Crochet Christmas Gnomes

I decided yesterday, it was time to pack away the owls that have been perched on our end table since early October, and replace them with something a little more wintry.

Actually, first I considered just crocheting each owl a little Christmas cap, and leaving them be.  But, then I decided it would be just about as easy to modify their pattern slightly to make Christmas gnomes instead.

You can find the original owl pattern back a few posts by clicking here.  To make gnomes instead of owls:

• Change colors and crochet the first row of the decrease in the outside of the stitches of the previous row.
• Leave the point up, instead of folding it over.
• Add a nose (make a loop,  and crochet three or four stitches into it, leaving a long tail on both ends for sewing it on) just below the hat line.
• Tie individual pieces of yarn below the hat and nose, fray and trim into a beard.
• Thread a darning needle with a long length of the hat color, and whip stitch around the brim of the hat to give it a little more definition.

Traditionally, Christmas gnomes should be dressed in red, or possibly gray.  I used green for the bodies - choosing similar colors to our owls.  I like the green, but it does give the gnomes a little bit of an unintentional Pa Grape vibe.