I have a box of pinecones that my mother-in-law gave me years ago. If you were going to harvest your own pinecones, you should bake them to kill off any critters and dry out the sap. Most articles I have read say 200° for at least 20 min.
Most of the cones I have are the hard sturdy variety but I do have some longer lighter ones.
I have seen quite a few Christmas gnome ornaments made with a pinecone so I thought I would give some a try.
Materials
pine cone
fabric or felt
scissors
hot glue gun
3 pipe cleaners
faux fur
wooden bead/marble/acorn/pebble (nose)
cotton batting
cord or string
The first thing to do is choose a piece of scrap fabric for a hat. I decided to use some pajama bottoms that had no more elastic in the waist from too much time in the dryer. Whatever you use, it should be a rectangle double the length of your pinecone and add 1 inch to how much material you need to wrap around it at its widest part. Plaid is great because you can cut fairly straight by just following the lines. The leg hem makes for a nice hat brim so I left it on.
Fold the piece of material in half with the wrong side of the fabric out. I cut first then flipped it over so that works too.
You want to then cut a diagonal line from the open side, about halfway up the pinecone to the top of the fold. Use a hot glue gun to glue all along the cut edge but not the bottom edge where the leg hem is as it is the hat opening. Set it aside to dry.
Next you need to cut the beard. I like to cut my faux fur so it hangs from the mid point of the pinecone. Just use enough to wrap around the sides but not the back. Hot glue the beard into place.
For this gnome I chose an acorn without a cap for the nose.
I glued it on sideways knowing the hat would cover the tip and base of the acorn.
To give your hat some support and make it stand up and/or bend, you need to add pipe cleaners. Glue three pipe cleaners spread around the pine cone.
Turn your hat right side out carefully using pliers or tweezers to pull the tip through. Lay your hat beside the pinecone where it would sit on your gnome. Bend the pipe cleaners about an inch from the top of the hat.
You need to add something above the nose to fill out the hat brim. I used some cotton batting that I squished into a sausage shape and glued on. Felt might also work if doubled up or poly foam sheets you sometimes get in packages.
Put the hat over the pipe cleaners and batting then glue into place. The glued seam of the hat should be in the back. Glue the back of the hat on first then around the nose. Finish by gluing the rest of the brim.
This type of pinecone can only really be used as an ornament unless it can lean against something. Tie a matching string or twine around the bend of the hat and make a hanging loop.
For my first pinecone gnome, I had used one of the hard flat bottomed pinecones. I used a pair of Christmas leggings that had a twisted waist elastic for the hat. The nose, one of those beads that has a face drawn on one side. I prefer these pinecones as they can sit nicely on a desk or mantle OR they can be used as a hanging ornament.
Here are my gnomes sitting on a blanket ladder wrapped in scrap fabric garland with lights.
The third gnome is made with a styrofoam cone wrapped in the ankle part of a sock. I made the hat from another pair of plaid pj’s and formed in a similar fashion but without the pipe cleaners. This time I used a green shiny marble for the nose and a plastic light bulb to the tip of the hat.
Having all the materials on hand, these gnomes were really quick and easy to make.
They make a cute addition to any Christmas decor.
Cute!