Myriads of Mushrooms

These little mushrooms knit up quickly and easy to make no matter your skill level. I've created five simple cap patterns and two stem patterns that you can mix and match to make a whole mushroom garden. Use natural colors and needle felted details to create realistic looking mushrooms or bright colors for a more psychedelic look. These would look cute displayed on a shelf and also make great ornaments.

Measurements

Mushrooms range in size from 3" to 5.5" tall, detailed measurements for each piece is given below. These patterns can be easily modified to create mushrooms of all shapes and sizes.

Materials

8 to 20 yards of worsted weight wool that will felt. We used Paton's Classic Wool Merino and Cascade 220. Colors used and detailed yardage required for each piece is given below.*
US 10 (6 mm) double pointed needles
Felting needle (optional if you wish to add spots or other details after mushrooms have been fulled)
Tapestry needle

*Do not use Superwash wool. Beware that some white and off white colored wool will not felt. I know from experience that Cascade 220 #8010 and Paton's Classic Wool in Aran and Winter White will felt.

Gauge

Exact gauge is not important.

Mushroom Cap Patterns

Large Flat Cap

Size: 5" in diameter
Yardage: 20 yds
Shown In: Paton's Classic Wool in Bright Red; spots and were added after fulling using Cascade 220 #8010.

CO 60 sts, join for working in the round.
Rounds 1-3: knit
Round 4: (k2tog, k3) to end
Rounds 5 & 6: knit
Round 7: (k2tog, k2) to end
Rounds 8 & 9: knit
Round 10: (k2tog, k1) to end
Rounds 11 & 12: knit
Round 13: (k2tog) to end
Rounds 14 & 15: knit
Break yarn and thread tail through remaining stitches, pull to inside of cap and weave in end.

When felting, create a bump in the center of the cap and curl the edges downward.

Large Rounded Cap

Size: 3.25" in diameter by 2" tall
Yardage: 20 yds
Shown In: Paton's Classic Wool in Chestnut and Cascade 220 #8010.

CO 39 sts, join for working in the round.
Rounds 1-10: knit
Round 11: (k2tog, k4, k2tog, k5) to end
Round 12: knit
Round 13: (k2tog, k3, k2tog, k4) to end
Round 14: knit
Round 15: (k2tog, k2, k2tog, k3) to end
Round 16: knit
Round 17: (k2tog, k1, k2tog, k2) to end
Round 18: knit
Break yarn and thread tail through remaining stitches, pull to inside of cap and weave in end.

While felting, you can mold this cap to create a rounded version or one that is more bell-shaped.

Small Rounded Cap

Size: 2.75" in diameter by 1.5" tall
Yardage: 14 yds
Shown In: Paton's Classic Wool in Chestnut and Bright Red. Spots on red cap were needle felted after fulling using Cascade 220 #8010.

CO 33 sts, join for working in the round.
Round 1-2: knit
Round 3: (k2tog, k9) to end
Round 4: knit
Round 5: (k2tog, k8) to end
Round 6: knit
Round 7: (k2tog, k7) to end
Round 8: knit
Round 9: (k2tog, k6) to end
Round 10: knit
Round 11: (k2tog, k5) to end
Round 12: knit
Round 13: (k2tog, k4) to end
Round 14: knit
Break yarn and thread tail through remaining stitches, pull to inside of cap and weave in end.

Large Bell-Shaped Cap

This also works great as a stem for the Small Rounded and Large Flat caps.

Size: 1.75" in diameter by 2.5" tall
Yardage: 14 yds
Shown In: Cascade 220 #8010

CO 24 sts, join for working in the round.
Rounds 1-16: knit
Round 17: (k2tog, k2) to end
Round 18: knit
Round 19: (k2tog, k1) to end
Round 20: knit
Break yarn and thread tail through remaining stitches, pull to inside of cap and weave in end.

Small Bell-Shaped Cap

Size: 1.75" in diameter by 2" tall
Yardage: 8 yds
Shown In: Cascade 220 #8010

CO 21 sts, join for working in the round.
Rounds 1-10: knit
Round 11: (k2tog, k1) to end
Round 12: knit
Round 13: (k2tog) to end
Break yarn and thread tail through remaining stitches, pull to inside of cap and weave in end.

Mushroom Stem Patterns

Tall Stem

Size: 1.5" in diameter at base by 5" tall
Yardage: 20 yds
Shown In: Paton's Classic Wool in Natural Mix and Cascade 220 #8010

CO 18 sts, join for working in the round.
Rounds 1-30: knit
Round 31: (k2tog, k4) to end
Round 32: knit
Round 33: (k2tog, k3) to end
Round 34: knit
Round 35: (k2tog, k2) to end
Round 36: knit
Break yarn and thread tail through remaining stitches, pull to inside of cap and weave in end.

Medium Stem

Size: 1" in diameter at base by 3.5" tall
Yardage: 10 yds
Shown In: Paton's Classic Wool in Natural Mix and Cascade 220 Heathers #2441

CO 15 sts, join for working in the round.
Rounds 1-20: knit
Round 21: (k2tog, k3) to end
Round 22: knit
Round 23: (k2tog, k2) to end
Round 24: knit
Break yarn and thread tail through remaining stitches, pull to inside of cap and weave in end.

Felting

Partially fill a bowl with warm water and add a small amount of dish soap or laundry detergent. Place mushroom pieces in water and let soak for 15 to 30 minutes. Felt one piece at a time by rolling it between your hands in a circular motion. Keep agitating until you're not able to make out the individual stitches. The edges will felt slower than the rest of the piece so you will have to work with them slightly longer. I like to felt mine until there is little to no stitch definition left and the fabric is tight and rigid. It also helps to find a picture of a mushroom similar to the one you'd like to make. Many real mushrooms have ridges on their caps, and you can mimic this by felting your cap less and leaving the stitch runs visible.

Once you've felted the yarn the pieces to your desired size, rinse out soap in clean water and stretch into the shape you'd like. Make sure that bases of stems are flat and are able to stand up. Let pieces to dry overnight.

Finishing

Once piece are dry, attach the caps to the stems. You can use a piece of thread that matches the cap color or a single ply from the cap yarn to make a small stitch securing the pieces together. An easy and quick way to secure them is with a dot of hot glue on the very tip of the stem.

If your mushrooms have a hard time standing up, first trace the shape of the flat bottom of the stem on a piece of felt and cut it out. Fill base with weighted beads or dried beans, then sew the piece of felt over the end of the stem using matching colored thread.

I used size 38 and 40 felting needles to add spots after felting. You can use wool roving or wool yarn.