Year of Gnomes 2025: January

This year, I’ve decided to take part in the Year of Gnomes 2025! This is a knitalong, created by Imagined Landscapes (Sarah Schira), where you make a gnome a month for the whole of 2025! I’ve actually… never made one of these gnomes before, so deciding to take part was a slightly rogue decision on my part, but you know when you just know something is going to become a bit of an obsession for you? That was the knitted gnome world for me.

And, after making my first ever gnome, I can tell you: boy, was I right!

Let me introduce you, then, to my January gnome: Gnorri the First.

Gnorri the First has perpetually chilly hands, so his pockets come in, well, handy. He can be a little grumpy and prefers gnot to speak too much (he’s more of a grunter), but you’ll see his wild side if you ever take him line dancing— he loves a good ol’ hoedown throwdown!

Table of Contents

Choosing January’s Gnome

For my January gnome, I wanted to keep things relatively simple. I have the The Gnomes of Grimblewood book (or the Gnome Bible, as I like to think of it), which is written by Sarah Schira (the mastermind behind Imagined Landscapes) and features 8 different gnome patterns (though the elements of the gnomes can be mixed and matched to your heart’s content!), so I decided to pick a gnome from the book to make this month.

At first, I planned to make Gnolan the Swirly Gnome, because I very much enjoy his Santa Claus/wizard-esque vibe, but, ultimately, I decided to start with something a little more straightforward, just to ease myself into the gnome-making process. Enter: Gnorri the Pocket-Beard Gnome. I think the beard pockets are SO cute and Gnorri‘s basic, gnome body seemed pretty simple, so he felt like the perfect starting point.

The Yarn

After many years of knitting, my mum has acquired a multitude of leftover yarn, particularly in the fingering weight category. I’m viewing this Year of Gnomes as a stash-busting project for those yarn scraps, so I won’t be buying any new yarns for this knitalong (she says, hopefully). Unfortunately, that does mean I have no idea what brands/shades any of the yarns are, but I guess that’s just part of the fun?

So, I went yarn-diving, hoping to find the perfect combination of yarns for Gnorri the First. After much deliberation, I settled on a slightly moody, autumnal colour palette: a auburn-y, coppery brown for the hat/pockets, a variegated charcoal grey for the body and a plain ol’, natural, cream-y white shade for the beard, nose and hands.

I used the recommended needle sizes for my fingering weight yarn (2.25mm and 2.50mm). I opted to make this gnome using the magic loop method, so I used circular needles (as opposed to DPNs) for most of the pieces. I did, however, use DPNs for the I-cord arms (and one extra DPN needle for the 3-needle bind-off, though a regular, straight needle would have worked too).

Thoughts on the Pattern

I… LOVED working from this pattern. I’m someone who likes to be walked through every step of a project super clearly, which is fine, but a lot of knitting patterns tend to assume a lot of knowledge/aren’t necessarily catered to the less confident, so I always find myself getting frustrated (and making completely incorrect assumptions, which seem very logical to me, but are apparently completely nonsensical). This pattern, on the other hand, is SO clearly explained, SO nicely written and SO detailed (especially when it comes to the sewing up instructions, which I particularly appreciated), without being overly wordy. Exact stitch placements are given! Every step is noted, even briefly! And the best part? It’s all done in a way that is brief and chilled, so it doesn’t feel overwhelming, but is still super clear and easy to follow. It’s a HUGE thumbs up from me!

I’ve mentioned on here before that I think the sign of a good knitted/crocheted toy pattern is that the finished product looks good. I always get a little panicky just before sewing up any yarn-y toy, because there’s always a chance it could end up looking a bit… cursed? However, the instructions for sewing up this gnome were so clear, it really took the stress out of the whole process. Plus, even when you don’t follow those instructions perfectly (I, for example, believe I attached the feet a little too far out from the centre of the beard, somehow), the gnome still looks SUPER CUTE. I’m so proud of my first gnome, which I think is a huge testament to the pattern.

Changes/Adaptations

Aside from the aforementioned, unintentionally far-apart feet, I didn’t make any changes to this pattern as I worked it up. This was partly because this was my first ever gnome, so I had no idea what it was going to look like, how it was going to go or what I would even like to adapt, but it was also partly because I just really wanted to follow the pattern exactly. I spend a lot of time thinking of new ideas, trying to put fun twists on things and be creative, but sometimes it’s really nice to let someone else be creative for you, while you just enjoy the process of making the item.

Gnorri the First, then, is exactly as Gnorri the Pocket-Bearded Gnome should be!

Things I Loved!

  • The pockets! I’m obsessed with the pockets!
  • The 3-needle bind off on the feet— I’m not sure if I’ve ever actually done a 3-needle bind off before (I had to google how to do it…), but I love the effect it gives and it was so simple to do!
  • How absolutely adorable this gnome is and how perfect he looks even though I know he isn’t actually perfect, which almost makes him more perfect.

Things I Didn’t Quite Love…

  • Sewing the gnose onto the body (it wasn’t even that tricky, but it was the hardest bit of the whole process, so it felt very irritating at the time).
  • Stuffing the gnome (WHY DID IT TAKE ME SO LONG?! I think I got into the swing of it with the fluffy stuffing by the end, particularly after getting through the tricky, skinny bit at the top of the hat. However, putting in the little weighted stuffing pellets was a bit fiddly and vaguely infuriating, so that made me miffed all over again…)
  • I’d like to do a better job of hiding the threads inside the I-cord arms: I feel there’s a few places where the hand colour pokes through in the sleeve, which isn’t quite the vibe.

(Sorry, Gnorri).

Final Thoughts

In case you hadn’t quite figured it out yet, I’m obsessed with Gnorri the First, I’m obsessed with the Gnome-Making World and I’m obsessed with Imagined Landscapes (aka Sarah Schira) and all of her iconic, gnome puns. Truly, I think I would knit any of her patterns, as long as there is a silent ‘g’ in the title.

I think Gnorri the First was a great, first gnome for me to make. I also like how he’s ever so slightly dreary, but also has a bit of fun to him— I think it pretty accurately reflects the general vibe of January, so he was a the perfect pick for my January gnome!

Here’s to more gnoming over the next 11 months!

If you're interested...

You can buy The Gnomes of Grimblewood on Amazon here.

You can find the pattern for Gnorri the Pocket-Bearded Gnome on Ravelry here.

You can find my Ravelry project page for Gnorri the First here.

Gemma

xxx

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