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Pete the Party Gnome | Sewing Pattern With Photo Tutorial

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Make Debbie Shore’s felt gnome – a cute DIY sewing pattern designed to be a special birthday gift.

Pete is a birthday gnome who loves to bring gifts and balloons to the celebrations, and beneath the beard you can imagine his big 'Happy Birthday' smile! I’ve decorated the balloons with wooden advent calendar numbers, although felt numbers and letters could also be used, or you could write a greeting with fabric pens to make the message really personal. I’ve also added templates for a star and heart, if you’d prefer to use those.

You can also make up more parcels, add a bell to the end of the hat or even add a few felt flowers, making Pete as pretty as you like!

Although I’ve made my gonk project in earthy colours, he also looks fabulous in brights. The hat and balloons work best in felt but the rest of the gnome could be made from your favourite cotton fabric, if you prefer.

To weight the gnome, I’ve used recycled plastic pellets, but a few small pebbles, glass beads or even rice could be used.

Note: Use a ¼in (5mm) seam allowance.

Finished size: 10 x 9 x 4in (25.5 x 23 x 10cm)

WARNING: Pete is not meant to be a toy and should be kept away from small children.

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You will need:

Equipment

• Sewing machine
• Iron
• Fabric shears
• Hand-sewing needle
• Hot-glue gun
• Optional: fabric glue or wet glue

Materials

Gather:

• 12 x 11in (30 x 28cm) of felt, for the hat
• 12 x 10in (30 x 25.5cm) of felt, for the body, body base and arms
• 4 x 4in (10 x 10cm) of peach felt, for the nose
• 7 x 6in (18 x 15cm) of faux fur, for the beard
• 7 x 2½in (18 x 6.5cm) of felt, for the hands
• 6 x 3in (15 x 7.5cm) of felt, for the large parcel
• 4 x 2½in (10 x 6.5cm) of felt, for the small parcel
• Two 8 x 4in (20 x 10cm) pieces of felt in different colours, for the balloons
• Strong thread, to match the hat fabric
• Two wooden skewers, for the balloon supports
• Toy filler
• Weighted plastic beads, pellets, rice or other items suitable for making weighted toys  – I used recycled plastic pellets 
• 2½ x 2½in (6.5 x 6.5cm) of green felt for the leaves
• Approx. 40in (101.5cm) of string or narrow ribbon to use as ties for the parcels and balloons
• Blusher for the nose, and an alcohol pen to make freckles
• Decorations for the balloons, such as advent-calendar numbers
• Optional: felt pens, to colour the skewers to match the balloons

Cut:

• Cut out all of your pattern pieces except the arms and hands.
• Also cut a rectangle 12 x 7in (30 x 18in) for the body, and two pieces from body felt each measuring 3 x 3in (7.5 x 7.5cm) for the arms.
• When cutting the beard, cut from the back, making small snips in the fabric to avoid cutting the fur, and check the nape of the fur before cutting to be sure that the hair will hang down on the beard.
• The star and heart are optional decorations for the balloons, and the holly is an alternative to the standard leaves for a Christmas gnome.

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