Chibi

Not long after I made Seymour (my very first monster), my friend asked if I could try to make plushies of the characters from the animated movie My Neighbor, Totoro.  I have to admit I was a little bit nervous.  I have only made plushies that were created in my head so it didn't really matter how they came out.  With the Totoro characters I would have to actually try to make them look like something specific. 

I decided to start with Chibi (the little white one) because he was the simplest of the characters.  At first I tried to make him really small but it just wasn't working.  I had to draw him a few times before I got something that I thought would pass for Chibi.  I am terrible at drawing!  Even though this was a very simple shape, it took me forever to get it right...well, right enough!

It's so funny to me how different he was than the picture I drew when he was all finished.  Luckily he still looks a little like Chibi.  :-)  I guess the shape changed some with the sewing and stuffing.

Chibi has a tail so I had to figure out how to sew a plushie with a tail for this project.  This one came out a little crooked but I'm happy that I know how to do it now.  I'm so excited!  Now I can add something new to my own plushie designs!  I can't wait!

I made him out of white fleece since he's all white with white eyes.  His eyes are made of black and white felt and his feet are made of orange felt.  I had to get some felt in there!!  Afterall, this is a plushie made by me!  ;-)

See??

I'm really happy with the way Chibi came out.  I bought enough material to make more than one doll.  I couldn't resist.  This one will go to Sarah.  I will for sure have to make one for me and then another one later on when I'm brave enough to start selling my crafties.  :-)

I think I'm going to give myself a little break and make a plushie that I design next.  It's going to take me a while to draw the pattern for Chu and Totoro anyway.  I also have to start working on a Gir plushie.  My friend asked me to make some plushies for her sons for Christmas presents.  One will be a Gir and the other will be based on a picture her son drew.  I have no idea how I'm going to make Gir!  I'm a little nervous, but I'm sure I'll figure something out.

That's it!  I'll end this one with a little Chibi animation I found when I was looking for reference pictures.  It's very cute!  Have a great weekend!