If you so desire, you can also add a Totoro face to your costume. One thing to watch for when choosing this option is that you do not place the eyes too low or too face apart. Cartoon eyes have a strange way of looking like a certain part of the anatomy that many people find offensive. Just saying, you don’t want to be walking around in an innocent anime costume while other people think you have black-and-white nipples on the outside of your shirt. Luckily, Totoro’s eyes are pretty close together so it is fairly easy to avoid, but something to still keep in mind.
Pro tip: If you use a dress with semi-thick straps, they create the illusion Totoro ears on the dress itself. I was originally going to use a sleeved dress (why do I have so many gray summer dresses?), but then went with this one, because it has pockets and everyone knows a dress with pockets is the best dress.
Not let’s begin.
Supplies:
White and black scrap fabric
Hot glue gun and glue
Scissors
Permanent marker/paint
Safety pins (again, you can glue or sew it on if you choose)
1. First things first, cut out all of your pieces. You will need: one white smile, two white circle eyes, one little black oval-like nose, and 6 black lines for whiskers. Once you cut them out, place them on your dress/shirt to figure out size and such.
2. As with PART 1, hot glue along the edges of the mouth and fold them inward to create clean edges that will not fray.
3. Add some lines with the marker to make the teeth. Totoro’s smile is usually depicted with 5-7 teeth showing at a time.
4. Use the same hot glue technique to create the eyes.
5. Now add two black circles for pupils. I put mine right in the middle of the white part so that Totoro didn’t look cock-eyed on my chest.
Now for the whiskers. I chose to do six as this is how the original Totoro is pictured, but I have seen cosplay artists use more/less. It is up to you.
6. Use the same hot glue technique to glue the long edges and one short edge inward. When doing this, it is best to leave a thin lane in the middle of the whisker that is just one layer thick. That way, when you are pinning, you aren’t trying to shove a safety pin through 2-3 layers of whisker at a time (Yes, I learned from experience.).
7. Cut the corners of the other short end to create a whisker-like point.
8. Repeat on the other 5 whiskers.
9. Using the same pinning technique as PART 1, attach the face onto the top of your shirt (remember the placement of the eyes!) from the inside so the safety pins do not show. As stated before, you can also glue or sew the face on if you would like. This tutorial is meant to be tailored to your preferences and needs, so go for it.
Now that you have your tummy patch and face, you can either wear the costume as is or continue on and make an adorable ear headband to go along with your adorable dress.
Here is a full list of all of the parts of this tutorial:
