DIY Valentine’s Day Sock Gnomes

In today’s post: You can make these adorable Valentines’ Day gnomes in under 15 minutes! The cute hats are made from socks, which means you can swap them out to customize the gnomes for any holiday.

Nordic gnomes have been popular for a few years and it looks like they’ll be around for a few more, and I’m not complaining: I think they’re adorable. For our popular How to Make a Sock Gnome tutorial we used a simple, adorable gnome construction plan so anyone can make their own gnome with just a couple supplies in about 15 minutes. (Seriously, some days I can’t believe this blog is my job. Gnome construction plan 😂.) Once you make a couple of gnomes, you can make different hats to customize them for any holiday! Today I’m sharing how I customized this craft for Valentine’s Day.

Find our other gnomes here: Christmas Gnomes | Halloween Gnomes | Easter Gnomes

Valentine’s Day Gnomes

Here’s what I’ve done to make these DIY gnomes super cute + super easy to make:

1. The base of the gnome is a styrofoam cone, which you can find at any craft store or most big box stores.
2. The gnome’s beard is made from a piece of faux fur, so there’s no need to create a beard with yarn.
3. The body and hat are made from cute socks, which means it’s easy to make different versions for any season or holiday – what a fun way to decorate! Once the body is made, you can just swap out the hats for each new holiday. A gnome with a variety of seasonal hats would make a fun DIY gift!

DIY Valentine Gnomes Supplies

For each sock gnome you will need the following supplies:

One patterned crew style sock in an adult size: For the gnome’s hat you will need a sock that comes up past the heel like a crew sock or a knee high sock (ankle or no show socks will also work but they’re a little harder to deal with; visit the Easter gnome post to see how to use them). You can buy a holiday specific sock, like one with hearts on it for Valentine’s, but be aware that the sock will be turned upside down once it’s on the gnome. That means stripes or polka dots or other geometric patterns work really well.

One solid sock in an adult size: You can use any type of sock is fine for gnome’s body. I got mine from the dollar store.

A 4×4 inch piece of faux fur: You’ll use faux fur to make the gnome’s beard, and you can find this at a craft/fabric store. I used this fur from Joann’s, and just asked them to cut me a 4 inch piece. Fur is pretty expensive per yard, but you’ll be able to buy 4 inches for about $3. That will give you a piece that’s 4 inches tall by 58 inches wide, so you’ll have enough fur to make LOTS of gnomes. Look for a fur that’s on the longer side.

One wood bead, 1.25 inches

One 9 inch tall foam cone: You can find these at a craft store or in the craft section at Walmart. You can use either the white styrofoam cones or the green floral cones. They’ll be 9 inches tall and about 4 inches wide at the bottom.

Hot Glue Gun

Optional Supplies: You may also want a holiday specific decoration, like a heart shaped button. The cheapest way to add holiday flair is to buy a sheet of colored felt and just cut out a heart or shamrock, etc., then glue it on the hat. You could use thin ribbon to accent the hat as well.

You also may want to use your sewing machine to make the hat. You can either sew or glue the hat together, whichever you prefer.

Video

Watch this video to see how I made this easy valentine craft. More instructions and photos follow the video, with a printable instruction card at the end of the post.

Make the Gnome Body

Cut off the bottom (toe part) of a solid colored sock, just past the heel (as shown below). Pull the sock over the bottom of the cone and pull it up so it covers the lower 5 inches of the cone. Use hot glue to secure the top of the sock to the cone.

Make the Gnome’s Beard

Cut out a beard from fur. It’s easiest to draw the beard shape on the back of the fur as seen below. Cut the beard about 3.25 inches tall and 2.75 inches wide. When cutting fur, you DO NOT want to just use scissors and cut it out like you would any other fabric because then the fur along the edges of the beard will be very short. To make sure you get the long “beard” effect on the fur, you have two options. First, you can use a razor blade or exacto knife and cut from the back of the fur, cutting through the backing only. Second, you can use sharp scissors, but you’ll want to cut with the back of the fur facing you, and slide the bottom of your scissor through the fur very close to the backing. Your goal is to just cut the backing, not any of the fur itself.

Place the beard on the sock at the 4.5 inch mark, or halfway up the cone. Hot glue the beard to the sock.

Add the Nose

Hot glue a bead onto the beard as shown below. Note that the bead is only touching beard, not sock.

Make the Hat

Turn the patterned sock inside out. If sewing, pin a diagonal line as you see below, then sew along it and trim about 1/2 an inch away from the line you sewed. I used a serger here, but a regular sewing machine works just fine. Just set the stitch length a bit longer than normal and try not to stretch the sock as you sew.

Alternately, if you don’t want to sew, you can mark a diagonal line as you see below. Cut about 1/2 an inch to the right of it. Glue the right sides of the sock together along the cut line.

Put on the Hat

Turn the sock right side out, then place it over top of the cone as a hat. The sock will stick to the cone as you place it on, so it will take a minute to pull it on. Watch the video to see the easiest way to do this.

All that’s left is to decorate the hat as desired. I purchased a 50 cent sheet of craft foam and cut out hearts, which I then glued onto the hats. You can leave the hats as is and let them flop over to one side. Or you could use floral wire inside the hats to make them stand straight up or curl the tops, etc. You could even stuff the tops of the hats with polyfill if desired. I decided I like the hat best with a knot tied at the top. These little guys would make an adorable Valentine’s Day gift!

Looking for more Valentine’s Day fun? Visit these posts:

Raspberry Nutella Puff Pastry Heart

Printable Valentines for Kids

25 fun Valentine’s Day Treats

See all my Valentine’s Day projects here