Paul the Toadstool

Paul the Toadstool is the second crochet pattern I made from Lydia Tresselt of lalylala. Paul started off quickly. In no time, I was finished with the legs, body, collar, and head but the removable hat took significantly more time than I expected.

Material Notes

I bought yarn for Paul at the same time I bought for Oleg, so my process and vendors were roughly the same.

Light Grey

Paul's shirt called for Trekking XXL Tweed color 210. I had the same issues finding this color that I did finding the light blue for Oleg. But unlike Oleg, I had a difficult time finding a suitable replacement. I finally stumbled upon Skacel Knitting in my backyard, the US distributor of Trekking XXL Tweed, and their retail store in Kent WA, Makers' Mercantile. I'm sure if you really want this yarn, they can send it to you, but it is a bit pricey at $17 for a 100g skein.

Brown

Paul's pants called for Regia Uni sockwool - 4ply - color: 2140. I was able to find this (and the green yarn for the belt) for sale at Arts Crafts USA labeled as Regia 4 Ply Wool Solids, color 2140 (Bark Heather). However, one of the colors was out of stock at the time and I found a suitable replacement when walking through the warehouse at Little Knit. I ended up using Cascade Yarns 220 fingering in color 8013 (Walnut Heather). This is easily available in the US.

Green

The green used in Paul's pants and embroidered grass again called for Regia Uni sockwool. I nearly picked up a Cascade Yarns green but mentioned that I was looking for something a little more "grassy". The person at Little Knits helping me pulled what may have been their last small 25g skein of Jamieson's Shetland Spindrift, colour 259 (Leprechaun) out of the back of a shelf. It had the correct gauge and was a grassy green heathered with a little bit of grassy yellows. I didn't need much and it was only $5. Sold!

Red

The pattern calls for more Trekking XXL tweed for the hat. Between Paul and Oleg, there were three colors of this yarn. At $17 a pop, I decided to only buy one and I went for the Light Grey. For the red, I found a good option at Knit Picks: Stroll Tweed Sock Yarn, Firecracker Heather. The tweed flecks in this yarn are a little less integrated into the main fibers and you can easily pick them off if you tried. The tight amiguriumi stitches will lock most of them in once crocheted up.

White

I used the same bleached white (Color #54) Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy for the head as I did with Oleg. I should be able to get at least 3 heads out of one small ball of this yarn.

Eyes

6mm Safety eyes from Joann's.

Pattern Notes

The pattern was very easy to follow. I only changed a few things:

The pattern calls for a 2.5mm crochet hook. I used a 2.75mm, US size D Susan Bates hook.

The pattern has you increase to 54 stitches on the head. I increased to 60 stitches to match the hat.

If you like the pattern, you can find this plus many more at lalylala or on Etsy.