A realistic knitted Fly Agaric for those who enjoy autumn and challenging knits
Do you want to knit a little mushroom but you are not really satisfied with the way most patterns look like? Too kitschy? Not detailed enough? Well, then you are like me because this was more or less the starting point for this fly agaric pattern. I too wanted something that looked like the real thing – cute but not a caricature.
Also available in my Ravelry store
This is a super detailed knitting pattern for a fly agaric that comes with two different versions. The pdf has 12 pages full of big pictures and easy-to-understand written instructions. There was an extensive test knit and there are tutorials available for all techniques you need here on my blog.
The mushrooms are knit in the round on 2.00 mm needles using lace yarn and it will take about 8-12 hours to finish the larger specimen and around 3-4 hours for the smaller version. They are knit in one piece without a seam, though you will have to embroider the dots after you finished.
It took me a full year to develop this pattern. If you look around my Instagram page, you will see a previous version of this pattern. While nice, I wasn’t perfectly satisfied with the transition between gills and cap – and some of it was just too difficult to knit on top of that. And I wanted something that is accessible to a wide range of knitters and looks beautiful!
Getting the shape of the cap right took probably 8 attempts, and I am not even joking. For some reason, I’ve got it into my head that I wanted the gills to dive/converge into the center (the real amanitas have a hemispherical shape as well), but that proved to be quite difficult without showing the increases and, usually, knitting just doesn’t behave like that when stuffed.
But all the nerves and time this knitting pattern cost me really paid off. I’m just so satisfied with how they turned out. They really look like the real deal, don’t you think?
Size & Gauge
My finished fly agaric is around 13 cm (5 in) tall and the cap is around 11 cm (4.3 in) wide. The smaller specimen is only 9 cm (3.5 in) tall and 5 cm (2in) wide. These dimensions will depend a bit on how tall you knit the stipe and how light or tight you stuff the finished mushrooms. My gauge for a 2,5 x 2,5 cm swatch in flat stockinette stitch is 10 stitches x 13 rows.
Knitting techniques
All in all the mushroom is not too difficult to knit. There are a lot of twisted stitches to shape the gills. And of course, there are those 2.00 mm needles and the lace yarn. But overall, that’s nothing any intermediate knitter wouldn’t be able to deal with. Here are the techniques you need to know:
- K = knit
- P = purl
- ktbl = knit through back loop
- K2tog = knit two together
- KLL = Knit left loop
- PLL = Purl Left loop
- yo = yarn over
- A picot-bind off
Click on the links to access the (video) tutorials for all these techniques or go through my free knitting school. I’m expanding it constantly and almost all important stitches and techniques are explained in great detail with lots of high-resolution pictures and videos. You may start with my guide on how to knit in the round with double-pointed needles.
Materials you will need for this Fly agaric knitting pattern
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- 70 m (76 yd) of the Wollmeise lace in white & 50 meters (54 yd) in red or any other light fingering weight or lace yarn.
- Double-pointed knitting needles 2.0 mm. Frequent readers probably already know that I am a huge fan of the Knitter’s Pride Karbonz because they are the only ones that don’t end up crooked after 5 minutes.
- A tapestry needle and scissors.
- Toy stuffing
- A crochet hook 2mm (optional)
- (Blocking) pins
While I knit on dpns, I am reasonably sure you can also finish it using magic loop. And, if you don’t mind a larger finished project, you can knit using bigger needles and heavier yarn as well.
All in all, these mushrooms will be a fun challenge and a lovely way to decorate your home. The two available sizes will give you the chance to practice with the smaller specimen first and then proceed to the larger version. It will also provide you with many different ways to style your finished work.
Anyway, that’s my fly agaric knitting pattern. Comment below in case you have any questions.
I will be patiently waiting for the pattern.
Congrats.
I will be publishing it on Ravelry. So, if you follow me there, I’m sure you wont miss it. https://www.ravelry.com/designers/norman-schwarze
They are fabulous
Thanks so much! I am looking forward to starting this lovely pattern!!
Heh! you are very welcome ann. And make sure to share a picture of your finished mushroom, right? 🙂
Hi Norman, I think there is an issue on Round 15. It says ktp3 and ktp4. Should it be kbp3 and kbp4? If not what is kpt?
