Dollar Tree DIY Bat Gnome

I made this fun and fast dollar store DIY bat gnome in just 10 minutes. And he’s just so cute, I can’t help but squee.

Using a few of fun finds from the Dollar Tree and a sock, create a fun Halloween gnome that is not too spooky.

Horizontal image of a DIY bat gnome craft made with Dollar Tree supplies in front of a black lace and wood background.
I love how quick and easy making this 10-minute gnome! And it’s a dollar store bat gnome for halloween–so cool.

RELATED READING: The Best DIY Halloween Gnomes to Make

Dollar Store Bat Gnome

Here at Ruffles and Rain Boots, I love getting creative when it comes to making gnomes. One of the ways I like to stay creative is by giving myself the occasional challenge.

Get Secret Gnomes, Tips, & Freebies Delivered!

What is the best pattern to use when you don’t want to sew? Do you know the secrets to a properly-proportioned gnome? Do you know where to get the best-priced fur? 

Get all of this (and exclusive content just for you) delivered right to your inbox with the gnome-making series, free of charge. Sign up to get the once-weekly newsletter (and a jaw-dropping special offer)!

collage of diy gnomes teaching how to make a gnome with or without legs and with or without sewing

This challenge? Make a halloween gnome in 10 minutes or less from dollar store items ONLY. I felt like maybe this was too much but was able to pull it off with this awesome dollar store bat gnome!

He’s a fun little Halloween tomte and definitely one of the quickest. The best part? He was so super cheap, I’m pretty sure I could make a million of these and never break the bank! (Ok. maybe not a million, but SERIOUSLY!) If you’re ready to make a fun 10-minute gnome for Halloween, let’s get started.

Close up of a Dollar Tree vampire bat gnome DIY with a gray beard and purple wings and gnome hat.

RELATED READING: HOW TO MAKE A SOCK GNOME

No Time to Make This Vampire Gnome? Save or Share it for Later

Need to gather supplies? Save this to a favorite halloween crafts pin board or share it to Facebook. Either will make it easy to find when you’re ready to begin.

Easy halloween gnome with text which reads make this easy bat gnome in ten minutes.

As an Amazon Associate, I can earn from qualifying purchases. There could be affiliate links within this article.

Tips to Make a 10 Minute Gnome

  • To make a gnome, start by grabbing all of the supplies and having them at the ready.
  • For a gnome beard, we have only a couple of options at the Dollar Tree right now. I grabbed a furry pillow, but you can use a cotton mop, a stuffed animal’s fur, or even some raffia.
  • As I like to do, I made this little vampire gnome a completely no-sew pattern by relying on hot glue to make all the hems. If you wanted, you could certainly use a sewing machine.
  • If you can’t find one of the supplies, foam makes for good bat wings, fleece for a hat, and head to the craft store for a tiny snippet of fur.
easy bat gnome dollar store craft in 10 minutes

RELATED READING: Mummy Gnome DIY for Halloween

Please Save or Share This Bat Gnome DIY for Halloween

Your shares are how this site grows and I am sincerely grateful. Know a friend who’d like this? Please share it on Facebook or save it to your favorite dollar store crafts pin board.

Dollar store bat gnome with text which reads 10-minute dollar tree bat gnome.

More Dollar Store Gnome Crafts You Might Like

  • Dollar Store Sock Gnome with a Mop Beard – Alright, this was my first gnome made with solely dollar store materials (Dollar Tree, but I mean, you can reasonably find everything at any dollar store, I think) and I love him–he’s so perfect!
  • Dollar Store Gnome Wreath – This giant gnome face wreath is SO CUTE I love it so much and can’t wait for the holidays to put it out again this year.
  • Dollar Store Duster Wreath – Ok. There’s not a gnome on it YET. But that’s a big Y-E-T because it would be so easy to pop a little gnome or gnomette on this wreath.

How to Make a Dollar Tree Bat Gnome

Below is the written, step by step tutorial for this fun Halloween gnome DIY.  If you are a visual learner, follow along with the Dollar Store Bat Gnome video tutorial here.

Yield: 1 10 Minute Gnome for Halloween

Dollar Store Bat Gnome

easy bat gnome dollar store craft in 10 minutes

This dollar store bat gnome is wild. You're not going to find a faster, easier DIY halloween gnome. Heck, BUYING a bat gnome would probably take longer! Plus, this dollar store gnome is so inexpensive, it's definitely worth making.

Prep Time 5 minutes
Active Time 10 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Difficulty Easy
Estimated Cost $5

Materials

  • 1 Halloween Witch Hat
  • 1 Black Sock
  • 1 Furry Pillow
  • 1 Wooden Bead or Polymer Clay Bead
  • 1 Bat Headband
  • 1 - 2 cups Weighted Filler (I used poly beads, but you can use rice or beans or even the little dollar store rocks)
  • 1 Jar Lid, optional (this was an experiment on my part to make the bottom more flat--it worked, but it's absolutely optional)

Tools

  • Scissors
  • Hot Glue Gun & Glue

Instructions

  1. Start making your gnome body by stuffing the jar lid into the bottom of the gnome, flat side down, if you are using the lid. Then fill the sock toe with the weighted filler. Cut the pillow open and remove some of the stuffing, then add 2-3 cups of polyfill from the inside of the pillow to the sock to finish filling out the gnome body. You need tis gnome to be fairly tall to make room for the bat wings, so take this into consideration when filling the gnome, Tie the sock closed and cut off the excess sock fabric. Hot glue the knot of the sock closed.
  2. Cut off the upper 8-10 inches of the witch hat point. Test the fit on the top of the gnome body and pinch the hat together in the back to mark the width you want the hat to ultimately be.
  3. Add 1/2-inch to the estimated hat width and cut off the excess. Hot glue the remaining hat piece back together, creating a nice hem line by folding over the two cut edges over onto themselves then gluing them together.
  4. Fold the edge of the open end of the hat over onto itself toward the inside of the hat, hemming it in place in a nice neat line.
  5. Tuck the hat down over the body and make sure you like the fit. If the hat is falling over, or you want it to be more full, add polyfill to the hat before moving on. Do not glue the hat down yet.
  6. Cut out a small beard shape from the covering of the furry pillow. I tried my traditional method of beard cutting by using an exacto knife, but that didn't work, so I just used scissors and was careful not to cut the beard fibers. To determine how big to make my beard I simply laid the filled sock body over the fur and made a "U" shape that would leave fur just about 2/3 of the way down the sock so that the beard would be close to the bottom of the gnome.
  7. Hot glue the beard onto the gnome body, tucking the edges of the beard over onto itself to hide the edge, if necessary (I felt this was necessary mostly because I didn't like my cutting job with the scissors).
  8. Hot glue the nose onto the beard, about 1 inch below the top of the beard, parting the beard fur a bit so that the nose is well-affixed.
  9. Tuck the hat back down onto the gnome head and hot glue the brim in place over the nose with a cute wrinkle (the best part!). Pull the hat down low in the back and hot glue it in place.
  10. Cut the wings and ears off of the headband carefully, leaving a neat cut line on each element. You can discard the headband itself.
  11. Glue the wings on either side of the gnome body below the hat. Glue the ears on either side of the gnome body onto the hat so they look like they're poking through.
  12. And that's it--you can display your gnome because he's ready to go! photo collage of how to make a bat gnome

Notes

For more fun halloween gnome tutorials visit Ruffles and Rain Boots!

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Did you make this?

Please leave a comment or share a photo and tag me @rufflesandrain

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *