Crochet an Adorable, Easy Gnome Today!

ByEmila Lorein

Get ready to crochet the cutest little gnome! This pattern guides you through creating a charming gnome, complete with a cozy hat, prominent nose, and tiny legs. It’s crocheted mostly in one piece, making it a fun and rewarding project.

Materials

  • Yarn: Plush yarn (100g/120m). Choose a main color for the body/hat, a contrast color for the nose, a different color for the legs, and white for the hat edging and beard.
  • Hook: 3.75 mm crochet hook
  • Stuffing: Fiberfill or your preferred stuffing material
  • Tapestry Needle: For weaving in ends and closing stitches
  • Stitch Marker: To keep track of your rounds

Abbreviations

  • sc: Single Crochet
  • inc: Increase (work 2 sc into one stitch)
  • dec: Decrease (single crochet 2 stitches together)
  • ch: Chain stitch
  • sl st: Slip Stitch
  • ch 1: Chain 1 (often used as a turning chain)
  • hdc: Half Double Crochet
  • BL only: Work into the Back Loops only
  • FL only: Work into the Front Loops only

Special Stitches Explained

These special stitches create the distinctive features of your gnome!

  • Nose and Legs (4-dc Cluster): Yarn over, insert hook into stitch, yarn over, pull up a loop, yarn over, pull through 2 loops (2 loops on hook). Repeat this 3 more times into the *same* stitch (you’ll have 5 loops on hook). Yarn over, pull through all 5 loops on hook. This creates a bobble-like cluster.
  • Arms (3-dc Cluster): Yarn over, insert hook into stitch, yarn over, pull up a loop, yarn over, pull through 2 loops (2 loops on hook). Repeat this 2 more times into the *same* stitch (you’ll have 4 loops on hook). Yarn over, pull through all 4 loops on hook.

Important Note: This gnome is crocheted from top to bottom in one continuous piece, except for the beard which is sewn on separately. We’ll start with the main color for the hat/body.

Gnome Body and Hat (Main Color)

Start with your main yarn color.

  1. Round 1: Make a magic ring, then 4 sc into the ring. (4 stitches)
  2. Round 2: (1 sc, 1 inc) repeat 2 times. (6 stitches)
  3. Round 3: (1 sc, 1 inc) repeat 3 times. (9 stitches)
  4. Round 4: 9 sc around. (9 stitches)
  5. Round 5: (2 sc, 1 inc) repeat 3 times. (12 stitches)
  6. Round 6 (Nose Row – BL Only): Work in back loops only for this round.
    • Sc 5 stitches.
    • Change yarn to your Nose Color.
    • Make one 4-dc cluster stitch (this is the nose) into the next stitch.
    • Change yarn back to your Main Color.
    • Sc 6 stitches. (12 stitches total, the cluster stitch counts as one stitch)
  7. Round 7: (3 sc, 1 inc) repeat 3 times. (15 stitches)
  8. Round 8 (Arms Row): This round incorporates the arms directly into the body.
    • Sc 4 stitches.
    • Arm 1:
      • Ch 4.
      • Work a 3-dc cluster stitch into the 2nd chain from your hook.
      • Sl st into the *same* 2nd chain where you made the cluster.
      • Work 2 sc into the next 2 chains (working down the chain towards the body).
      • Sl st into the *body stitch* where you started the ch-4 for this arm.
    • Sc 6 stitches along the body.
    • Arm 2:
      • Ch 4.
      • Work a 3-dc cluster stitch into the 2nd chain from your hook.
      • Sl st into the *same* 2nd chain where you made the cluster.
      • Work 2 sc into the next 2 chains (working down the chain towards the body).
      • Sl st into the *body stitch* where you started the ch-4 for this arm.
    • Sc 5 stitches along the body. (15 stitches total, the arms are attached and don’t add to the main body stitch count for this round)
  1. Round 9: (4 sc, 1 inc) repeat 3 times. (18 stitches)
  2. Round 10: 18 sc around. (18 stitches)
  3. Round 11 (Stuff Body – BL Only): Work in back loops only for this round. (1 dec) repeat 9 times. (9 stitches) Start stuffing your gnome firmly with fiberfill now.
  4. Round 12 (Legs Row):
    • (1 dec) repeat 2 times.
    • Change yarn to your Leg Color.
    • Make one 4-dc cluster stitch (Leg 1) into the next stitch.
    • Make one 4-dc cluster stitch (Leg 2) into the next stitch.
    • Change yarn back to your Main Color.
    • 1 dec.
    • 1 sc. (6 stitches total, the cluster stitches count as one stitch each)

Cut your yarn, leaving a tail. Add any remaining stuffing needed to shape the body. Using your tapestry needle, thread the yarn tail through the remaining 6 stitches, pull tight to close the opening, and weave in the yarn end securely.

Hat Edging (Opushka)

Time to add a fluffy trim to your gnome’s hat!

  1. Go back to Round 6 of the body (the round where you worked the nose in back loops only).
  2. Attach your white yarn into any of the front loops left from Round 6.
  3. Ch 1 (does not count as a stitch), then work 12 sc into the remaining front loops around the base of the hat.
  4. Sl st to the first sc to join. Fasten off and weave in ends.

Beard (White Yarn)

The beard is worked in rows, turning at the end of each row.

  1. Start by chaining 2. In the 2nd chain from the hook, make 1 inc (2 sc). Ch 1, turn. (2 stitches)
  2. Make 2 inc stitches. Ch 1, turn. (4 stitches)
  3. Sc 4 stitches. Ch 1, turn. (4 stitches)
  4. Make 1 inc, sc 2 stitches, make 1 inc. Ch 1, turn. (6 stitches)
  5. This is the shaping row for the beard peak:
    • Work 2 hdc into the first 2 stitches of the current row (Row 4).
    • DO NOT CHAIN 1 OR TURN. Instead, rotate your work slightly to begin single crocheting around the perimeter of the beard shape.
    • Work sc stitches down the side of the beard until you reach the corner (the original base chain from Row 1).
    • In that very first chain stitch from Row 1, make a 3 sc increase.
    • Continue working sc stitches up the other side of the beard until you reach the end of Row 4 (where you made the last inc).
    • Work 2 hdc into the last 2 stitches of Row 4.
    • DO NOT CHAIN 1 OR TURN YET.
    • Turn your work so you are facing the top of the 2 hdc stitches you just made.
    • Work 2 sc across these 2 hdc stitches (this completes the peak of the beard).

Cut the yarn, leaving a long tail for sewing the beard to the gnome’s body.

Crochet gnome beard or assembly step

Finishing Touches

  1. Attach the Beard: Position the beard on the gnome’s body so the top indentation of the beard (where you started the perimeter sc in Row 5) sits directly under the gnome’s nose. Use the long tail to sew the beard securely in place with a few stitches at the top.
  2. Hat Pompom (Optional): For a cute pompom effect on top of the hat, you can either:
    • Make a few simple stitches with white yarn at the very peak of the hat, or
    • If you prefer, you could have started Round 1 of the gnome’s head with white yarn to create a white hat tip.

Your adorable crochet gnome is now complete! Enjoy your new little friend.

Pattern designed by Galina Burlakova. You can find more of her patterns here: vk.com/plyushevoe_schastye

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