My Neighbor Totoro Pattern

I have another pattern to share!
My Neighbor Totoro is a cute film by Hayao Miyazaki. Totoros are magical rabbit like creatures that help things grow and just do cute mythical animal stuff. I first watched this movie in 5th grade and thought it was cute. Nowadays, all I can think about is how much my mother-in-law hates that movie because "the little girl screams too much!" It's true!

This totoro is made for my friend from college's second baby. This friend has always been such a strong individual and provided me with guidance many times. She's had challenges thrown her way, but she still is such a humble and grateful person. I love her and wish I could be more like her! She also loaned me her Hayao Miyazaki DVD collection so I could watch all the movies that were only in Japanese at the time. Thus, her baby gets a totoro. :)

I put a jingle bell in an mini easter egg, sealed it, and placed it in the middle. Also, I used fun yarn for the first time for the tummy part. It's soooo soft. But I seriously had to "use the force" while making this, because I could not see ANY of my stitches. A lot of feeling around for those loops, but no visuals.

Anyways, without further ado, here's the pattern.

Totoro Pattern by The Craftzilla

Totoro is a wonderful movie and character made by Hayao Miyazaki. I do not claim any ownership of Totoro. This is a fan pattern for you to make your own Totoro.

Please do not repost, redistribute, or sell this pattern. You may sell items from this pattern, but please give credit to The Craftzilla for the pattern. Thank you!

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Materials
Crochet hooks sizes D 3.25, F 3.75, and J 6.00
2 safety eyes, 1 safety nose
Grey yarn
White fluffy/fun yarn
White yarn
Yarn needle
Scissors

Abbreviations
Ch- Chain
MC- Magic Circle (can be replaced with ch 2 method)
Sc-Single crochet
inc- Increase; two single crochet in the same stitch
dec- Decrease; stick your hook through the next two front loops, yarn over, pull through front loops, yarn over, pull through loops on hook, one dec made.
**-section to be repeated
(#)-Total number of stitches at the end of that round.
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Eyes – make 2
White yarn, size D 3.25 hook
In a spiral - do not join
Round 1: ch 2, 6 sc in first ch (6)
Round 2: inc in every stitch (12)
Assembly: Fasten off, leave tail for sewing eye to body. Place safety eyes in middle hole made by the first chain.
Snap eyes onto body before stuffing it/finishing it.  Mine were between round 12 & 13, and with the whites of the eyes were about nine stitches apart. I placed the nose one round lower in between the two.

Body
Grey yarn, size F 3.75 hook
In a spiral - do not join
Round 1: 6 sc in magic circle (6)
Round 2: inc in every stitch (12)
Round 3: *sc, inc * x 6 (18)
Round 4: sc, * inc, 2sc* x 5, inc, sc(24)
Round 5: * inc, 3 sc* x 6 (30)
Round 6: 2 sc, * inc, 4 sc* x 5, inc, 2 sc (36)
Round 7: * inc, 5 sc* x 6 (42)
Rounds 8 – 12: Sc around (42)
Round 13: 3 sc, *inc, 6 sc* x 5, inc, 3 sc (48)
Round 14: sc around (48)
Round 15: *inc, 7 sc* x 6 (54)
Rounds 16 – 18: sc around (54)
Round 19: 4 sc, *inc, 8 sc* x 5, inc, 4 sc (60)
Rounds 20 – 21: sc around (60)
Round 22: *inc, 9 sc* x 6 (66)
Round 23 – 25: sc around (66)
Round 26: 5 sc, *dec, 9 sc* x 5, dec, 4 sc (60)
Round 27: *dec, 8 sc * x 6 (54)
Round 28: 4 sc, *dec, 7 sc* x 5, dec, 3 sc  (48)
Round 29: *dec, 6 sc* x 6 (42)
STOP! Assembly: Fill with stuffing & rattle/jingle bell (I put a bell in a tiny Easter egg and sealed it for better sound), apply safety eyes, safety nose, etc. Keep stuffing as you go.
Round 30: 3 sc, *dec, 5 sc* x 5, dec, 2 sc (36)
Round 31: *dec, 4 sc* x 6 (30)
Round 32: 2 sc, *dec, 3 sc* x 5, dec, 1 sc (24)
Round 33: *dec, 2 sc* x 6 (12)
Round 34: *dec, 1 sc* x 6 (6)
Assembly: Fasten off and leave tail of yarn. Thread tail onto yarn needle. Weave needle through the front loops only and pull tight. This is the ultimate amigurumi finish— visuals and further details can be seen on Planet June: http://www.planetjune.com/blog/the-ultimate-finish-for-amigurumi/

