February 26, 2018

Mushroom Folk

Well I am back with a few small projects. No idea how long this new bout of crochet will hold up especially as Sophie rapidly becomes more mobile...Gosh I started these back in fall of 2017, yikes. I was making two at the same time, one for my sister in law and one for a baby of a friend, but of course these got put aside with all the prep for Sophie's impeding arrival.


The pattern is Paul the Toadstool by Lalylala on Etsy. I picked out five colors: brown, green, off white, red, and gray, all of sock weight yarn from Joann's, think some was Vanna's Choice but it was a mix. Although the pattern calls for smaller, I used a 3.75mm hook. And since I couldn't find 6mm, I went with 9mm safety eyes.

If I remember right the legs and body worked up pretty easily. Love the long lean body look. The little neck ruff was a bit tricky to make but I love the detail as it is very mushroomy and I like that it hides the seam at the top of the arms. I made one with a white body and one with a gray body. The pattern shows a kind of light variegated yarn like a shirt, but I really couldn't find anything quite that pretty and settled for the gray. I made the white body one to see how it would come out.


In addition to the grass embroidery on the body, I also decided to make it harder on myself and add some mushrooms as well. I have very, very limited embroidery skills, but I still really like how it turned out. I did add a bit of pink blush to both faces as well. Since I was making two, I also decided to tweak the hats. I made one "portobello" hat to go with the white body, and added a few white embroidered pips to it. The second followed the pattern with red and white agaric spots.


I love the super small stitches that the small hook made, as it almost looks like fabric not crochet. I also bought her dragon and octopus patterns and really hope to make them as her dolls are just so lovely looking.

Difficulty: Intermediate
Time to complete: 40 hours each considering assembly and embroidery.