Free Crochet Christmas Gnome Pattern Amigurumi - Top Down Cone Hat Gnome

Easter tables and spring mantels gain height from a crochet gnome amigurumi, its tall blue cone hat and yellow butterflies rising above the eggs around it. Potted herbs on a kitchen windowsill frame a cone hat gnome nicely, which makes the figure an easy gardener's gift.

Requests for this crochet gnome amigurumi keep coming because the hat changes with the season. Butterflies now, snowflakes later. Makers line the gnome amigurumi up on a shelf and nobody stops at one. The beard hides the face, so there is no expression to get wrong. That is why the pattern keeps getting passed around.

Crochet Gnome Amigurumi

Butterflies in pale yellow are stitched flat onto the hat, three of them climbing the blue cone from brim to tip. The hat towers over the rest of the gnome, ending in a point that leans slightly forward, with a grey cord tied in a bow at the brim. Below it there is no face, just a round tan nose and a beard of long white strands falling straight to the base. Arms in yellow stick out at the sides, tan hands on the ends. The hat, body, nose, arms and butterflies all get made separately. Laying the beard strands evenly takes the most care.

Materials and Tools

• Medium weight number 4 yarn in your chosen hat and body colour
• White yarn for the beard
• 4.25 mm crochet hook
• Fiberfill stuffing
• Stitch marker
• Darning needle
• Scissors
• Optional: ribbon for decoration at the hat brim, contrasting yarn for butterfly embroidery

Abbreviations

• SC: single crochet
• INC: increase, work 2 SC into the same stitch
• DEC: decrease, invisible decrease recommended
• BLO: back loops only
• FLO: front loops only

Pieces List

• Hat and body: 1 continuous piece worked top to bottom
• Arms: 2, worked separately and attached at row 29
• Nose: 1, small stuffed tube sewn under the hat brim
• Beard: cut yarn strands attached by latch hook

Four elements. Have both arms ready before you reach row 29 of the body.

Approximate Size and Time

Estimates at medium weight yarn with a 4.25 mm hook.

• Finished height: approximately 8 to 12 inches
• Working time: approximately 4 to 6 hours
• Difficulty: confident beginner — the FLO brim round and the live arm attachment both require attention

The Pattern

Hat (Rows 1 to 27)

• Row 1: MR, 6 SC [6]
• Row 2: SC in each stitch around [6]
• Row 3: 2 SC, 2 inc, 2 SC [8]
• Row 4: SC in each stitch around [8]
• Row 5: 3 SC, 2 inc, 3 SC [10]
• Row 6: SC in each stitch around [10]
• Row 7: 4 SC, 2 inc, 4 SC [12]
• Row 8: SC in each stitch around [12]
• Row 9: 2 SC, inc, repeat around [16].
• Row 10: SC in each stitch around [16]
• Row 11: 3 SC, inc, repeat around [20]
• Row 12: SC in each stitch around [20]
• Row 13: 4 SC, inc, repeat around [24]

• Row 14: SC in each stitch around [24]
• Row 15: 5 SC, inc, repeat around [28]
• Row 16: SC in each stitch around [28]
• Row 17: 6 SC, inc, repeat around [32]
• Row 18: SC in each stitch around [32]
• Row 19: 7 SC, inc, repeat around [36]
• Row 20: SC in each stitch around [36]
• Row 21: SC in each stitch around [36]
• Row 22: SC in each stitch around [36]
• Row 23: SC in each stitch around [36]
• Row 24: SC in each stitch around [36]
• Row 25: Working in FLO only — 2 SC, inc, repeat around [48] Checkpoint: the FLO round creates a visible ridge on the outside of the hat where the brim begins. The brim should be flaring outward and the back loops of row 24 should still be visible and unworked — these are where the body will attach. If the brim is lying flat rather than flaring, check that row 25 was worked into front loops only, not full stitches. If the back loops are gone, the body cannot attach correctly.
• Row 26: SC in each stitch around [48]
• Row 27: SC in each stitch around [48]
• Sl st to level the edge and fasten off

If written amigurumi patterns feel like a lot right now, the video tutorial below is the easiest way to learn as you stitch!

