Project introduction
This article is a pattern overview, not a full tutorial, for Norbin Nibbleweed, a crochet gnome with a bright orange beard. Jen Hayes of Jen Hayes Creations presents Norbin as the first design in her Fairyland Creature Collection. He is pictured as a shy, forest loving character who works in a woodshop, tends a garden, and is sometimes happily mistaken for a leprechaun.
For the complete instructions, use the Original designer’s pattern and instructions from Jen Hayes Creations. The overview below explains the character, yarn, supplies, size, and construction in broad terms, so you can decide whether the project suits your skills and stash before following the designer link for the row by row pattern.
Already Have Something on Your Hook?
If your current project needs to be finished first, the source suggests saving Norbin for later by pinning the pattern to a Pinterest board or adding it to a Ravelry queue. That small step keeps this little forest character easy to find when you are ready to choose colors and begin.
The Yarn
Norbin is made with Caron Simply Soft, a worsted weight, size 4 acrylic yarn praised in the source for its soft hand and slight sheen. The design combines several solid shades with one heathered shade, giving the shirt, legs, and arms their striped look while the hat and body stay a strong green.
One practical note deserves attention before you shop. The designer explains that the Simply Soft Green used for the sample has been discontinued. She suggests choosing another attractive green as a substitute, or picking a completely different color if you prefer a gnome with a fresh personality of his own.
The Pattern Overview
The sections that follow collect the practical facts behind the design, from difficulty and gauge to the order in which the separate pieces are shaped. Read them as a planning guide only. Exact stitch sequences, joining details, and placement instructions belong in the original pattern, which remains the authority for making Norbin.
Difficulty
The designer rates this gnome as Intermediate. That level fits a project built from several shaped pieces, striped color changes, a nose joined into the body, and final assembly. Confident beginners who already work comfortably in rounds may enjoy it as a stretch, while experienced makers can focus on neat joins.
Materials
Gather the tools first, then check the yarn amounts for the sample. Amounts are approximate and sample specific, so keep the designer notes in mind if you substitute a different green or change the beard length.
- Crochet hook: size E/4 (3.5 mm)
- Stitch marker or markers, for tracking the start of rounds
- Scissors and a tapestry needle, for finishing and closing
- Stuffing, plus a chopstick, dowel, or similar tool to help place it
- Pins, for positioning pieces before sewing
- Pet slicker brush, optional, only if you want to brush the beard
- Yarnspirations Simply Soft in the solid range: a worsted 4-Medium yarn in 100% acrylic. Each ball is described as 315 yds (288 m) and 6 oz (170 g).
- Color A, Bone, for the nose and hands: the sample used about 12 yds (11 m).
- Color B, Green, for the body, hat, and shoes: the sample used about 125 yds (114 m).
- Color C, Off White, for the striped areas: the sample used about 37 yds (34 m).
- Color D, Pumpkin, for the beard: the sample used about 15 yds (14 m).
- For the heathered yarn, look for Yarnspirations Simply Soft Heathers, also worsted 4-Medium and 100% acrylic.
- That heathered ball is described separately as 250 yds (228 m) and 5 oz (141 g).
- Color E is Grey Heather, used in the stripes and as the stripe where the beard is attached: the sample used about 38 yds (35 m).
Gauge
Gauge is given with the recommended hook rather than as a separate swatch. With a size E/4 (3.5 mm) hook, the first 8 rounds of the body should measure 2.75 inches across. Checking that diameter early helps you judge whether your fabric is matching the scale intended for the sample.
Finished Measurements
Finished size is described for Norbin in a sitting position. Without his hat, he measures approximately 4.5 inches. With the hat in place, the sitting height rises to approximately 8 inches, and that second figure does not include the legs. Individual results can vary with yarn, hook, and stuffing choices.
Design Notes
The pattern uses US crochet terminology and is worked mainly in rounds. Its notes stress a firm, tight fabric, because loose stitches could let stuffing show once the pieces are filled. A marker placed in the first stitch of a round, then moved up as work progresses, helps keep rounds and color changes orderly.
Stitch totals are shown in parentheses at the end of rounds in the original pattern. Further tips appear throughout that pattern to support construction, so this overview does not replace those notes. If any instruction seems unclear while you work, return to the designer version rather than guessing at a correction.
Abbreviations/Stitches Used
The abbreviation key covers the stitches and working methods named in the pattern, including loop specific rounds and a textured finishing stitch for the hat edge. Key terms include the following.
- BLO: back loop only
- ch: chain
- Crab st: crab stitch, also called reverse single crochet
- FLO: front loop only
- hdc: half double crochet
- Rnd(s): round or rounds
- sc: single crochet
- sc2tog: single crochet 2 stitches together, using the invisible decrease in the round
- sl st: slip stitch
- st(s): stitch or stitches
- Magic circle, also called an adjustable ring
- yo: yarn over
- Brackets: work the enclosed instructions as many times as directed
Let’s Make Our Gnome!
