Totoro Playsuit Cosplay Tutorial

Hiya, SpaceKitty here!!! 

I really wanted to make a Totoro cosplay, but most Totoro cosplays I saw on the internet were either some kind of dress or a Kigurumi-like garment. But I wanted for something more simple and warm temperature friendly, so I decided to make a jumpsuit version of Totoro.

Please note, I am not a professional seamstress or cosplayer, and this tutorial is far from perfect. 

UPDATE: I have since changed some things on this cosplay, the changes will be noted. Here a pic of the new version :)

This cosplay should be fairly easy if you have a basic understanding of sewing.  

Basic supplies needed: 

• Sewing machine or a sewing needle 
• Sewing chalk
• Scissors 
• Sewing pins 
• Measuring tape 
• A ruler or yardstick 

Accessories patterns- Totoro Pattern

Playsuit 

• Gray and white cotton ( I think I used a 1yd precut piece but I may have used 2yd for the gray and a 24cm by 24cm scrap for the white)
• Gray and white thread
• Gray felt
• Zigzag stich on sewing machine (serger is optional)

I was going for a summer-friendly, picnic-themed cosplay so that I could survive longer in the heat. I based the playsuit on The Essentials Club's "DIY // Tie Strap Jumpsuit", link here. The costume follows the tutorial almost perfectly with only a few minor changes. 

First, change the shape of the front. In the tutorial, the jumpsuit is created with a v-shaped front. I removed the v-shaped front and I made it look more like a pair of overalls with a more rectangular pannels for both the front and back.

The second alteration is after your jumpsuit is completed. I added a pocket to replicate Totoro's fuzzy belly. I used the pocket dimensions from Jess Dang's "DIY Overall jumpsuit from scratch - Step by step tutorial", link here, start at timestamp 6:48. I cut five little curved shapes, pattern in pdf, like the ones on Totoro's belly, out of gray felt. Using a straight stitch, I attached the felt shapes to the pocket. Then attach the pocket to the jumpsuit.

Ears

(There is certainly a better way to do this, but I was working with what I had on hand and here is what I came up with.)

• Thin metal headband
• Screws
• Purple insulation foam board
• Gray paint
• Sandpaper
• Mod podge
• Hot glue
• Tacky glue
• E6000

I started with a thin metal headband, one that could easily be hidden under wig hair while sitting on top of the wig. Deciding where I wanted the ears to sit, I marked the spot, and then using E6000, I glued two screws where I had marked. (These are to keep the ears sturdy.)

I took two pieces of purple insulation foam and glue them together to make a thicker piece. Don't use hot glue for this, it will dry in hard globs and makes the next steps harder. I drew and cut out the shape of Totoro's ears, making the shape bigger than I want it to end up (it will become smaller while sanding). Taking sandpaper, I began shaping the ears to how I wanted them to look. I rounded out the corners, completely rounding the base of the ear, and tapering the ear from the top to the bottom so that it has a wedge shape to it. Once I got it to a shape I like, I covered it with two to three coats of mod podge, giving it final sand after the glue dried. 

I glued the ears to the headband, making the glue as neat as possible. I paint the ears gray and finished with mod podge.

Bracelet

• Oven-baked clay (black and white)
• Black pipe cleaner
• Black embroidery floss 
• Colorful beads (I used metallic pearls)
• Glue (I used fast drying super glue)
• Black paint

I took black oven-baked clay and made a round bead with a hole. Before I baked the clay, I texture it with aluminum foil and added the whites of the eyes, and then baked according to the instructions. Once cooled, I added the pupils to the eyes with paint. I found that the bead would spin and face backward on a normal string, so I used a pipe cleaner instead, but I did glue embroidery floss to the ends of the pipe cleaner to look like I had used string. I began to string the beads on the pipe cleaner, placing a colorful bead in between the Soot Sprite beads. I was using the colorful beads to represent the Kompeto, the Japanese candy, you see the soot sprites eat in Spirited Away. And you're done.

