Quite a while ago, I knit a Totoro toy and a Soot Sprite for a swap on Ravelry. I posted pictures of them on this blog. I did not come up with the idea nor did I make up the pattern. The original Totoro that I copied was based on a pattern published on Knitty and altered by someone (Rududu) on Ravelry.
The Totoro I made was adorable (soot sprite too) and my girls have asked me to make another. I have also had many requests through the blog for the pattern. I've given out the information for the pieces, but there is no explicit pattern. I can't write one following the toy I knit because the pieces I used belong to other people.
I promised a couple of people that we would have a Totoro and Soot Sprite knit along and that it would start in January. So here is the information you need if you want to participate:
You will need some white yarn for the belly and whatever color you want for the body. Size doesn't matter - I'm using worsted weight and will use the appropriate size needles to knit that with a fairly tight gauge so the stuffing won't show thru. DK will make a smaller toy and bulky will make a larger toy. For worsted weight I bought one 210 yard skein and had a fair amount left over, so I suspect you need about 110 yards of the main body color.
You will also need some eyes. They can be embroidered with black yarn or buttons sewed on. I use safety eyes because I don't like to sew and I like the way they look. You can get almost any size and color from CR's Crafts and they are very inexpensive (much less than the vendors on Etsy or Ebay). Sometimes you can find the safety eyes at Michaels or Joann's or Hobby Lobby, but usually not a large selection of sizes and colors.
You are going to need Rududu's notes from Ravelry. She's the one who came up with this creation by manipulating another pattern. I sent her a message suggesting she turn it into a pattern, but she was worried that whoever wrote the pattern Kate the Cat was based on would not like it, so all we have are her notes. They came from her Totoro project on Ravelry. If you are not a member of Ravelry and cannot get to that link, it's free to join and if you knit or crochet or even tat, it's a wonderful place to be a member.
And lastly you are going to need the Kate pattern from Knitty.com. Kate is a cat toy and is listed under whimseys on the website. We aren't going to follow the pattern exactly or we'd come up with a Kate. We are going to knit part of it and then change it and then add other bits and pieces to make a Totoro.
If you want to take part in this knit along, please post a comment on this thread or drop me an email (through my profile) so I know how many we have participating. I would really love to post pictures of all the finished objects when we are done. We will officially begin on January 10th as that is knitting Monday.
2 comments:
I am in. I stopped at a LYS yesterday and picked up blue and white wool (cascade 220) - I do like that Galway but the LYS doesn't carry it.
Oh, what is a totoro anyway?
That makes 3 so far.
Totoro is a character from the Japanese Anime film "My Neighbor Totoro" by Hayao Miyazaki. It's a most fabulous children's movie that the girls both love. You should also check out Spirited Away, Ponyo, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Castle in the Sky, Princess Mononoke, Howl's Moving Castle, and Kiki's Delivery Service. All put out by Studio Ghibli and all very, very good movies. You will want them in the house if/when you have grandchildren.
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