Amigurumi Power-Up Mushroom - Free Pattern

Amigurumi Power-Up Mushrooms
by Malon Bruce

This pattern is worked in the round. It’s rather simple since it only uses the basic single stitch(st), slip stitch(sl), increase(inc) and decrease(dec) stitches. I also like to use the ‘magic circle’ technique to start off but it’s not necessary. You could simply chain 2 and work row 1 in the 2nd stitch from hook.

Materials:

• Red/Blue/Green/Purple yarn(depending on which mushroom you are working on)
• White yarn for the bottom portion
• Felt for the spot details
• Fabric paint/needle and thread to sew/glue on spots
• Black yarn/crochet thread for the eyes
• Embroidery needle
• Fiberfill (or you filling of choice)
• H hook (use your preferred size to make a fabric tight enough so the stuffing doesn't show through) 
• Stitch markers/something to mark your rows with(I used scrap piece of yarn)

Top:
1. 6 in magic circle =6
2. increase all =12
3. increase all =24
4. *1st, 1 increase* repeat =36
5.-11. sc st for 7 rows =36
12. *1sc, 1 decrease* repeat =24
13. *2sc, 1 decrease* repeat =1814. Finish off and leave a long tail to sew to the bottom.

**At this point make sure to COUNT the number of stitches you have. I have ended up with less/more plenty of times due to unknown increase/decreasing. The exact number does not matter as much as knowing how many there are so you know how to adjust the bottom part of the mushroom. This will make the sewing go ever so smoothly and will let you match up stitch per stitch.

Bottom:
1. 6 in magic circle =6
2. Increase all =12
3. *6 st, 1 increase* repeat (this is where you would inc/dec in order to match the number of stitches you ended up with on the top) =18
4. Sc all =18
5. Turn work around and st 9 creating ‘tab’ =9
6. Slip stitch and finish off.

** The ‘tab’ here will be the face of the mushroom and give the top a slanted look. Make sure you only sew the actual stitches together and don’t count the side of the tab as a stitch.

Putting it all together:
Now you put both pieced together and sew away! The matching number of stitches makes it easy; and don’t forget to stuff before you close up your work. Keep in mind the ‘tab’ on the bottom part of the mushroom will serve as the face, so I usually like to have the finished off end of the top centered on the back for a more clean and finished look.

Eyes: I used black crochet thread, but any yarn/embroidery thread will do. You can also use felt, fiber paint, buttons, it's up to you. Position eyes about 2 stitches apart (use pictures as a guideline).

**I glued on the felt spots and embroidered around them for reinforcement. It’s not necessary, you could do one or the other.

Spots: For the red/blue/green mushrooms I made my spots out of felt and about1 ½ inches(or 4mm) in diameter. You will need 5 spots per mushroom. Center one on the top and put the other 4 around in a uniform fashion.

For the poison mushroom i used felt for the skull and crochet thread to embroider the ‘teeth’. I also painted on the eyes/nose with 3d fabric paint before gluing and embroidering on but you can definitely sew them on use felt.


This is an original pattern by Monica Jeriah (August 2009). Please do not claim this pattern as your own,
make copies of or publish on any CD, collection, publication or website without permission. Buying this
pattern gives you the right to use it for your own personal use but you may not sell or distribute it, or sell
any items made from this pattern. Photos are also property of Monica Jeriah.

Amigurumi Princess Ornament- Free Pattern

This cute ornament emerged from a fairy-tale swap i participated on recently. One of my partner's favorite fairy tale characters was Snow White(the Disney princess version...i guess there is such a thing!). This swap being so close to the holiday season, well that's how the whole 'ornament' idea came about. :)

It's quite a simple pattern that can be altered to your needs/taste. I used a 2" styrofoam ball for this one but you can stuff it with fiberfill(etc) as well. I used ribbon and yarn for the bows but again, it's up to you how you choose to style the hair(or not). My ornaments have their face embroidered on(the cheeks and lips) except for the eyes, which i used two tiny dots of fabric paint for. 

I chose not to explain every little thing in the tutorial since learning the real basics(ie what is an 'increase'?) can be easily found/learned via other tutorials and so forth.  Enjoy!

Face

1. 6 sc in magic circle - 6
2. Inc all stitches - 12
3. (1sc, 1 increase)* (repeat for the whole row) - 18
4. (2sc, 1 increase)* - 24
5. (3sc, 1 increase)* - 30
6. Sc in all stitches - 30
7. Sc in all stitches - 30
8. (3sc, 1 decrease)* - 24

Finish off, no tail needed

Hair

1. 6 sc in magic circle - 6
2. Inc all stitches - 12
3. (1sc, 1 increase)* (repeat for the whole row) - 18
4. (2sc, 1 increase)* - 24
5. (3sc, 1 increase)* - 30
6. Sc in all stitches - 30
7. 3 sc, (2hdc, 4dc, 2hdc, 2sc)x2, 7 sc - 30

Finish off, leave a long tail for sewing to face

Sewing Together 

Fit the hair and face over the styrofoam ball so the ends overlap. Position the hair to your liking and sew to the face. Add a bow and embroider the face. Done!

*I show some bonus footage at the end of the video on how i add the loop on the ornament.

Cat Hats & Unreachable Gauge!

This couple of weeks i have realized my knitting gauge is a nightmare. I've worked on two hats where i was unable to make gauge so had to rework both patterns to fit my unmovable one. I also swatched for a sweater(a free pattern via Rav - $5 in Paris)where the problem persisted, and so altering that pattern is also in the future.

I was looking for a hat pattern to possibly gift around the holidays and i found a couple of cute free ones via Rav. My first was the Simple Kitty Hat which has adorable earflaps - this turned out to be my favorite of the two. The other similar hat was the Future of Forestry Hat which has a folded ribbed rim of 1x1 ribbing...i'm surprised i actually made this one. 1x1 rib is my most hated rib combination, and this pattern called for 8" of it. Never again!! If i happen to make it again i'll be doing 2x2.

A baby hat was also completed which turned out pretty cute as well. This is also a free pattern which comes with 2 different hat patterns called Two Lace Baby Hats, check it out in Rav. The goat pillow is also finally complete!! I got to it just in time for Smells Like Yarn group's giveaway. So psyched it's complete, if i do say so myself it turned out pretty adorable :).

 I finished spinning the red/pink stripped yarn as well and have skeined it, however i have not washed it to set the twist yet. During my last update i was in the process of spinning it i believe.... I'm looking fwd to caking this one as well since the color transitions should really show up this way. Something else is on my drop spindles as a WIP, and this type of fiber (superwash merino) is amazing. It really spins like butter - this is my favorite fiber to work with to date. Once i use up some of my fiber stash, i know what i'll be going for.

A tutorial is also in the works, based off the cute ornament i made for my partner during the last swap. If anyone is interested in testing the pattern, do let me know! This will be a free published pattern and i'll be posting a tutorial vid as well. I used a 2" styrofoam ball inside this one, but it could easily be filled with fiberfill or the like. It's pretty adaptable too, so many ways to customize. I'll try to have it up ASAP! Whenever i have the time to edit and have it up that is... :)