Leaf hair clip

• Green felt
• Dark green paint (for the leaf details)
• Magnets
• Hair barrette (the little snap metal ones)
• Hot glue
• Thin wire

Print or trace the leaf pattern, and use it to cut two pieces of felt. Take a piece of wire and glue it to the inside of one of the felt leaves. Glue the second leaf on top, sandwiching the wire between the two leaves. I took a short piece of wire and wrapped a long rectangle of felt around it to make a stem. Use dark green paint to paint the leaf veins and other details on the leaf before gluing the steam in place. Glue a hair barrette in place on the underside of the leaf and then you're done.

Shoes

I purchase a pair of gray tennis shoes from Target.

Steve

The little soot sprite keychain that sits in my pocket has been dubbed Steve. I bought him at a con a while ago, but there are several similar ones on Amazon. The soot sprite isn't necessary for the costume it was just a cute last-minute add-on.

Acorns

I found some décor acorns on sale after the fall at a craft store. They were originally metallic, so i  repainted them to better fit my needs.

Wig

I bought a short gray wig from Epic Cosplay, link here.

UPDATE: I purchased a different wig for this cosplay. It is from Amazon. If you're concerned like I was, about purchasing a wig from amazon, I personally think it is amazing and so cute, and would highly recommend it. It is thinner than the epic cosplay wig, but the waves help hide the thinnest. Link here.

Shirt

I got my undershirt at Michaels craft store. It is just a plain gray t-shirt.

UPDATE: I have since purchased a different gray shirt from a thrift store that has a softer neckline. The shirt from Micheals has a very thick and harsh neckline and wanted something less harsh.

And you're done!!! Hopefully, this tutorial was helpful. If you have any questions or need some help, please comment and I will try my hardest to help!!!

Thank you so much for reading, and happy cosplaying!!!

Maddie Hatter Cosplay Tutorial: The Skirts

Hiya, SpaceKitty here!!! 

I thought I would continue writing the tutorials on how I made my Maddie cosplay!!! Sorry, it is taking me a while to post these. (I had to repost this post, so please let me know if anything doesn't make sense)

I decided to break the costume process into four sections; the wig, the skirts, the bodice, and the accessories. 

Please note, I am not a professional seamstress or cosplayer, and this tutorial is far from perfect. 

This cosplay should be somewhat easy if you have a basic understanding of sewing.  

Basic supplies needed:

• Sewing machine or a sewing needle  
• Sewing chalk 
• Scissors  
• Sewing pins  
• Zipper foot (if you are using a sewing machine)  
• Measuring tape  
• Pencil
• Paper
• Calculator (for circle skirt math)  
• A ruler or yardstick  

 

Supplies needed for the tulle petticoat:

• Glitter black Tulle 
• Plain black tulle 
• Black fabric 
• Black thread 
• Elastic 

The tulle petticoat that I made was an altered version of the petticoat made by WhereBlackSheepMeet on YouTube, link here. I am going to send you to the video to put the petticoat together. It is pretty straightforward, and there are just a few minor adjustments that need to be made.  

First adjustment: WhereBlackSheepMeet is making her petticoat to go under a garment, and thus most of her petticoat will not be seen. However, Maddie Hatter's petticoat will be seen, so you need to alter the 17in lining to be much shorter. Mine ended up being about 8in. So you will cut out the two 5 in strips and two 8in strips (instead of the 17in strips) out of the black fabric.

Second adjustment: Because the petticoat in the video is being made to go under a garment, it is on the shorter side. To fix this for the Maddie costume you need to do a little measuring and math. Measure how long you want the petticoat to fall on yourself. Mine was about 20in. Next, subtract 16 from your number, so 20-16= 4. Then, add the number you just got to the number of the original tulle lengths. So instead of  16,15, and 10in (the lengths of the video's tulle rectangles), it would change to 20, 19, and 14in (which will be the new lengths). 

Last adjustment: This one is optional. I did not use ribbon to hem the edges of the tulle, I just left them raw. Either way will look fine though. 

