Hey, ya'll! A few months ago I was contacted by Nade of
Secret Crochet Club asking me if I would like to contribute a design for one of their subscription boxes. Secret Crochet Club is a new crochet club where you subscribe and receive a crochet subscription box every month. In each box is an exclusive pattern, ALL the materials you need to make it, and lots of other wonderful goodies crammed inside! You can purchase a three-month subscription, six-month subscription, or if you like, just the current month's box. The fun thing about this crochet club is that the contents of the boxes are a secret (hence the name) until you receive the box. I knew right away that I was interested in being a part of this new project and we soon agreed that I would design a new fall themed cuddle-sized pattern for the month of October. I wasn't sure what I wanted to make but Nade suggested that I make a cuddle-sized toadstool!
I love amigurumi toadstools (or mushrooms) and I remember one of my first crochet projects being a mushroom designed by the very talented
Ana Paula Rimoli from her book
"Amigurumi Two". That was when I first learned how to crochet in the back loops only while decreasing to create flat bottoms on things. I've been putting it to good use ever since! I also designed my own teeny tiny mushroom shortly after I started Storyland Amis. You can see him below.
I was delighted with the idea of making a mushroom and quickly drew up some sketches of what I wanted it to look like. Most people who make amigurumi mushrooms add the facial features and eyes on the stem, but I've always been of the opinion that they should be on the top. (Because that's his head, right?) So I got to work as soon as I received this chunky yarn from Cygnet which Nade kindly sent me. You can find it
HERE.
Have you ever decided to make something and thought, "Oh, this is going to be so easy!" but then you start making it and realize it's not quite as easy as you had hoped? Well, this is what happened to me with the mushroom design.
My main problem was trying to figure out how to make the bottom of the mushroom stay flat on the "head" and the stem. As I mentioned before, I had learned early on how to crochet in the back loops only to create flat bottoms, but with something so big, this wasn't working very well, especially when I stuffed it, it just turned out looking too round and puffy on the bottom for my liking. I tried multiple avenues with no satisfactory results.
And then it hit me! Last year I had a special request for a crocheted Nativity set and I remembered that in that pattern (which can be found
HERE) to enable the people to stand up on their own, the designer had inserted cardboard circles at the base of each figure. It had worked beautifully then so I decided to give it a shot! And thankfully it worked beautifully again! (Yay for maker moments!)
With this problem solved, the designing process sped along and soon it was time to make the agonizing decision of whether or not I wanted him to have arms. And also if I wanted to put a little collar on him like real mushrooms have. We decided the arms were essential, because little arms make everything look cuter, but that the collar made him look like a puritan mushroom. So, we went with just arms.
And here he is!
Aidan the Toadstool was the exclusive pattern for October's box and they sold out pretty quickly. Sometimes when you design something like this you don't get to see what people make from your pattern because there are only a limited number of people receiving the pattern. But I actually got to see several finished mushrooms and they all turned out so cute! Hover over each picture to see who made what.
It was a pleasure to design this cuddly mushroom and I'm so honored that Nade asked me to be a part of her new and thriving business! Please make sure to check out Secret Crochet Club and maybe subscribe too!
Oh, and if you're wondering if you'll ever get your hands on this pattern, the answer is YES! In five months this pattern will be up for free on my blog! I'm so excited for that day, so just wait patiently!
What do you think of Aidan? Have you ever used cardboard in the base of your projects?
~Holly :)
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The post “Secret Crochet Collab” first appeared on Storyland Amis