Tummy
White fluffy yarn, with  J/6.00 hook
(If using regular yarn, use smaller hook and add more rounds)
In a spiral, do not join
Round 1: 6 sc in magic circle (6)
Round 2: inc in every stitch (12)
Round 3: *sc, inc * x 6 (18)
Round 4: sc, * inc, 2 sc* x 5, inc, sc(24)
Round 5: * inc, 3 sc* x 6 (30)
Stop here if using fluffy yarn and J hook. Fasten off and leave tail to attach to body.

Add these rounds (or less) on if using regular yarn and the tummy isn’t big enough.
Round 6: 2 sc, * inc, 4 sc* x 5, inc, 2 sc (36)
Round 7: * inc, 5 sc* x 6 (42)
Round 8: 3 sc, *inc, 6 sc* x 5, inc, 3 sc (48)
Fasten off

Assembly: Thread two strands of grey yarn onto needle and embroider on ^ pattern. I have seen many versions of Totoro’s markings, but the one on my VHS case has three ^ on the top row, and four on the next. Sew tummy onto Totoro approx. three rows under his nose and centered.

Ears – make 2
Grey yarn, D 3.25 hook
Round 1: 5 sc in MC (5)
Round 2: *sc, inc* x 2, sc (7)
Round 3: *inc, sc* x 3, inc (11)
Rounds 4 - 6: sc around (11)
Round 7: inc, 5 sc, inc, 4 sc  (13)
Round 8: sc around (13)
Round 9: *dec, 3 sc * x 2, dec, sc (10)
Round 10: sc around (10)
Round 11: *dec, 3 sc* x 2 (8)
Fasten off and leave tail for sewing.
Assembly: I did not stuff the ears, but you may want to. Space ears approx. 6 stitches apart on top of head and sew on.

Arms – Make 2
Grey yarn, D 3.25 hook
In a spiral, do not join
Round 1: 4 sc in MC (4)
Round 2: inc, 4 sc  (5)
Round 3: inc, 5 sc  (6)
Round 4: sc around (6)
Round 5: inc, 6 sc  (7)
Round 6: inc, 7 sc  (8)
Round 7: inc, 8 sc  (9)
Round 8: Press arm so it is flat. Sc the two sides together into one flat arm. (4)
Fasten off and leave tail for sewing.
Assembly: Sew each arm to sides of body. Mine were between row 20-21 and about 4 stitches away from whites of eyes.

Tail
Grey yarn, D 3.25 hook
In a spiral, do not join
Round 1: 6 sc in MC (6)
Round 2: inc in every stitch (12)
Round 3: *inc, sc* x 6 (18)
Rounds 4-6: sc around
Round 7: inc, 17 sc  (19)
Round 8: dec, 17 sc  (18)
Round 9: *dec, sc* x 6 (12)
Round 10: *dec* x 6 (6)
Fasten off and leave tail for sewing
Assembly: Set your Totoro so he is sitting flat. Center the tail in back so that Totoro can still sit up. Sew on.

Whiskers
In grey yarn, using D 3.25 hook or smaller
I “latch hooked” the whiskers onto Totoro.
Cut four strands of yarn about 3 inches long. Insert hook where you would like your whiskers to be. Place two strands across the hook and pull through part way so that you have a loop. Grab the ends of yarn and pull them through the loop you created. Pull tight. If you only want three whiskers on each side, plunge your hook into Totoro on the opposite side of the whiskers. Push it through to where the whiskers are, grab one with your hook, then pull your hook out. The whisker should disappear into the body of Totoro. Trim your whiskers if desired. Mine are 1 inch long.
Fresh stitches has great photo tutorials on how to latch hook yarn onto amigurumi: http://www.freshstitches.com/how-to-add-yarn-hair-to-amigurumi-tutorial/

Leaf made from Attic 24's leaf pattern: http://attic24.typepad.com/weblog/may-roses.html

I hope you had a positive experience making your own Totoro! Please let me know how it went—I am still new to making patterns and would love input!