Over the past year, I have gotten really into Hayao Miyazaki movies and, with the help of my trusty library card, have slowly been making my way through his work. So far my favorites are Spirited Away and Kiki’s Delivery Service, but My Neighbor Totoro holds a special place in my heart.
Because how can you not love this face?
Anyway, this weekend I went to the Renaissance Faire and decided to semi-dress up. I needed a costume I could complete in an afternoon and, inspired by my love for Studio Ghibli, came up with this simple Totoro costume. I got a lot of compliments on my dress this weekend and even was asked to have my picture taken (twice! once in the bathroom, which is less weird than you think for females, I suppose). Regardless, the costume was a hit. Plus, it was easy and comfortable to wear (something I learned is very important after my less-than-comfy Judy Hopps costume two Halloweens ago- see Part 3: Ear Headband for details).
The nice thing about this design is that you can pick and choose how much work you want to put into it. I was originally planning on just doing a tummy patch and the ears, but as I was going, I thought it would be cute to add a face as well. You can do any combination of things depending on what you have available and how much time you have to complete the look. If you don’t make a face on your dress/shirt, you can always paint your own face with a few whiskers. It’s all up to you.
For this tutorial, I used a gray dress that I already had. I pinned the details on so that I could easily take them off after wearing the costume to transform it back into an every day dress. You can also hot glue the design on for a permanent costume. Or you can sew the pieces on. You can always cut the stitches to transform the dress back. Whatever works for you.
Now let’s get crafting.
Here is a full list of all of the parts of this tutorial: