Knit Mushroom Hats for the Whole Family

Last week I told you I was bringing some more whimsy to our knitting pattern experience here at Craft Gossip, and this pattern is the exact pattern that got me thinking about the need to share more fun stuff. Yes, we all love to knit sweaters, socks and hats to keep us warm, but can’t they be a little fun and silly too?

Of course they can.

So I bring you So Mush Room by Ainur Berkimbayeva, which is, in fact, a mushroom hat. Better yet, it’s a mushroom hat that comes in four sizes, so you ca make them for the whole family. (I urge you to click through and see folks in all different sizes and colors of hats, though admittedly one model looks less than thrilled.)

The hat is worked in worsted weight yarn and is inspired by Amanita muscaria, a mushroom that is both poisonous and adorable. The hats are worked in two colors for the base and the top, and bobbles are added to the top of the mushroom as well. The mushroom cap is stuffed to allow it to hold its shape, and there’s cardboard involved for extra support as well.

The sizes are to fit babies, kids and small and larger adults. I envision mushroom family Halloween costumes, or put baby in a onesie and make them a mushroom for Halloween.

My daughter who loves all things fairies and mystical vibes would probably love to have one of these hats, too. Stitch one up for your nature loving friend or for your kid to wear on the inevitable silly hat day. There are so many uses.

You can find the pattern on Ravelry, and there are pay what you can tiers if you need them.

I hope you will believe me that seeing this hat made my whole day, and I hope it does the same for you.

[Photo: Ainur Berkimbayeva]

Any time of year is a good time for stash busting, but if you can combine it with knitting a blanket that will keep you warm when it (finally!) gets cooler that’s even better. Let’s take a look at some fun patchwork blanket knitting patterns.

If you want to keep it super simple, you can just make blocks of garter stitch and sew them together, like the beginner’s patchwork baby blanket from Mini Baa Baa or the color block blanket from Make and Do Crew. Both projects are worked in strips and sew together, with the baby version calling for two strands of DK or light worsted weight yarn held together and the larger one using bulky yarn.

Add a little more texture with the mixed blocks of the cottage quilt throw from Mama in a Stitch. This one combines garter stitch and seed stitch and uses worsted weight yarn. She used a crochet join to make the chains on top of the blocks, but you can join them however you like. It calls for eight colors but you can use what you have, and there are three size options.

Get a real sampler style patchwork blanket with this design from Knit Sew Make. It calls for worsted weight yarn and has four size options. All of the patterns just use knit and purl stitches so this one is still pretty easy for beginners.

If you want a more complex colorwork project that will keep you entertained all season, try the Peace by Piece blanket pattern from Needle and Feather. This one is made up of two color colorwork blocks and calls for worsted weight yarn. You can choose to use just a few of the blocks and repeat them more often, or make multiples of the whole set.

The knitted patchwork recipe from Martine Ellis (free on Ravelry) uses mitered squares in fingering weight yarn, so it’s perfect for using up all your leftover sock yarn and mini skeins. This one is a tutorial more than a pattern so you can make your blanket as big as you like or keep going until you run out of yarn.

Susan B. Anderson’s 100 Squares blanket (find it on Ravelry) has a lot of mitered squares, too, but they’re arranged in fun ways and includes some quilt inspired designs as well. This one also is a bit of method more than pattern but it sure looks like a lot of fun for using all the leftovers.

Of course you can totally improvise a patchwork blanket using the yarn and stitches you like, but I hope these patterns inspire you to look at your leftover yarn in a new way.

Have you read?