing along the hot glue line to join the hat to the gnome body. Take care that you place the seam of the hat in the back of the gnome body.
- Gently part the faux fur where you want the nose to sit (just below the edge of the hat in the center of the beard).
- Hot glue the wood bead in place where you have parted the faux fur.
- Now your gnome is ready to display!
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