Construction is organized piece by piece. A small nose is made first and set aside, followed by the striped body, a tall green hat, two shoes with legs, two hands with arms, and a cut yarn beard. Assembly comes last, after the individual parts have been shaped, stuffed where required, and prepared for sewing.
Nose
One nose is made in Color A, Bone. It begins with an adjustable ring and is worked in rounds that first widen and then narrow into a small rounded shape. After fastening off, the nose is firmly stuffed and shaped, then set aside. It is not sewn on later as an applique, but joined into the body during construction.
Body
The body is a single piece started in Color B, Green, from an adjustable ring and worked in rounds. Plain green rounds give way to a striped shirt section alternating Color C, Off White, and Color E, Grey Heather, beginning with Off White. Colors are carried by dropping and picking them up again, rather than cutting at every change.
A designer tip addresses the slight jog that can appear at stripe joins, suggesting a slip stitch as the first stitch of a round, while noting that a diagonal line may still be visible. The nose is joined seamlessly partway through the striped section. The body is stuffed firmly as it grows, then decreased, fastened off, and closed neatly with a tapestry needle.
Hat
The hat is one piece in Color B, Green, also begun with an adjustable ring. It widens gradually over many rounds from a narrow crown into a broad, tall shape, then continues evenly before the brim edge. The starting tail is woven in, with a note that a tapestry needle can help bring it to the right side.
The final round uses crab stitch, which is reverse single crochet, to create a corded looking edge. The hat is fastened off with a tail left for joining the start and end of that edging, and the remaining end is woven in. This textured finish gives the simple green hat a clear, decorative border.
Shoes
Two shoes are made in Color B, Green. Unlike the ring started pieces, each shoe begins with a chain of 10 and is shaped in rounds around that foundation, using increases and decreases to form a rounded toe and narrower opening. One round is worked in back loops only, and a later round is worked in front loops only.
Those loop choices matter for what follows, because the back loops of the final shoe round are left available for starting the leg. Each shoe is stuffed and shaped as it is completed, then finished with a slip stitch and fastening off. Keeping the two loop rounds distinct helps the shoe keep its shape and gives the leg a clean base.
Leg
Two legs are worked upward from the shoes, not made as separate tubes to sew on afterward. Each leg begins in the exposed back loops at the center back of a shoe, starting with Color C, Off White, then switching to Color E, Grey Heather, and continuing in alternating stripes that begin again with Off White.
Extra stuffing is added to fill the top of the shoe, but the leg itself is left unstuffed. When the striped tube is complete, it is pressed flat, the top edges are joined together, and a long tail is left for attaching the leg to the body. This flat top helps the legs sit neatly side by side.
Hand and Arm
Two hand and arm units are made, each beginning in Color A, Bone, from an adjustable ring. The hand portion is shaped in rounds, firmly stuffed, and shaped by hand. The rest of the arm continues in stripes alternating Color C, Off White, and Color E, Grey Heather, beginning with Off White, but that striped portion is left unstuffed.
At the top, the off white yarn is cut and its tail tucked inside the arm. The tube is pressed flat so the edges align, the top is joined across, and a long tail remains for sewing. Leaving the arm unstuffed keeps it flexible, which suits the diagonal placement used during assembly.
Beard
The beard, Norbin’s most recognizable feature, uses Color D, Pumpkin. It is not crocheted as a solid piece. Instead, 60 lengths of yarn are cut at 6 inches each, with the option to cut more strands for fullness or longer strands for extra length. Strands are used in pairs and looped around body stitches.
All of the loops sit around a Grey Heather stripe and are distributed across three rounds of the body, for a total arrangement described in the source. Once attached, the strands can be left as cut, trimmed to shape, unraveled for a softer look, or brushed out if you like a fluffier beard.
Assembly
Assembly brings the character together in a planned order. The legs are pinned side by side near the base of the body, slightly in front of the starting ring, then sewn along the top and sides so they stay flush. The arms are pinned at the body midline and sewn diagonally, with their joining seam turned to the underside.
Finally, the hat is placed on the body and invisibly tacked in several places so it does not slip off. Pinning before sewing is especially useful here, because small shifts in leg spacing, arm angle, or hat position can change Norbin’s expression and balance even though the crocheted pieces stay the same.
Looking for More Great Patterns?
The source closes with three more Jen Hayes Creations designs that may interest gnome makers: Crochet Puppy Dog, Simple Amigurumi Penguin, and Ridged Crochet Feathers in Four Sizes. For more gnome reading on this site, see the Daisy flower gnome- crochet garden gnome: Pattern Overview and the Bumble bee gnome: Pattern Overview.
Reach Out, Share, and Follow Along!
Jen Hayes invites makers to share finished gnomes by commenting or tagging Jen Hayes Creations on social media, and she presents her newsletter as a way to hear about new patterns, techniques, tutorials, and giveaways. The pattern and its photos are copyright Jennifer Hayes, for personal, non-commercial use only.
Finished items made from the pattern may be sold. If you sell a finished piece online, the designer asks that you credit Jen Hayes Creations as the designer and include a link to the pattern listing. Respecting that request supports the original creator while still letting makers share their own handmade work.