Hey Lisa,
you are a gem, yes, it should be kbp3 and kbp4. None of my testknitter nor my tech editor found that. And neither did I. so thank you. I will correct it right now!
Norman
Hello,
I am knitting the large fly agaric mushroom and I’ve gotten to the end of round 31, and the stitches aren’t counting up right. I’m not sure if I’m doing something wrong or if there is a mistake in the pattern, so I thought I would contact you.
Round 31 says to k5 KLL k2, but I’m at the end of the row having just done the final KLL and there are 3 stitches left instead of 2. I counted the stitches in the row previous and had 128, as expected. However, the number of stitches in round 31, minus the 2 stitches at the end, should be divisible by 5. 128-2 = 126, which is not divisible by 5. The nearest number divisible by 5 is 125, which means an addition of 25 stitches added in round 31. 128+25 = 153, but round 31 says there should be 152 at the end of the round. Going forward, it seems that the pattern assumes one less stitch than produced by the instructions (round 34 has a total of 12 decreases get from 152 to 140, etc). I thought perhaps the joggless join results in a decrease, but it doesn’t appear to be the case.
For now, I will just add a k2tog before round 32, but just thought I would ask if I am either missing something or in case the pattern needs amendment.
Otherwise, the pattern is very thorough and I love the links to the tutorials, which are very clear. This is such a wonderful way to construct the pattern! My only additional comment is to include a direct link to the PLL tutorial in the pattern (there is one for KLL but not PLL). When I googled PLL, the top hits were for a different stitch than the PLL tutorial you have on your website, which would be incompatible with the pattern (your PLL makes much more sense!).
Anyways, thank you for your time and for the pattern. I look forward to hearing what the solution is to my round 31 conundrum is.
Heather
Hey Heather,
thank you for catching that mistake. I updated the pattern accordingly and you (and all others who purchased it) should have received a new download pattern link.
The new repeat for r31 is: *k5, KLL, k6, KLL, k5, KLL*
A bit too advanced for me at the moment, but I just wanted to say that these are the most beautiful knitted mushrooms I have ever seen.
thank you! and no worries…besides, i have a pattern for easier mushrooms here as well!
Hello, I love the pattern. The mushrooms are beautiful and reflect the amount of time and care you took making them.
I was wondering, if I want to use larger needles and thicker yarn (4.5mm and worsted weight), how long might I knit to on the stem to keep it proportionate? I’m having trouble with the math, I’m not sure how to work it out. I’m knitting the larger mushroom.
Thank you!
the proportions won’t change if you use thicker yarn or needles..it will just be bigger (a lot bigger). I don’t see why you want to change things?
Oh, I just thought that if I cast on 18 sts in worsted weight, the circumferance would be a lot wider than 18 stitches laceweight version. So I was thinking my stem would end up stout, but I will try the pattern with no changes first.
yes, it will be wider but it will also be that much taller 😉
Beautiful pattern! I’m enjoying knitting it so far. However, I’m confused by round 6. By doing *ktbl, KLL, p1, ktbl, p1, ktbl, p1* a fourth time, you are going through a section in which this was already done once, so it seems you would be breaking the ribbing pattern by doing this exactly as written. On the fourth time of doing this repeat on round 6, is the intent to actually break from the ribbing pattern or should it be *ktbl, KLL, ktbl, p1, ktbl, p1, ktbl, p1, ktbl, p1*? I hope this makes sense, and thanks for your help!
Hey Andry,
I think you are reading something wrong there. From the previous round (4), you should have 24 stitches on your needle.
Round 6 is worked through a repeat of 6 stitches.
You probably assume that the KLL is it’s own stitch…which it is not. The repeat is worked across 6 stitches. However, you work twice into the first.
Thank you so much for getting back to me! I pulled back my work and started back at round 1 to make sure I had everything set up right. I realized I in fact did misread the number of stitches in the repeat of round 6! I am back on track now and it’s looking great. Thanks for your help!
I’m enjoying the pattern. It looks fantastic so far! There’s a typo on page 6, Round 40 instructions say *k7, k2tog, k20*, but that’s the round 41 instructions. Probably should be *k8, k2tog, k20* to work with the previous round’s stitch count.
you are right! thx for letting me know. Fixed it (tho this was always just one of many examples)