And you'll be with To-to-ro, Totoro! To-to-ro, Totoro!

If I had to pick a favourite animation film My Neighbour Totoro would win hands down, every time. I just love it and I'm happy to say I've now passed that love on to my son and my husband. It's a film that we all sit down and watch together and I hope it goes on being a family favourite - the current hit of the moment is Madagascar which is pretty good fun to watch too! 


Harris's love for Totoro was what inspired me to look up tutorials to make him a Totoro as I've been keen to have a go at soft toy making for a while now.  I could not believe my luck when I found this tutorial from Cheek and Stitch (update Sept 2018 - I’ve removed the link as unfortunately the blog has disappeared and the link looks dodgy now) - it was exactly what I was looking for! I printed out the pattern, got my felt from Hobby Craft and.. left it sitting for months as I'm prone to do.

Then I decided that I just had to make one for one of my friend's son's first birthday (as a fellow Totoro/Ghibli fan I knew she would appreciate it). Of course I couldn't make one for someone else and not for Harris so I decided just to go for it and make two at once.


The tutorial includes a free pattern which I printed out and backed onto card. The instructions are very clear and it all came together smoothly except for one thing. I found the 1/4" seam allowance made the ears, arms and tail just too fiddly to turn them right way out after stitching. I reduced the seam allowance to 1/8" and found this much easier.  The eyes, nose, mouth and belly are all done with hand-stitching and I really enjoyed doing this. I find it so relaxing to sew by hand.  I bought my stuffing from Hobby Craft too and was glad I'd bought 2 bags as it took lots of stuffing to make them nice and plump.


I am so happy with how these turned out, I got so much enjoyment out of making them and am sure that the love I put into making them has helped them turn out so happy looking! It's also been very gratifying to see that they are both well loved already, as you can see below!

Little hand in the corner coming to get his Totoro back!