Cute crocheted mushrooms for holiday decor

Crochet your own red and white mushrooms with these two free crochet mushroom patterns and give your holiday decor a cute and rustic handmade touch. If you’re wondering what to do with them, I’ll also share my ideas for how to use crocheted mushrooms in your gift-giving as well as fun places to put them in your home.

image of two small crocheted red and white toadstools, the one on the left slightly taller than the one on the right

For those of you familiar with crocheting in the round and making amigurumi, this project is super simple, and you can have even more fun playing with the number of rounds and stitches to change the shaping and size of your mushrooms. If you are a beginner to crochet, I suggest checking out my beginner crochet class, Crochet Sampler: A Daily Practice.

Keep in mind: these crocheted mushrooms feel a little floppier and squishier than your typical amigurumi. This was my design choice, and I just wanted to mention that in case you end up wondering if you’re on the right track. You are!

Materials for Crocheted Mushrooms

image of 3 kinds of yarn: medium weight red, mediume weight ivory, and a thin red and white striped baker's twine

Worsted weight yarn in any colors of your choosing – my red yarn is a slightly variegated worsted weight merino wool by Madeline Tosh and my ivory yarn is Big Twist Value in Ivory – feel free to mix yarn brands, colors, and use your yarn stash
H/8 5.0mm hook
Yarn/tapestry needle
Scissors
Small amount of polyester stuffing
String, twine, or thin ribbon to make ornaments and garlands
Optional: a stitch marker or contrasting piece of scrap yarn
These Christmas tree candle clips are fun for mushrooms you can clip to trees, wreaths, and garlands

Abbreviations in U.S. Terms

ch(s) – chain(s)
FLO – front loop only
FPtr – fron post treble crochet
inv dec – invisible decrease
rnd(s) – round(s)
sc – single crochet
sl st – slip stitch
st(s) – stitch(es)
YO – yarn over
( ) – work everything inside the parentheses into the next stitch
[ ] – work everything inside the brackets the number of times indicated

Special Stitches / Stitch Refresher

FPtr – front post treble crochet – YO 2 times, wrap hook around the post of the stitch from the 3 rounds below from back to front, YO and pull through 1 loop, [YO and pull through 2 loops] 3 times. Remember that you skip working regularly in the stitch in the current rnd, because your front post stitch counts as that stitch, so skip the stitch in the current rnd to maintain the correct stitch count.

inv dec – invisible decrease – for this pattern, inv dec will be worked in FLO – insert hook into next st, YO, and pull through 1 loop. Insert hook into following st, YO, and pull through 1 loop. YO and pull through all 3 loops on hook.

Notes

The right side of your work will show on the outside of the mushroom pieces.

Small Crocheted Mushroom Pattern

image of a small red and white crocheted toadstool with the top cap and the bottom stem separated

Small Mushroom Cap

With the yarn color you prefer for the cap of the mushroom, make a magic circle, or ch 3 and sl st to the 1st ch to form a ring.

Rnd 1: Ch 1, 6 sc into ring. Don’t join rnds. Use a stitch marker if you prefer. – 6 sts

Rnd 2: (2 sc) 6 times. – 12 sts

Rnd 3: [(2 sc), 3 sc] 3 times. – 15 sts

Rnd 4: [(2 sc), 4 sc] 3 times. – 18 sts

Rnd 5: Sc evenly around. – 18 sts

Sl st to next st to join, but do not break off. Take out your hook and set the mushroom cap aside for now.
If you’d like to add dots to your mushroom cap, you can do so now with French knots or small stitches.

Small Mushroom Stem

The stem also includes the bottom of the cap, and they are worked as one piece.
With the yarn color you prefer for the stem and underside of the cap, make a magic circle, or ch 3 and sl st to the 1st ch to form a ring.

Rnd 1: Ch 1, 9 sc into ring. Don’t join rnds. – 9 sts

Rnds 2-3: Sc evenly around. – 9 sts

Rnd 4: Work this rnd in FLO. [inv dec, sc] 3 times. – 6 sts

Rnd 5: Working in both loops again, sc evenly around. Sl st to next st to join (doesn’t count as a st here or elsewhere). – 6 sts

Rnd 6: This is where you start working the underside of the cap. Ch 1, (2 sc) in FLO 6 times. Sl st to 1st st to join. – 12 sts

Rnd 7: Ch 1, working in both loops again, [(2 sc), sc] 6 times. Sl st to 1st st to join. – 18 sts

Break off and weave in both ends.

Small Mushroom Assembly

You can decide how you want to seam together your mushroom for slightly different looks. You can whip stitch them together, sl st them, sc them. If the wrong side of the seaming sc shows on the right side of your cap, the edge of your mushroom will curl downward toward the stem. If the right side of the seaming sc shows on the right side of your cap, the edge of your mushroom will curl slightly upward.

Here’s what I do.

Put your hook back into your mushroom cap. The right side of the stitches should show on the outside of the cap.

