Fall For This Quirky DIY Pumpkin Gnome

Our no-carve pumpkin gnome is an easy fall DIY that is quick to assemble and sure to add a touch of whimsy to your autumn decor.

A no-carve pumpkin gnome with yarn eyebrows and beard and plaid hat

No-Carve Pumpkin Gnome With Yarn Beard and Cone Hat on a Side Table

This easy no-carve pumpkin gnome is a quick DIY using craft supplies you already have on hand. The eyebrows and beard are made with yarn, and the hat is a floral cone wrapped in scrap fabric. The nose is a wooden beard. The gnome pumpkin is perfect indoor decor that you can make as large or as small as you want.

Photo by: Sarah Busby

Sarah Busby

By: Marianne Canada and Beth Braden

Follow Marianne on:

Show: HGTV Handmade

Related To:

Autumn weather and crunchy leaves go hand in hand with cottagecore, gnomes and toadstools. This adorable fall-themed gnome has a pumpkin body, a wooden bead nose and a floral cone hat. Note that the pumpkin for this project is tall and slim instead of short and wide. Choose a pumpkin that will leave you enough space for the eyebrows, nose and beard.

60+ No-Carve Halloween Pumpkin Ideas 64 Photos

From ghoulish to glam, we have a pumpkin decorating project for everyone — no carving tools required.

Materials + Tools

pumpkin
floral cone
wooden bead
yarn
scissors

low-temp hot glue gun + glue sticks
felt or fabric scrap
wood disc
craft knife

Supplies for the no-carve pumpkin gnome craft arranged on a table

Materials Needed For No-Carve Pumpkin Gnome Craft

This easy fall DIY comes together quickly with craft supplies you probably already have. A floral cone glued to the top of the pumpkin gives the gnome hat its shape, and yarn serves as the eyebrows and beard. The pumpkin gnome is the perfect fall decoration.

Photo by: Sarah Busby

Sarah Busby

1. Prep the Pumpkin

First, carefully remove the pumpkin stem so you will have a mostly level surface for the hat (Image 1). Next, attach the nose by hot-gluing the wooden bead in the center of the pumpkin about two-thirds up from the bottom (Image 2). Then, hot-glue the floral cone to the top of the pumpkin (Image 3 + 4).

Removing the pumpkin stem is the first step of making a no-carve pumpkin gnome. With the stem gone, the floral cone — which serves as the support for the hat — can be glued to the top of the pumpkin. The floral cone can be wrapped in your choice of fabric to customize the gnome's hat.

Sarah Busby

This simple fall DIY is fast and beginner-friendly. A wooden bead serves as the nose for the pumpkin gnome, and yarn adds the eyebrows and beard. Fully customize this autumn decor by changing the size of the pumpkin, color of yarn, or size of the bead.

Sarah Busby

The hat for the no-carve pumpkin gnome is made by gluing a floral cone onto the top of a pumpkin and then wrapping the cone with fabric of your choice.

Sarah Busby

There's no carving required for this easy pumpkin gnome. The hat is fashioned out of a floral cone wrapped in fabric while a wooden bead serves as the nose and yarn stands in for eyebrows and a beard. This project comes together with craft supplies you probably have on hand.

Sarah Busby

Removing a Stem From a Pumpkin to Make A No-Carve Pumpkin Gnome

Removing the pumpkin stem is the first step of making a no-carve pumpkin gnome. With the stem gone, the floral cone — which serves as the support for the hat — can be glued to the top of the pumpkin. The floral cone can be wrapped in your choice of fabric to customize the gnome's hat.

Photo By: Sarah Busby

Preparing a Pumpkin For a No-Carve Autumn Decoration

This simple fall DIY is fast and beginner-friendly. A wooden bead serves as the nose for the pumpkin gnome, and yarn adds the eyebrows and beard. Fully customize this autumn decor by changing the size of the pumpkin, color of yarn, or size of the bead.

Photo By: Sarah Busby

Applying Hot Glue To Attach a Floral Cone To the No-Carve Pumpkin Gnome Craft Project

The hat for the no-carve pumpkin gnome is made by gluing a floral cone onto the top of a pumpkin and then wrapping the cone with fabric of your choice.

Photo By: Sarah Busby

Attaching the Floral Cone to the DIY Pumpkin Gnome

There's no carving required for this easy pumpkin gnome. The hat is fashioned out of a floral cone wrapped in fabric while a wooden bead serves as the nose and yarn stands in for eyebrows and a beard. This project comes together with craft supplies you probably have on hand.

Photo By: Sarah Busby

2. Make the Eyebrows

Yarn serves as the eyebrows and beard for the gnome. To make the eyebrows, loosely wrap the yarn around four of your fingers in a loop. Once you have enough yarn (it’s totally subjective and completely up to you) to make bushy eyebrows, cut the yarn’s tail to sever it from the skein (Image 1 + 2). Slide the yarn off your hand and onto your work surface. Cut a few more inches of yarn from the skein and tie it around the center of the yarn pile to serve as the divider between the eyebrows (Image 3).

