St. Patrick’s Day Gnomes for Lucky Decor

Learn how to make the cutest St. Patrick’s Day gnomes to accent your seasonal decor! These are such an easy project that is great for kids or adults.

Skills Required: Beginner. Even if you’ve never crafted before, you can easily make a gnome using a paper cone. You’ll be doing some cutting (using templates), painting, and attaching things using adhesive.

I’ll admit it – we’re wild about making gnomes around here. I mean I’ve done them for every major holiday including Valentine’s Day, Christmas, and Thanksgiving. And it’s not like that’s going to be the end of it.

I’m determined to bring gnomes into every holiday. And why wouldn’t I? They are so easy to make, and all you have to do is customize the hat fabric and beard color.

And along those lines, I’m excited to share my St. Patty gnomes. And I’ve named them: Seamus and Liam O’ Toole.

They’re brothers, in case you’re wondering.

Seamus is the leprechaun gnome, and Liam is his twin brother who prefers a plaid hat. As I said, they are very easy to make, and they look great on a holiday mantle.

I’m hoping that you want to make my St. Patrick’s Day gnomes too, and I’m going to show you how below.

How to Make Gnomes

You can make one of these in six simple steps! You’re going to make the template, then set aside and paint the cone. You’ll cut out the hat fabric. Then you’ll attach the fabric, the beard, and the nose.

Most of the steps go relatively quickly. Before we dive into the process, I’ve got a few frequently asked questions for you. If you want the FAQs, check them out, otherwise the tutorial is at the bottom.

What do gnomes represent?

Why gnomes? They symbolize protection, good luck, longevity, hard work, mischief, and playfulness (source). All those things sound cool to me! Usually you see them in the garden, but I decided to bring them indoors.

Cones to Use

The paper mache cones for my base can be found here. They are 10.63 x 4″. The template I made works for this size cone, but I’m sure you can alter it easily for other sizes.

I prefer the look of the paper mache, but you can also use foam cones. To be honest, they are a little bit cheaper and more readily available. I’m just a paper mache girl for whatever reason (and you can stack them).

Material for Beards

I used faux fur for the beards, though some people use felt, yarn, or even pieces a cut up dollar store mop head. There are a few options – I do like the faux fur the best, plus it comes in a bunch of different colors. I feel like the red really makes my project!

How to Attach Fabric

Spray adhesive works well to attach the fabric, but you could probably use a thin layer of Mod Podge. If you use anything liquid, just be careful that your hat fabric isn’t too thin (I used flannel). Otherwise, a glue can seep through and make dark spots on the fabric.

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Are you ready to learn how to make these St. Patty’s Day gnomes? Here we go!

Gather These Supplies

• Paper mache cones – 2
• Cone template
• Beard template
• Wood beads – 2 (5/8″)
• Acrylic paint – skin tone of your choice
• Flannel fabric – enough to cover the cone
• Black felt – one sheet
• Gold glitter foam – small piece
• Faux fur pieces
• Paper to print template
• Paintbrushes
• Spray adhesive
• Sharpie or pen
• Painter’s tape
• Sandpaper
• Scissors
• Hot glue gun

Cut Out the Hat Fabric

You’ll first want to create a template you’ll use to make your St. Patrick gnome, and you’ll want to hold onto this template. You can use it anytime you want to make additional gnomes! Remember mine fits the 10.63 x 4″ cones.

Print it out (poster setting, full size, it should take four pieces of paper). You’ll then cut it out on the outside red line and piece together with tape.

Save the scraps from cutting it out – don’t crumple the paper. You’ll see why.

Before you go any further, test the template for fit! You don’t want to move onto the next step if it doesn’t cover the cone.

Now here’s why you need the scraps. If you think about your gnome, the fabric isn’t going to cover the entire hat. There will be a portion at the bottom that is painted “skin tone” and beard.

The large scrap piece that you cut off the bottom at the widest part of the curve? You’re going to use it to draw a line about 1 3/4″ from the bottom of your template! Turns out the cut scrap makes a perfect curved line for you to trace.

Now cut the bottom portion off your template on the line you just traced using the scissors.

Do another test fit on your cone, just to be sure. Set the template aside for the moment.

Paint the Cone

Choose your skin tone paint color. You can go with any flesh tone you like, and paint the nose too.

Paint the entire bottom third of the cone with a few coats of paint and let dry.

Set the cone aside so you can make some gnome hats.

Cut Out the Hat Fabric

Place your fabric down on a cutting surface and place the template on top.

I used a cutting wheel to just zip around the template. You can use a craft knife, or trace the template and cut with scissors. It was easy to grabbing the cutting wheel so I did.

Here’s the hat fabric, ready to go on!

Attach the Hat Fabric

The skin tone paint needs to be completely dry for the next step. Cover the bottom portion of the cone with painter’s tape. The reason for this is so that you don’t spray the “skin” with spray adhesive. You want it on the cone only.

Cover with painter’s tape, overlapping as shown. I suppose you could also spray the fabric piece, but I didn’t really have anywhere to place the fabric down and spray down onto it. So this was easier for me!

The next step is to spray the cone, quickly apply the fabric, and wrap around to secure.

Note: use spray adhesive in a well ventilated area and check safety information if you are sensitive (you might want to use a mask).

Smooth down the hat and let dry.

Attach the Beard

Gather your beard making supplies, including the template.

Trace the template on the back of the faux fur (color of your choice). Then you’re going to cut out.

NOTE: Don’t just cut through the faux fur because you’ll end up cutting off a lot of the beard fur. Pull the fur forward and away from the back of the fabric when cutting.

Place a bead of hot glue on the back of the beard piece, then press down onto the cone.

Add the Nose

Use 5/8″ wood beads. It’s easy to sand a small portion of the bead flat with a piece of sandpaper, so it can sit flush when you glue it.

The last step is to attach the nose with a dab of hot glue. Put it right in the center where the hat meets the beard.

NOW – if you want to make Seamus the leprechaun gnome, there are a few additional steps. You need to cut a black felt band, a small gold glitter foam buckle, and a black felt piece to glue inside of it.

Use green flannel as shown, and glue everything down to make the band. It’s really easy!

Get the printable how to card below.

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If you try these St Patty gnomes, I’d love to hear what you think about them in the comments. You’re going to love these other ideas too:

• St. Patrick’s Day Deco Mesh Wreath
• DIY Gnome Ornaments For an Adorable Christmas
• Fall Gnomes to Decorate Your Autumn Home
• Gnome Bookends in the Cutest Woodland Theme