Felted Gnome: How to Needle Felt a Gnome and Its Hat

Gnomes have become the standard beginner sculpture, and for good reason: no face, no limbs, no anatomy. A cone, a beard, a nose and a hat, and it is unmistakably a gnome. There is very little that can go wrong and a great deal you can vary.

What you need

• Core wool — about 15 g for a 10 cm gnome
• White or grey wool for the beard, 3–5 g
• Coloured wool or wool felt fabric for the hat
• A pinch of skin-toned wool for the nose
• Felting needles, 38 and 40 gauge
• A foam pad or brush mat

Step 1: The body cone

1. Wind core wool into a firm cone shape — wider at the bottom, tapering to about half that width at the top. Wrapping first is much faster than stabbing a loose pile.
2. Needle all over with a 38 gauge, rotating constantly so it does not develop a flat side.
3. Work the base hard against a flat surface, stabbing straight down, until it stands square on the table.
4. Keep going until it is genuinely firm — the surface should not dent under a fingertip. Most people stop at half this point and end up with a gnome that slumps.

Height of about 8 cm for the body, with the hat adding another 5 or 6.

Step 2: The nose

Roll a small ball of skin-toned wool between your fingers, place it on the front of the cone about two-thirds of the way up, and needle around its base only — leaving the middle untouched so it stays domed.

Nose size sets the whole character. Small and neat reads as a tidy gnome; large and bulbous reads as a comic one. Err large.

Step 3: The beard

Take a length of white or grey wool tops, longer than the finished beard, and fold it in half. Lay the fold across the cone just below the nose, and needle a line straight across to fix it.

Then shape:

• Trim the bottom to a point, a curve or a square cut.
• Needle lightly along the length to define strands, or leave it loose and fluffy.
• Drag a reverse needle down it if you want it wilder.

The beard should hide almost all of the body front. A short beard looks like a mistake rather than a style choice.

Step 4: The hat — three ways

Rolled felt cone

Cut a semicircle from wool felt fabric, roll it into a cone, and stitch or glue the straight edges. The crispest, most reliable result and the fastest, which is why most gnomes you see are made this way. See wool felt fabric.

Needle felted directly

Roll a paper cone as a former, wrap wool around it and needle over the paper, then slide the paper out. Gives a soft, seamless hat in any colour you have wool for.

Solid felted cone

Build a small solid cone the same way as the body and hollow the base slightly. Firmest and heaviest, and it sits well on a large gnome.

Whichever method, the hat should come down to the nose and cover where a face would be. That is the trick — no eyes, no mouth, no problem.

Step 5: Assembly

Push the hat over the top of the cone and needle through it into the body at several points around the rim, or stitch it on with matching thread. A dab of glue inside is legitimate and nobody will ever know.

Bend the tip over and tack it down for a floppy hat. Add a felt ball on the point if you like.

Variations

• Christmas gnome — red hat, white beard, a tiny wreath or a felted parcel. Fits straight into a set of felted Christmas ornaments.
• Ornament version — smaller, with a loop of thread felted into the hat tip before assembly.
• Autumn gnome — rust and mustard, with a felted mushroom under one arm.
• Garland — six or seven small gnomes strung on cord through their hats.
• Weighted — a small stone or a spoonful of rice wound into the middle of the body cone gives a satisfying heft and total stability.
• Wet felted body — felt the cone over a resist for a hollow gnome, using the method in resist felting.

Common problems

• Falls over. Base not flat, or the body is too soft. Work the base against the table.
• Beard falls off. Only tacked at the surface. Needle the fixing line deep, from several angles.
• Looks like a cone with a hat. Beard is too thin or too short. Add more.
• Hat will not sit straight. The top of the body cone is not symmetrical. Needle it back to a point before fitting.

If this is your first sculpture, the general habits worth learning alongside it are in needle felting techniques.