Tie more yarn about half an inch from the end of the yarn bundle. Trim the closed loops at each end of the yarn bundle to fringe the ends and give the eyebrows a bushy look (Image 4). Once you’re satisfied with the eyebrows, hot-glue the eyebrow piece between the wooden bead and the top of the pumpkin (Image 5).

Yarn eyebrows for the no-carve pumpkin gnome project are made by loosely winding yarn around four fingers into a thick loop before securing the bundle with a yarn tie in the center and on each side. Hot glue secures the eyebrows to the gnome just above the wooden bead.

Sarah Busby

Yarn eyebrows for the no-carve pumpkin gnome project are made by loosely winding yarn around four fingers into a thick loop. The bundle is secured in the center and on each end by tying more yarn around the bundle. Hot glue attaches the eyebrows to the gnome just above the wooden bead.

Sarah Busby

The yarn eyebrows for the DIY pumpkin gnome are made with a bundle of looped yarn secured with three ties — one in the center and one on each end. The eyebrows for this easy fall craft project are hot glued to the pumpkin just above the wooden bead nose.

Sarah Busby

Gnome Pumpkin: Create the Eyebrows

Yarn eyebrows for the no-carve pumpkin gnome project are made by loosely winding yarn around four fingers into a thick loop before securing the bundle with a yarn tie in the center and on each side. Hot glue secures the eyebrows to the gnome just above the wooden bead.

Photo By: Sarah Busby

Gnome Pumpkin: Create the Eyebrows

Photo By: Sarah Busby

Gnome Pumpkin: Create the Eyebrows

Yarn eyebrows for the no-carve pumpkin gnome project are made by loosely winding yarn around four fingers into a thick loop. The bundle is secured in the center and on each end by tying more yarn around the bundle. Hot glue attaches the eyebrows to the gnome just above the wooden bead.

Photo By: Sarah Busby

Gnome Pumpkin: Create the Eyebrows

Photo By: Sarah Busby

Gnome Pumpkin: Create the Eyebrows

The yarn eyebrows for the DIY pumpkin gnome are made with a bundle of looped yarn secured with three ties — one in the center and one on each end. The eyebrows for this easy fall craft project are hot glued to the pumpkin just above the wooden bead nose.

Photo By: Sarah Busby

3. Make a Tassel Beard

Like the eyebrows, begin the beard by loosely wrapping yarn around four of your fingers in a loop (Image 1). Once you have enough yarn, cut the yarn’s tail to sever it from the skein and slide the yarn off your hand and onto your work surface. Cut a few more inches of yarn from the skein and thread it through the center of the yarn bundle and tie it off. Pick the bundle up by the knot you just made. Using scissors, carefully cut through the yarn so that the beard pieces hang long and free on each side of the knot (Image 2).

Apply hot glue just under the wooden bead nose and press the knot in the center of the beard strands into the glue. You may need to use some more glue around the nose to make the beard spread out a bit wider for the full gnome effect (Image 3).

Once the beard is secured, take another few inches of yarn and tie them around the hanging beard ends. Trim the ends and fluff the beard (Image 4 + 5).

The no-carve pumpkin gnome's bushy beard is made by looping a large bundle of yarn around your hand until it's a large bundle that is secured by tying it off at the top and the bottom. The beard is glued to the pumpkin just below the wooden nose. The look can be customized with different colors of yarn.

Sarah Busby

The yarn beard is made by winding a large amount of yarn around your hand and then tying another piece of yarn around the center of the bundle. Opposite the tie, scissors are used to cut through the loops and leave yarn tails hanging on each side of the tie.

Sarah Busby

The gnome pumpkin's yarn beard is secured to the pumpkin by using a generous amount of hot glue. Attaching the beard is the last step of creating the DIY gnome's face before moving on to the final two steps — finishing the hat and attaching the pumpkin to the wooden base.

Sarah Busby

The no-carve pumpkin gnome has a yarn beard secured to the pumpkin by hot glue. Once the yarn beard is attached to the pumpkin, tie the bottom of the beard off with a piece of yarn and trim the tails. This is the final step in creating the gnome's face before moving on to make the hat.

Sarah Busby

Applying the no-carve pumpkin gnome's beard is the final step of creating the face before moving on to create the hat. The yarn beard is attached to the pumpkin with hot glue, and this step completes the DIY gnome's face. Customize the look by choosing different beard colors.

Sarah Busby

Gnome Pumpkin: Create the Beard

The no-carve pumpkin gnome's bushy beard is made by looping a large bundle of yarn around your hand until it's a large bundle that is secured by tying it off at the top and the bottom. The beard is glued to the pumpkin just below the wooden nose. The look can be customized with different colors of yarn.

Photo By: Sarah Busby

Gnome Pumpkin: Create the Beard

The yarn beard is made by winding a large amount of yarn around your hand and then tying another piece of yarn around the center of the bundle. Opposite the tie, scissors are used to cut through the loops and leave yarn tails hanging on each side of the tie.

