My little garden gnomes.

I knew back in late August/early September that I was going to create gnome costumes for the boys.
I wanted something that was basically like regular clothes, but also warm, and non-cumbersome.
The only thing I thought they would have issue with was the hat and beard, but they both did super-great and didn’t try to take them off at all!
I was so proud.

In my head, I knew what gnomes looked like. Heck, I watch the Amazing Race which is sponsored by Travelocity, so without fail I see that little gnome mascot every Sunday night!
To get a specific idea though, I just googled my way through many, many images of gnomes on the web.
You would not believe how many variations!
So I kind of settled on doing a hybrid of these two guys:

I liked the colors of the second guy, but the vest type top of the first dude.
Since I was sewing everything, I knew a sleeveless tunic was way more desirable and much faster than trying to add sleeves.
With a belt, I thought it achieved exactly the look I was going for.

The hat was loosely based on the woodland elf hat in Bend The Rules Sewing. (I love that book!)

Once I had the hat down, I tackled the belt and then beard. The belt was easy, I was happy that I had picked up some goldtone buckles from the fabric store, it definitely added to the overall look.

The beard proved to be a bit more challenging, if only because I wanted something that wasn’t going to be too annoying to the boys (like cotton-y strands and threads in the mouth) but still have a look that was full and reminiscent of a fluffy beard.
I thought I was simply going to do graduating layers of white felt.
But as I was starting it, it seemed too flat and two-dimensional for facial hair.
I got inspired at the last moment. I started thinking, loops, loops, loops.
So I started cutting strips and sewing them on in lines and a bit of layering.
I LOVED the way it turned out.
It gave it this interesting, modern, clean look while still looking like a obvious representation of a beard.
The process was quite enjoyable to partake in.
I felt proud!