Ch 1 and turn so that the wrong side of your cap is facing you.

Match the opening of the cap with the top of the stem. They have the same number of sts around.

image or a small red and white mushroom being crocheted together

Single crochet through both layers in each st around, with the stitches of the stem in front of the stitches of the cap. When you are about 3/4 of the way around, put in ONE PINCH of stuffing. Just enough to fill out the cap a little. If you use too much stuffing, the underside of the cap will puff outward. This is my aesthetic preference. I don’t even stuff the stem as I like the squishy look for this project.

When you’ve gone all the way around, sl st to the first sc to join and weave in your ends.

Large Crocheted Mushroom Pattern

image of crocheted mushroom in pieces: red cap with white spots and white stem and gills

Large Mushroom Cap

With the yarn color you prefer for the cap of the mushroom, make a magic circle, or ch 3 and sl st to the 1st ch to form a ring.

Rnd 1: Ch 1, 6 sc into ring. Don’t join rnds. Use a stitch marker if you prefer. – 6 sts

Rnd 2: (2 sc) 6 times. – 12 sts

Rnd 3: [(2 sc), sc] 6 times. – 18 sts

Rnd 4: [(2 sc), 2 sc] 6 times. – 24 sts

Rnd 5: [(2 sc), 5 sc] 4 times. – 28 sts

Rnd 6: [(2 sc), 13 sc] 2 times. – 30 sts

Rnd 7: Sc evenly around. – 30 sts

Sl st to next st to join, but do not break off. Take out your hook and set the mushroom cap aside for now.
If you’d like to add dots to your mushroom cap, you can do so now with French knots or small stitches.

Large Mushroom Stem

The stem also includes the bottom of the cap, and they are worked as one piece. This stem is slightly different than the smaller one because it’s longer but also the underside of the cap uses front post stitches to create the gills of the mushroom.
With the yarn color you prefer for the stem and underside of the cap, make a magic circle, or ch 3 and sl st to the 1st ch to form a ring.

Rnd 1: Ch 1, 9 sc into ring. Don’t join rnds. – 9 sts

Rnds 2-3: Sc evenly around. – 9 sts

Rnd 4: Work this rnd in FLO. [inv dec, sc] 3 times. – 6 sts

Rnds 5-13ish: Working in both loops again, sc evenly around. The exact number of rnds isn’t important, so just keep working evenly until you’ve reached the stem length you prefer. Then, sl st to the next st to join. – 6 sts

Rnd 14: This is where you start working the underside of the cap. Ch 1, (2 sc) in FLO 6 times. Sl st to 1st st to join (doesn’t count as a st here or elsewhere). – 12 sts

Rnd 15: Ch 1, working in both loops again, [(2 sc), sc] 6 times. Sl st to 1st st to join. – 18 sts

Rnd 16: Ch 1, [(2 sc), 2 sc] 6 times. Sl st to 1st st to join. – 24 sts

Rnd 17: Ch 1. If you don’t want to work front post stitches and you want a smooth underside for your cap, work [(2 sc), 3 sc] 6 times. – 30 sts

If you want some textured gills, work the following Pattern for Rnd 17. Which stitch from Rnd 15 you work your first front post stitch in will depend on how you work in joined rounds. For some people, that first FPtr will be worked into the last st of Rnd 15, and for others, that first FPtr might be worked into the 2nd sc of the round. Just choose the stitch that will create the straightest line from the center of the mushroom to the outer edge: [(2 sc), FPtr, sc, FPtr] 6 times, for a total of 12 front post stitches all the way around. – 30 sts

Break off and weave in both ends.

Large Mushroom Assembly

Assembly is the same as for the small mushroom. You can use two pinches of polyester stuffing, but again, try not to use too much, especially because this cap has a flatter shape, and I really like the aesthetic of the underside of the cap to appear tucked underneath the cap rather than bulging outward.

6 Ways to Use Crocheted Mushrooms for the Holidays

Garland – Make 7-9 mushrooms. With a tapestry needle and thin string or baker’s twine, you can string all your mushrooms together by piercing through the tops. I alternated small and large mushrooms for my banister garland.
Hanging ornament – With a tapestry needle and any string, twine, or thin ribbon, pierce through the top of a mushroom and tie off a loop. You can also hide the knot inside the mushroom.
Clip-on ornament – Hot glue the bottom of a small mushroom to a candle clip and clip on to your tree. This is also a great way to decorate your holiday wreaths and table garlands. The large mushroom has a thin dowel/skewer inserted through the center to help keep it upright.
Gift topper – With a tapestry needle or thin string, pierce through 1-2 mushrooms through their stems and then tie the string around your gift. You can also turn your mushrooms into hanging ornaments and tuck them underneath a decorative bow.
Napkin topper – Similar to the gift topper, you can use a fun piece of ribbon to tie your mushrooms around dinner napkins.
Stocking topper – The small mushrooms can be sewn to the tops of stockings for a cute, rustic accent.