Amigurumi Mushrooms

I absolutely adore amigurumi. If you're not familiar, it's just a fancy term for crocheted figures. They're cute and puffy and make great gifts! I wanted to put something cute and nerdy into my daughter's stocking this year, and we're big Mario fans here, so some cute little mushroom toys seemed perfect. If you're less of a Nintendo enthusiast, these would still be darling made in other colors. Puffy mushrooms are everywhere these days! If I have time after Christmas I'm making some for myself in brown and teal.

I don't usually work from patterns, I'm more of a freeform crocheter. In fact I barely read patterns and get kind of confused at all the sc, dc, ch stuff. However, I've done my best to make this work for pattern-minded people, and if anyone wants to volunteer to write this up as a "real" pattern, please do!

You need:

2 colors medium weight yarn for cap and stem (I used Red Heart acrylic)

Embellishments
Stuffing material
Size 3.75 crochet hook

Yarn needle

1. Start with your cap color. Do you know how to do a "magic circle"? If not, see the link at the end of the post! Cast on six single crochet stitches. Pull your circle tight. (6 st)

2. Single crochet twice in each stitch. (12 st)

3. Single crochet, single crochet twice in next stitch; repeat five more times. (18 st)

4. Single crochet two times, then single crochet twice in next stitch; repeat five more times. (24 st)

5. Single crochet three times, then single crochet twice in next stitch; repeat five more times. (30 st)

6. Single crochet around for five rows.

7. Single crochet three times, skip one stitch, single crochet; repeat five more times. (24 st)

8. Single crochet, skip one stitch, single crochet; repeat seven more times. (16 st)

9. Your cap is done! Finish off, but leave a nice long tail, we'll use it to stitch the cap and stem together.

10. Now is a good time to embellish your cap. For toddler-safe Mario mushrooms I crocheted four white circles and attatched them evenly around the cap, but I am dreaming of making a grownup version with buttons sewn on everywhere! Your imagination is your only limit!

11. Time for your stem color. Using your magic circle again, cast on six single crochet stitches. Pull your circle tight. (6 st)

12. Single crochet twice in each stitch. (12 st)

13. Single crochet, single crochet twice in next stitch; repeat five times. (18 st)

14. Single crochet around until your stem is as long as you like (I did three). Finish off. If you're making Mario mushrooms, remember to add the little eyes!

15. Using the tail you left on your cap, stitch the stem halfway onto the cap. Stuff, then close your gap and hide the yarn end. You have a mushroom! Enjoy!

For those who don't know the Magic Circle, there is no better time to learn! I use it all the time- hats, amigurumi, even simple granny squares can make use of it. It gives a much nicer finished look to your crochet in the round. The tutorial I used to learn can be found here!