Photo By: Sarah Busby

Gnome Pumpkin: Create the Beard

The gnome pumpkin's yarn beard is secured to the pumpkin by using a generous amount of hot glue. Attaching the beard is the last step of creating the DIY gnome's face before moving on to the final two steps — finishing the hat and attaching the pumpkin to the wooden base.

Photo By: Sarah Busby

Gnome Pumpkin: Create the Beard

The no-carve pumpkin gnome has a yarn beard secured to the pumpkin by hot glue. Once the yarn beard is attached to the pumpkin, tie the bottom of the beard off with a piece of yarn and trim the tails. This is the final step in creating the gnome's face before moving on to make the hat.

Photo By: Sarah Busby

Gnome Pumpkin: Make the Beard

Applying the no-carve pumpkin gnome's beard is the final step of creating the face before moving on to create the hat. The yarn beard is attached to the pumpkin with hot glue, and this step completes the DIY gnome's face. Customize the look by choosing different beard colors.

Photo By: Sarah Busby

4. Wrap the Felt Around the Floral Cone

With a long side of the rectangle felt piece parallel to the gnome’s eyebrows, wrap the felt around the floral cone (Image 1). Trim the excess felt off leaving about 2 inches of overlap (Image 2). Use two lines of hot glue about an inch apart to secure the felt to the cone (Image 3 + 4).

The no-carve pumpkin gnome's hat is created by wrapping fabric around a floral cone and securing it with two strips of hot glue. Customize your gnome by selecting your favorite fabric print for the hat and different colors for the yarn eyebrows and beard.

Sarah Busby

The no-carve pumpkin gnome's hat is created by wrapping fabric around a floral cone, trimming the excess and securing it with two strips of hot glue. Customize your gnome by selecting your favorite fabric print for the hat and different colors for the yarn eyebrows and beard.

Sarah Busby

Gnome Pumpkin: Create the Hat

The no-carve pumpkin gnome's hat is created by wrapping fabric around a floral cone and securing it with two strips of hot glue. Customize your gnome by selecting your favorite fabric print for the hat and different colors for the yarn eyebrows and beard.

Photo By: Sarah Busby

Gnome Pumpkin: Create the Hat

The no-carve pumpkin gnome's hat is created by wrapping fabric around a floral cone, trimming the excess and securing it with two strips of hot glue. Customize your gnome by selecting your favorite fabric print for the hat and different colors for the yarn eyebrows and beard.

Photo By: Sarah Busby

Gnome Pumpkin: Make the Hat

Photo By: Sarah Busby

Gnome Pumpkin: Create the Hat

Photo By: Sarah Busby

5. Attach the Pumpkin to the Wood Disc

Dispense a generous circle of hot glue onto the wooden disc and press the pumpkin into it. Allow it to dry (Image 1 + 2).

A wooden disk serves as the base for the no-carve gnome pumpkin. After the face and hat are complete, the pumpkin is glued to the disk. Customize the pumpkin gnome by changing the hat fabric or the yarn color, or consider painting or staining the wooden disk.

Sarah Busby

Gnome Pumpkin: Attach to the Base

A wooden disk serves as the base for the no-carve gnome pumpkin. After the face and hat are complete, the pumpkin is glued to the disk. Customize the pumpkin gnome by changing the hat fabric or the yarn color, or consider painting or staining the wooden disk.

Photo By: Sarah Busby

Gnome Pumpkin: Attach to the Base

Photo By: Sarah Busby

6. Display and Accept Compliments

Pumpkin gnomes look great on side tables, bookshelves, mantels or in centerpieces. Want to go for a different look or create a whole gnome family? Customize it by switching up the yarn color, fabric pattern or size of the pumpkin.

A complete pumpkin gnome sits on a side table in a living room

No-Carve Pumpkin Gnome on Display

A no-carve pumpkin gnome is a great fall accessory and a fast, easy decoration. Gnome pumpkins look great on side tables, bookshelves, mantels or in centerpieces. Customize the pumpkin gnome by changing the hat fabric or the yarn color, or consider painting or staining the wooden disk.

Photo by: Sarah Busby

Sarah Busby

Gnome DIYs

DIY Garden Gnome Halloween Costume

No costume ideas? "Gnome" problem. With a few common craft items and some everyday clothing pieces, you can quickly transform yourself and your plus one into the perfect garden-guarding pair.

Make Festive Tomato Cage Yard Gnomes for Christmas

Add whimsy and cheer to your holiday decor by creating no-sew, larger-than-life gnomes out of tomato cages.

Loading Video...

No-Carve Pumpkin Ideas

09:24

Turn ordinary pumpkins into fall masterpieces without the goo and mess of carving. Whether it's for Halloween decorating or adding seasonal flair to your Thanksgiving table, try these no-carve pumpkin craft projects that use everything from paint to temporary tattoos.