Have fun outside foraging for mushrooms and having a pretend picnic! Use these in pretend play, as decoration, as math counting tools, colour recognition prompts, finger puppets, in a fairy garden or what my kid’s like to use them for… microphones!
These whimsical forest mushrooms are not only fun to play with they are super fun to make, our six year old couldn’t stop making them and wanted one in every color. Supervision of a child is a must, since they are working with a sharp needle.
Gather sticks on a forest walk prior to making these adorable mushrooms. It is a fun way to incorporate nature play into the craft. Hunting for the perfect stick is an activity in itself and can take you on a grand adventure into the forest.
The toadstool mushrooms are a recognizable favourite amongst kids. You can make any colour you want! This is an easy craft for kids just learning how to sew, teaching them new skills and building confidence of using a thread and needle. It doesn’t have to be perfect.
We used a sewing machine for some, but our six-year-old enjoyed hand sewing them and we think that she did a really great job.
Materials:
different coloured felt pieces
cotton batten
sewing needle
thread - regular and embroidrey
scissors
wooden sticks
sewing machine (optional)
a mason jar lid or stencil to trace out a circle
chalk or washable marker
You can sew these using a sewing machine with kids or by hand! We will show you both options so you can choose what suits you best!
Steps:
Cut out a circle of colour felt, you can trace a mason jar lid if you don’t have any circular stencils. The circles we made were 4 inches in diameter.
Cut out the white circle for the bottom side of the mushroom. You can sew on a cross pattern to create the gills, if desired.
We created the gill pattern on the sewing machine by folding it in half lengthwise and sewing along the very edge of the fold, then open it up and fold it in half again width-ways. Keep doing this until you have what looks like pizza slices.
Turn the good sides of the fabric facing each other
Now sew along the very edge of both circles, so that you sew them together, stop before you reach the end so that leave two finger spaces. this is room to turn it inside out and stuff cotton into.
If you plan on hand sewing it:
1. thread you’re string through the needle hole.
2. tie a knot at the end. 3. thread the needle through both pieces of fabric to start stitching them togther.
4. work your way around the circular edges until you almost reach the end, stop when you are two finger spaces from the beginning.
You can make a regular running stitch sewing pattern of up, down, up, down. or
If you want the thread to wrap around the edge then repeat his pattern:
Overcast stitch:
up, through the loop hole, up, through the loop hole, up, through through…
Starting off:
go up with the needle through both of the felt pieces
leave a bit of space and go upward again
as you pull the thread, put the nendless through the thread hole.
see photos and video,
Now that you have sewn it all around, leaving a tiny opening, it’s time to turn it right side out.
Push the fabric outward through the hole, so that it can turn right side out.
Now begin to stuff the hole, filling it with cotton batten, rice or beans.
Finish off by hand sewing it closed (or use the machine), add the additional threading so that it closes the circle completely. Tie a knot and cut the string.
Now it’s time to make the base!
Stem:
1. Cut out a piece of white fabric so that it fits around your stick, about 4-5inches Wide and 3-4 inches in length. It should look like a rectangle shape.
2. By folding the fabric in half, you can Sew along two of the edges, the side that creates the width and one of the ends. Leave an opening. like this:
3. Turn it inside out, so you can’t see your stitches.
4. You can cut a zigzag on the open edge if desired,
5. Once you create your stem base, put it onto the stick and hand sew it to the cap.
You are now finished!! Make any colour you want!
Put them into the ground, or play with them as you please!
We hope you enjoy this fun sewing mushroom craft. If you make this craft, feel free to tag us on Instagram @acorns.and.aprons, we would love to see it and may feature your craft.