Arms (Make 2)

• Row 1: MR, 8 SC [8]
• Row 2: SC in each stitch around [8]
• Row 3: SC in each stitch around [8]
• Row 4: SC in each stitch around [8]
• Change to body colour Note: the source pattern skips row 5 and continues from row 6 — see Pattern Note above.
• Row 6: SC in each stitch around [8]
• Row 7: SC in each stitch around [8]
• Row 8: SC in each stitch around [8]
• Row 9: SC in each stitch around [8]
• Row 10: SC in each stitch around [8] Checkpoint: a narrow tube in two colours — the hand section in the first colour and the sleeve section in the body colour. Both arms should match in total length before closing.
• Stuff the hand portion only, lightly
• Flatten the top of the arm
• Crochet 3 SC through both sides to close the arm flat

Body (Rows 28 to 44)

• Row 28: Attach yarn to the back loops of row 24 of the hat and work 36 SC around [36] Checkpoint: the body is now beginning to grow downward from inside the hat brim. The brim should be visible above the body join and the body should hang below the hat opening. If the body is growing outward rather than downward, the yarn was attached to the wrong loop.
• Row 29: 8 SC, then crochet 3 SC through both the first arm and the body simultaneously to attach the arm, 14 SC, then crochet 3 SC through both the second arm and the body to attach it, 8 SC
• Row 30: SC in each stitch around [36]
• Row 31: SC in each stitch around [36]
• Row 32: SC in each stitch around [36]
• Row 33: SC in each stitch around [36]
• Row 34: SC in each stitch around [36]
• Row 35: SC in each stitch around [36]
• Row 36: SC in each stitch around [36]
• Row 37: SC in each stitch around [36]
• Row 38: SC in each stitch around [36]
• Row 39: SC in each stitch around [36]
• Begin adding stuffing at this point, before the decrease rounds narrow the opening
• Row 40: 4 SC, invisible dec, repeat around [30]
• Row 41: 3 SC, dec, repeat around [24]
• Row 42: 2 SC, dec, repeat around [18]
• Row 43: 1 SC, dec, repeat around [12]
• Stuff the body firmly
• Row 44: 6 dec [6]
• Fasten off and secure

Nose

• Row 1: MR, 10 SC [10]
• Row 2: SC in each stitch around [10]
• Row 3: SC in each stitch around [10]
• Row 4: SC in each stitch around [10] Checkpoint: a short rounded tube — thicker than the arms and short. It should look like a stubby cylinder.
• Stuff lightly
• Sew the nose centred under the hat brim, positioned so it just peeks out below the brim edge

Beard

• Cut white yarn into strands approximately 7.5 inches long
• Fold each strand in half
• Attach folded strands under the nose and downward using a latch hook method, working until the beard is full enough to cover the front of the body
• Shape the beard so it falls evenly on both sides

Decorative Details

• Embroider small butterfly shapes on the hat using contrasting yarn if desired
• Tie a ribbon bow around the base of the hat where the brim begins if desired

Assembly

The main assembly steps happen during construction rather than after. What remains:

• Sew the nose under the brim before attaching the beard. The nose position determines where the beard sits — get the nose centred and at the right depth first.
• Pin the nose with a straight pin before sewing and step back to check it is centred horizontally and sitting just below the brim edge, not low on the body.
• Attach beard strands starting from just below the nose and working outward and downward. Density matters more than exact strand count — pull on the completed beard to check it is secure before trimming.
• Shape the hat so it tilts slightly forward over the nose. This is a physical adjustment after stuffing — hold the hat tip and ease it forward, then let the stuffed body settle into the new position.

Stuffing Guide

• Begin stuffing the body at row 39, before the decrease rounds close access.
• Add filling in small pinches through rows 40 to 43, pushing filling toward the base to keep the gnome sitting upright.
• The base needs to be firm — a soft base will tip.
• The nose takes only light stuffing. Overstuffing pushes it outward too aggressively and makes it harder to sew flat against the brim.
• Arms are stuffed in the hand section only. The sleeve section stays flat so the arm hangs naturally.
• Avoid overstuffing near the hat attachment point at row 28. Too much filling in the upper body can distort where the hat brim sits.

Toy Safety

This pattern has no safety eyes and no small safety hardware. The main concerns are the beard strands and the optional ribbon tie. Both should be attached firmly and tested by tugging before giving the toy to a child. If the gnome is for a young child, omit the ribbon entirely and trim the beard shorter so the strands cannot wrap around small fingers.

Frequently Asked Questions

• The hat brim is lying flat rather than flaring outward at row 25. Row 25 must be worked in front loops only — if it was worked through full stitches, the brim will not flair and the back loops needed for the body attachment will have been used up. The fix is to rework row 25 correctly. Unfortunately there is no shortcut — the brim and the body attachment depend on this row being worked as specified.
• One arm is sitting at a different angle than the other after row 29. The 3 SC attachment stitches lock the arm position permanently. Before working them, hold each arm flat against the body with the hand pointing downward and forward, and check from the front that both match. If they are already attached incorrectly, you can unpick those 6 attachment stitches carefully and reposition.
• The beard is pulling the nose downward after attaching the strands. The weight of dense yarn strands does pull on whatever they are attached to. Make sure the nose is sewn through multiple body stitches rather than a single anchor point, and that the knot is buried inside the nose stuffing. If it still pulls, reduce the density of the beard strands in the area directly below the nose.