A DIY Gnome Hat for Kids is No-Sew and Adorable

This adorable gnome hat was is one of the cutest things I’ve made my daughter when we put together the garden gnome costume. It’s a great DIY using basic craft supplies like felt and craft fur and doesn’t even require a sewing machine to put together!

This little gnome makes for a great Halloween costume or a pretend play session. Hand the kids the leftover felt scraps and they can make mushrooms, flowers, butterflies, and more.

Adorable child standing in a yard and dressed in a felt DIY gnome hat and gnome costume made for kids.
Make an easy, no-sew gnome hat from this ridiculously easy gnome hat pattern.

Gnome Hat for Kids

Here at Ruffles and Rain Boots, I have a little lot of love for all the little DIY gnomes in our home. But, none more deeply than for the little gnome who calls me “mom.” 

Yesterday, we made some fun gnome Rice Krispies treats for a dessert after a rainy playdate. When we started chatting about Halloween, this adorable gnome hat pattern was born and then I couldn’t stop… I also made the easiest no-sew gnome costume ever to go along with it.

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Need to gather supplies? Save this to a DIY costume pin board or share it on Facebook. It will make it easier to find when you’re ready to begin.

Vertical image of a child in a DIY gnome costume with cute gnome hat and beard with text overlay which reads easy gnome hat and costume for kids.

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Tips to Make this Gnome Hat Pattern

  • Large buttons add to the whimsy of this DIY gnome hat. Don’t use the ones you have in your sewing kit you’d put on real clothes. Get big, big ones; absurdly large buttons from thrift stores are great.
  • For a tattered and worn garden gnome hat or costume, add some felt patches to the hat – just glue them on.
  • This gnome hat pattern is not one-size-fits-all. If your child’s head is bigger than 20 or 21-inches around, you need to size up. If your child’s head is smaller than 18 to 19-inches around, size down. You can make it larger than what I share here and add elastic into the hat base for an adjustable hat.
  • If you want to change up the red felt for another color, most of the primary colors are available on the felt bolts at the craft store.
  • If you are interested in making the little shirt for the garden gnome costume, buy the felt at the same time.
Square image of a child dressed in a gnome hat and full garden gnome costume in a green yard.

How to Make this DIY Gnome Hat for Kids

Below is the written and printable tutorial. If you have any questions, please let me know in the comments section. Remember – the decorations are just a suggestion and I would love to see how you or the little ones decorate theirs.

Yield: 1 Gnome Hat

Gnome Hat for Kids

child dressed in a gnome hat and costume in a green yard how to make a gnome hat costume for kids

If you want to make a gnome hat as part of a fun garden gnome costume, this tutorial is no sew and done in no time.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Active Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes

Materials

  • ¼ yard red felt fabric
  • ¼ yard white faux fur fabric
  • Scrap beige felt fabric approximately 6-inches by 6-inches
  • Scrap anything fabric (for stuffing the nose)
  • 1 container fabric glue
  • 2 buttons

Tools

  • Needle & red thread
  • Pins to hold fabric in place while glue dries
  • Scissors
  • Exacto knife

Instructions

  1. Trim the red felt fabric to a rectangle of 19-inches by 18-inches.
  2. Roll the 18-inch long side, making it tight on one end and looser on the other, leaving one side ½ as large as your child’s head (my child's head was 20-inches, so I left that side at 10-inches). Do not worry about the bottom as you will be trimming this straight.
  3. Glue the loose end flat to the body of the hat and pin in place.photo collage of how to make a gnome hat
  4. Trim the loose ends at the opening off in a straight line while the hat is laying flat on the table. That will not create a straight line around the child's head and this is intentional as those lower areas are where the beard will attach.
  5. Sew buttons onto the seam where it joins with the hat. Set aside to allow the glue to dry.photo collage of how to make a gnome hat
  6. Lay-out white faux fur fabric with the fur face-down on the table and draw the shape of the beard you want. I kept the width at 10-inches and the length at 13-inches. I drew a shape that was pointy on one end and mostly flat on the other with a notch up for the nose to attach.
  7. Cut the faux fur fabric with the Exacto knife, being careful not to cut the fur, just the fabric. Set beard aside.
  8. Make the nose by placing the random scrap fabric in the center of the beige felt scrap and folding the corners to the center of the bunch. Keep folding the corners until you have a ball-ish shape. Pin this in place. Using the needle and thread, stitch the corners in place on the back of the nose and remove the pins. Conversely, if you have a circle of fabric, create a running stitch along the outside, pull taught, and stuff with fill.
  9. Sew or glue the nose onto the center flat part of the beard. To keep the nose standing up on your child’s face, be sure to sew toward the top of the nose, as opposed to the center of the nose.
  10. Sew or glue each end of the flat side of the beard to the longer parts of the hat’s opening. Remove pins from the hat.photo collage of how to make a gnome hat with nose

Notes

For more fun gnome crafts and ideas, visit RufflesandRainBoots.com

Did you make this?

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

More DIY Gnome Crafts and Ideas You Might Like

  • DIY Gnome Costume for Kids – Once you’ve figured out how to make a gnome hat, there’s no reason not to take it all the way to the bank and just go ahead and outfit the kid from head-to-toe in gnomish.
  • Gnome Rice Krispies Treats – Remember that garden gnome party you weren’t planning but now you’re throwing for your adorably-decked-out-gnome? You’re going to need snacks.
  • Gnome Paper Plate Craft – Let the littles ones get creative on a rainy day with this easy to set up craft.
  • Garden Gnome Costume for Kids – Kimberly outdid herself with this adorable jacket she made for her son using a t-shirt.

Please Save or Share This

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

A vertical photo collage of the process to make a gnome hat without a sewing machine.

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