March 21, 2018

Round Plush Totoro

By Janet Carrillo "damn it Janet, let's crochet!"
     For those who love cute things, Totoro is the perfect size to hold on your palm or attach to your bag as a keychain and be your traveling companion. You can also make a small blanket and attach him to make a lovey for your little one.

SIZE/MEASUREMENTS
approx. 3.75"height x 3"length

MATERIALS
*Crochet hook size: 2.75mm (C) & 3.5mm (E)
*Worsted Weight Yarn: Light Gray (42yds), Olive Green (1yd) & Lime Green (3yds)
*Fiberfill
*Felt: White & Black
*Stitch Markers to mark your rounds
*Tapestry Needle
*Matching Thread
*Hot Glue

PATTERN NOTES - must read...
 Numbers in ( ) at the end of each round/row indicate the total number of stitches.
 Always use stitch markers to mark your rounds.
 There's no need to sl st and/or ch when going to the next round unless stated to do so.
 Always do the 1st stitch where you slip stitch from the previous round.
 The chain, in the beginning, does NOT count as one stitch unless stated otherwise.
 You slip stitch on the first sc, not on top of the chain 1.

SPECIAL STITCHES/TECHNIQUE
 Half Triple Crochet (htc) - Y/O hook twice, insert hook into stitch & pull up a loop (4 loops remaining), Y/O hook & pull thru 2 loops (3 loops remaining), Y/O hook & pull thru the 3 remaining loops.
 Picot Stitch - ch3, insert hook into the 3rd chain from hook, y/o & draw up the yarn through all the loops.
 Other side of the foundation chains - this VIDEO explains how to do this technique that we'll be doing for the leaf.

HEAD/BODY with light gray; 3.5mm
  Rnd 1: 6sc in magic ring (6)
  Rnd 2: 2sc in each st around (12)
  Rnd 3: sc in next st, 2sc in next st around (18)
  Rnd 4: sc in next 2 sts, 2sc in next st around (24)
  Rnd 5: sc in next 3 sts, 2sc in next st around (30)
  Rnd 6: sc in next 4 sts, 2sc in next st around (36)
  Rnd 7: sc in next 11 sts, 2sc in next st around (39)
  Rnd 8-13: sc in each st around (39)
  Rnd 14: sc in next 11 sts, sc2tog around (36)
  Rnd 15: sc in next 4 sts, sc2tog around (30)
  Rnd 16: sc in next 3 sts, sc2tog around (24)
Start stuffing the head/body moderately firm.
  Rnd 17: sc in next 2 sts, sc2tog around (18)
  Rnd 18: sc in next st, sc2tog around (12)
  Rnd 19: sc2tog around (6)
F/O and leave a tail for closing. Add any bits of stuffing need it to finish shaping the head/body. Weave in the tail through the final round and draw up tight to close. Secure and weave in the ends.

EARS with light gray; make 2; 3.5mm hook
  Rnd 1: 4sc in magic ring (4)
  Rnd 2: sc in next st, 2sc in next st around (6)
  Rnd 3: sc in next 2 sts, 2sc in next st around (8)
  Rnd 4: sc in next 3 sts, 2sc in next st around (10)
  Rnd 5-6: sc in each st around (10)
  Rnd 7: sc in next 3 sts, sc2tog around (8)
  Rnd 8: sc in next 2 sts, sc2tog around (6)
  Rnd 9: sl st in next 2 sts to give it an even finish
F/O, secure and weave in the ends.

FEET with light gray; make 2; 3.5mm hook
  Rnd 1: 6sc in magic ring (6)
  Rnd 2: 3sc in next st, sc in next 2 sts around (10)
  Rnd 3-4: sc in each st around (10)
  Row 1: stuffed lightly, flatten to match up the stitches and sc across, ch1, turn (5)
  Row 2: sc2tog, sc in next st, sc2tog (3)
F/O, secure and weave in the ends.
ARMS with light gray; make 2; 3.5mm hook
  Rnd 1: 5sc in magic ring (5)
  Rnd 2-3: sc in each st around (5)
  Rnd 4: sc2tog, sc in next 3 sts (4)
F/O, secure and weave in the ends.

TAIL with light gray; 3.5mm hook
  Rnd 1: 4sc in magic ring (4)
  Rnd 2: sc in each st around (4)
  Rnd 3: sc in next st, 2sc in next 2 sts, sc in next st (6)
  Rnd 4: sc in next 2 sts, 2sc in next 2 sts, sc in next 2 sts (8)
  Rnd 5: sc in next 3 sts, 2sc in next 2 sts, sc in next 3 sts (10)
  Rnd 6: sc in each st around (10)
  Rnd 7: sl st in next 2 sts to give it an even finish
F/O, secure and weave in the ends.

LEAF starting with olive green; 2.75mm hook
  Rnd 1: ch5, sl st in 2nd ch from hook and across (4)
F/O, secure and weave in the ends.
Attach the lime yarn to the other side of the chain where we DIDN'T work the slip stitches.
  Rnd 2: ch2, dc in same st you attach, htc in next ch, dc in next ch, hdc+sc+picot st+sc+hdc in last st, other side of the foundation chains & in the back loops of the sl sts from rnd 1, dc in next st, htc in next st, dc in next st, ch2 and sl st in same st as the previous st
F/O, secure and weave in the ends.


ASSEMBLE
     I recommend pinning the pieces in place before sewing them to make sure you have them in the position you like best before sewing. (Most people like to use the yarn at the end of the finished pieces to sew them in place, but I personally like to use matching thread).
     TIP...For anything that I’m going to be using felt, I like to first sketch it out on a white paper and make a stencil of what I need. Then cut it out. Then tape the stencil to the felt and cut it out.
     TUMMY SPOT...with white felt make a circle with a diameter of 2.75". Using light gray thread or embroidery floss, make the marks on his tummy. Place it between round 12 and 18.
     FEET...try to find the position you like best. I place mine between round 17 and 18; approx. 1/2" apart. They'll be overlapping the tummy spot by a little bit on the sides. Only sew the 2 last rows from the feet (the flat area) to the body.
     EARS...there's no need to stuff them, simply flatten them out. Place them between round 3 and 5.
     ARMS...there's no need to stuff them. Align them with the feet and ears. Place them in round 11 and 12.
     TAIL...if you haven't already, stuff it lightly. Find the center of the back of the body and place it between round 14 and 16. You'll want the part that we did the increases to be facing down.
     LEAF...place it on top of the head/body, right between the ears. There's no need to completely sew it in place, just sew the ch5 we made with the olive green yarn.
     NOSE...using black felt make a small oval. Find the center of the body and place in between round 10 and 11.
     EYES...using white felt make 2 circles and another 2 using black felt but make these much smaller. Place the white circles on round 9 and 10; approx. 0.75" apart. The tiny black circles go on the top of the white circles.
     WHISKERS...with black yarn or embroidery floss, embroider them right beneath the eyes.

GLOSSARY:
ch/s: chain/s || sc: single crochet || hdc: half double crochet || dc: double crochet || htc: half triple crochet
sl st: slip stitch || st/s: stitch/es || sc2tog: single crochet 2 stitches together || rnd: round
f/o: finish off || y/o: yarn pver



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Have a nice crochet time!
- Janet

Totoro and My Neighbor Totoro are copyright by Studio Ghibl.
This pattern is an original pattern by Janet Carrillo "damn it Janet, let's crochet!" (March 2018). Please do not claim this pattern as your own. If you wish to share this pattern, you may link to this pattern but please do not reprint/repost it on your site. You may print and keep a copy for your own personal use. Please do not resell or distribute it.