Crochet Gnome Ornament – Uncle Benny the Candy Buyer (Free Pattern)

Meet Uncle Benny, the sweetest member of the Uncle Gnomes’ Holiday Crew! He’s the one who can’t resist a candy cane (or two) and brings a touch of sugary fun wherever he goes. This free crochet gnome ornament pattern is quick to make and filled with Christmas charm, ideal for decorating your tree, adding to gift tags, or giving as a handmade stocking stuffer. With his candy-striped colors and cheerful smile, Uncle Benny is a treat to crochet and even sweeter to share.

The Uncle Gnomes’ Holiday Crew

This sweet Uncle Benny design is part of my Uncle Gnomes’ Holiday Crew, a collection of joyful Christmas gnomes ready to brighten your holiday decor! Make sure to meet Uncle Bob, the cheerful gift giver with a big heart, and Uncle Walter, the cozy tree trimmer who hums Christmas carols while decorating. Together, they bring a touch of handmade charm and festive fun to your Christmas tree.

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More Christmas Ornaments to try

If you love festive crochet, there’s plenty more to explore on the site! From the cute Chubby Polar Bear to Mr. Santa and Mrs. Santa Claus, the Nutcracker, and a cheerful Gingerbread Man, you’ll find adorable free patterns to fill your tree and home with handmade holiday magic.

And if you’re looking for a video tutorial, this one doesn’t have one yet. But who knows? Maybe next year I’ll bring him to life on the YouTube channel. Until then, the written pattern has all the spooky charm you’ll need!

Crochet Gnome Ornament

Materials

• 2mm crochet hook 
• Red, green, white, beige, and black sports-weight yarn (50g).
• Stuffing material
• Scissors
• Sewing needle.

Finish size

The finished Uncle Benny Crochet Gnome measures approximately 5.2″ (13.5 cm) tall. However, the final size may vary depending on your stitch tension and the materials used.

Gauge

Gauge is not crucial for this pattern, so feel free to use a hook size that matches your chosen yarn. I always recommend using a slightly smaller hook to keep the stitches tight and prevent the stuffing from showing through. If needed, adjust your hook size for a neater finish.

However, if you’d like to know the gauge for my chosen yarn and materials, here it is:
With sport-weight yarn and a 2mm crochet hook, the gauge for 5 rounds (increasing to 30 stitches) measures approximately 1.6″ (4.5 cm).

Terms and abbreviations (US terms):

Slip stitch (sl): insert the hook into the stitch and pull up a loop, now, pull it through the loop on your needle.

Single crochet (sc): insert the hook into the stitch, and pull up a loop yarn over the needle, you will have two loops on the hook, yarn over the needle, and pull it through the two loops.

Half double crochet (hdc): yarn over the needle, insert the hook into the stitch, and pull up a loop. You will have three loops on the hook. Yarn over the needle, and pull it through all the loops.

Increase (inc): make two single crochet inside the same stitch.

Decrease (dec): Insert the hook into the front loop only of the next two stitches, yarn under, and pull through, you will have two loops on the hook. Yarn under and pull through both loops on the hook.

Pattern Instructions

Body

With red yarn start,

1 rnd                      6sc in a magic ring

2 rnd                      6inc Total 12sts

3 rnd                      (1sc, 1inc) repeat 6 times Total 18sts

4 rnd                      (1sc, 1inc) repeat 9 times Total 27sts

5 rnd                      (2sc, 1inc) repeat 9 times Total 36sts

6 rnd                      36blsc

7 rnd                      (5sc, 1inc) repeat 6 times Total 42sts

8-17 rnd               42sc

18 rnd                   (5sc, 1dec) repeat 6 times Total 36sts

19-21 rnd             36sc

• For next round, you will work on the back loop of the stitch.

22 rnd                   BL(4sc, 1dec) repeat 6 times Total 30sts

23 rnd                   (3sc, 1dec) repeat 6 times Total 24sts

24 rnd                   (2sc, 1dec) repeat 6 times Total 18sts

• Stop here to add stuffing material before continuing,

25 rnd                   (1sc, 1dec) repeat 6 times Total 12sts

• Cut the yarn and fasten off.
• Weave the remaining yarn tail through the front loop only of the 12 stitches from round 25. Pull tight to close the stitches.
• Tuck the yarn tail inside the toy and trim any excess.
• Attach the red yarn to the remaining front loops from round 21 and crochet 36 sc around.
• Cut the yarn and fasten off. Tuck the yarn tail inside the toy.

Beard

With white yarn start

1 rnd                      6sc in a magic ring

2 rnd                      6sc

3 rnd                      6inc Total 12sts

4 rnd                      12sc

5 rnd                      (1sc, 1inc) repeat 6 times Total 18sts

6 rnd                      (1sc, 1inc) repeat 9 times Total 27sts

7-10 rnd               27sc

11 rnd                   (8sc, 1inc) repeat 3 times Total 30sts

12 rnd                   30sc

• Fold the beard in half. You should now have 15 sc on each side.

13 rnd                   15sc crocheting the sides together, closing the beard

• Cut the yarn and fasten off, leaving a tail for sewing.

Nose

With beige yarn start,

1 rnd                      6sc in a magic ring

2 rnd                      6inc Total 12sts

3-6 rnd                  12sc

• Add a small amount of stuffing.
• Cut the yarn and fasten off.
• Weave the remaining yarn tail through the front loop only of the 12 stitches from round 6, and pull tight to close the stitches.
• Leave a tail for sewing later.

Arms

With green yarn start,

1 rnd                      6sc in a magic ring

2 rnd                      (2sc, 1inc) repeat 2 times Total 8sts

3 rnd                      (3sc, 1inc) repeat 2 times Total 10sts

4 rnd                      10sc

• Change to red. Cut and fasten off the green

5 rnd                      10sc

6 rnd                      (3sc, 1dec) repeat 2 times Total 8sts

7-14 rnd               8sc

• Fold the arms in half. You should now have 4 sc on each side.
• Crochet the sides together.
• No stuffing is needed for the arms.

15 rnd                   4sc crocheting the sides together, closing the arm

• Cut the yarn and fasten off, leaving a tail for sewing.
• Make two.

Feet

With black yarn start,

1 rnd                      6sc in a magic ring

2 rnd                      6inc Total 12sts

3 rnd                      12sc

• Fold the feet in half. You should now have 6 sc on each side.
• Crochet the sides together.

4 rnd                      6sc crocheting the sides together, closing the arm

• Cut the yarn and fasten off, leaving a tail for sewing.
• Make two.

Hat

With green yarn start,

1 rnd                      6sc in a magic ring

2 rnd                      6inc Total 12sts

3-5 rnd                  12sc

• Add a small amount of stuffing before continuing.

6 rnd                      6dec Total 6sts

• Change to red. Don’t cut the green yarn, as we will be working with both colors

7 rnd                      6flsc

8 rnd                      (2sc, 1inc) repeat 2 times Total 8sts

• Change to green

9 rnd                      (3sc, 1inc) repeat 2 times Total 10sts

10 rnd                   10sc

• Change to red

11 rnd                   (4sc, 1inc) repeat 2 times Total 12sts

12 rnd                   (3sc, 1inc) repeat 3 times Total 15sts

• Change to green

13 rnd                   (4sc, 1inc) repeat 3 times Total 18sts

14 rnd                   (5sc, 1inc) repeat 3 times Total 21sts

15 rnd                   21sc

• Change back to red

16 rnd                   (6sc, 1inc) repeat 3 times Total 24sts

17 rnd                   (7sc, 1inc) repeat 3 times Total 27sts

18 rnd                   (8sc, 1inc) repeat 3 times Total 30sts

• Change to green

19 rnd                   (9sc, 1inc) repeat 3 times Total 33sts

20 rnd                   33sc

21 rnd                   (10sc, 1inc) repeat 3 times Total 36sts

• Change to red

22 rnd                   (11sc, 1inc) repeat 3 times Total 39sts

23 rnd                   39sc

24 rnd                   (12sc, 1inc) repeat 3 times Total 42sts

• Change to green. Cut and fasten off the red.

25 rnd                   42sc

• For the next three rounds, work with Hdc

26 rnd                   (6hdc, 1inc hdc) repeat 6 times Total 48sts

• Change to white. Cut and fasten off the green.

27 rnd                   (7hdc, 1inc hdc) repeat 6 times Total 54sts

28 rnd                   54hdc

• Cut the yarn and fasten off, leaving a tail for sewing.
• With a bit of white thread, add zig-zag stitches inside the last two red stripes of the hat. When you’re done, cut the thread and secure the ends.

Candy Cane

With red yarn start,

1 rnd                      6sc in a magic ring

• From here on, work with white and red yarn

2 rnd                      2sc [red], 1inc [white], 2sc [red], 1inc [white] Total 8sts

3-22 rnd               (2sc [red], 2sc [white]) repeat 2 times

• Add a small amount of stuffing material every 4 rounds as you go.
• Cut the white yarn and fasten off.
• Cut the red yarn leaving a long tail.
• Weave the remaining red yarn tail through the front loop only of the 8 stitches from round 22, and pull tight to close the stitches.
• Bring the remaining red yarn from the inside out to round 15. Weave it through rounds 12 and 10, then gently but firmly pull to bend the top of the candy. •Bring the yarn down to a round on the half of the candy and secure it with a knot.
• Leave the remaining red yarn tail to sew the candy onto the gnome’s body later.

Final Details

1. Start by sewing the beard between rounds 17 and 18.
2. Next, sew the feet on round 21. Use the center of the beard as a guide to position and center the feet, leaving about 3 stitches between them.
3. Sew the nose on top of the beard, around round 12 of the beard.
4. Sew the candy cane slightly to the side of the body.
5. Use pins to hold the arms in place as if they’re holding the candy. Using the yarn tail left from the arm, sew it in place, removing the pins as you go.
6. Place the hat on top of the gnome’s head, positioning it so it covers about half of the nose. Sew around the hat. You don’t need to stitch every single round, just a few stitches around the edge to keep it secure.

Congratulations!!!

Your Uncle Benny Crochet Gnome is ready!

I hope you enjoy this pattern! If you have any questions or comments, leave them in the comment box below.

If this crochet Christmas ornament pattern was clear and useful to you, consider subscribing to my YouTube channel. I plan to add a new free pattern and a stitch tutorial every week to help you learn more about this crochet toy world!

See you next time!

Love,

Ana

FAQ – Crochet Christmas Ornament Pattern