Mushroom Wall Hanging for Nursery

Here’s the story of how our nursery sprouted a big red mushroom on its wall…

What I wanted was a big, bright wall hanging that would catch baby’s eye and I decided it would have to be red, but I really can’t remember how I landed on the mushroom idea. A quick survey of my stash produced a bit of red in cotton and some sturdy canvas that would do really well as backing for the wall hanging. Some grey scrap and I could see the thing already take shape.

I actually wanted to appliqué the mushroom design onto the canvas and cut it out like some giant monogram. But the canvas was too thick to be held by an embroidery ring. So I just basted the fabric onto the canvas and did the appliqué work with free style machine embroidery, much like quilting. This is my first time writing up my design and I haven’t written in the ‘tutorial’ fashion. But do let me know if you should have any problems at all while you making this, I will be happy to help.

Finished measurements:

Length - 52 cm

Breadth - 34 cm

Things you need:

Canvas

Red fabric

Grey fabric

Scraps of white fabric

Silky threads – red, white and black

Directions:

1)      Trace the top part of the mushroom onto the red fabric but do not cut it out.

2)      Machine appliqué circles of white fabric for the ‘spots’.

3)      You can use a piece of the grey fabric to appliqué a ‘window’ (optional). This is now ready to be machine stitched to the canvas backing.

4)      Baste the appliquéd red fabric onto the canvas (to prevent its slipping).

5)      Arrange the grey fabric in place under the red fabric on the canvas.

6)      Trace the lower part of the mushroom and the stalk on the grey fabric in the right place so it aligns with the red top part of the mushroom.

7)      Baste the grey fabric onto the canvas.

8)      Now machine stitch (very closely placed zigzag stitches of desired thickness) along the outlines.

9)      Use sharp scissors to cut out along the edges, taking care not to cut through the stitches.

10)  A small loop of fabric stitched in place near the top of the mushroom can be used to hang it up.