 

Supplies needed for the purple skirt: 

• Magenta thread  
• A magenta zipper (An invisible zipper would be best, but I just used a regular 7" one)  
• Magenta fabric (My local Walmart did not have a close enough color, so I purchased (yards) of 100% cotton from a fabric store) 
• Gold heat transfer vinyl (I used 2 rolls. I suggest the Siser brand but other brands might work) 
• Clear or gold thread 
• Exacto knife 
• Iron and ironing board 

To start off, make a basic circle skirt. To do this, measure your waist and the desired length of the skirt. My length was about 10 inches. Once you have those measurements, get ready to do some math. Our equation is as follows:  

The ‘C’ stands for circumference, and this is the measurement of your waist. First, take the measurement of your waist and divide it by (2×3.14) or 6.28. Don't forget to write the number you get down so you don't forget it. Next, take the number that you just calculated and then add your length measurement to it. Please Note: When in doubt, make your skirt longer. You can always short your skirt, but it is harder to lengthen it. Write that number down also. Once you have those numbers it's time to cut.  

Take your fabric and fold it in half, top to bottom. Then fold it left to right so that you have two sides with a folded edge.  

In the corner where the two folded edges meet place the end of a ruler. Without moving the end of the ruler from the corner, move the other end of the ruler and begin measuring out the waist calculations number. This will create a curved line. Then repeat with the skirt length measurement. It should look something like the picture below.  

Now cut along on the dotted lines drawn.  

Now if you have gotten this far and are completely confused, I apologize. However, don't despair just yet. There is a great circle skirt tutorial by MADE Everyday on youtube, and the first 7 minutes explain what I have shared here. The link is here. *PLEASE NOTE*: In the MADE Everyday video, she adds an extra inch or two to compensate for the fact that she is using an elastic waistband. Don't add the extra inches because you will be using a zipper. 

Once cut out, unfold your skirt once, so that it is folded in half. Cut along one folded side. Unfold the skirt to reveal a single cut line. Kinda like this.  

This is the final cut out 

Now it is time for the waistband. First, you need to decide how thick you want your waistband. Do keep in mind your waistband needs to be a little over an inch thick because you will be adding the buttons to it later. Mine ended up being about 1.5 when my skirt was finished because my button was an inch. Once you have decided how thick your waistband will be. Cut out a strip of fabric that is (the measurement of your waist + 3 inches) long and (the desired thickness of your waistband doubled and add an extra 1/2 inch for seam allowance) wide. You need to double the thickness of the waistband because it will be folded in half when attached. 

Now, I am going to be completely honest, I just folded the waistband in half and sewed it into the inner circle of the skirt. Once the waistband was installed, I folded the excess into the fabric tube so that the end of the waistband lined up with the cut in the skirt. But if you would like a more professional and nicer-looking waistband, here is a tutorial on how to do that. The link is here. *Note*: You will need interfacing for this tutorial. 

Zipper time! Now, I hate that I keep sending you to other tutorials, but I don't think I could explain zippers if I tried. This circle skirt tutorial starts explaining the zipper process at the 3:08 minute mark. The link is here. 

 

Now before you hem the skirt, you need to add the gold decorations. *Note*:this step took a few hours. I used gold heat transfer vinyl (htv) by Siser. I found a swirl design image that I liked on the internet and uploaded it to a word document program. I sized it up to the desired size (I did have to do a couple test prints). My design size was big enough to fit 4 of the design on my skirt. Once I found a size I liked I printed it out, place it over the htv, dull side up, and gently cut it with an Exacto knife (you can use a cricket machine for this step but I'm am not sure how to do that). Here is a short video on htv basics, link here. You will also need to cut the skirt trim out of htv.  

Once you have all of your htv pieces, iron them onto your skirt according to the instruction of your htv packaging. Once you have finished ironing on the htv, hem your skirt and you're done! 

 

Supplies needed for the blue and white skirt:   

• White and/or clear thread 
• A blue or white zipper (I just used a regular 7" one)  
• Blue and white fabric (I used a pre-cut piece of cotton fabric from Walmart)  

For the blue and white skirt, or as I like to call it the circus tent skirt :), You are going to cut two circle skirts with both colors the same way you did with the purple skirt above. Please keep in mind that this skirt will be longer than the purple skirt. Mine was about 14in long. 

Take your full circle, fold it in half, and cut along the fold, giving you two halves. Set one half aside. Take the half you kept and fold it in half. Cut along the fold. Continue folding in half and cutting on the fold until you have 16 panels. Repeat for the white. 

Take the panels you just cut out and being sewing them together, alternating between blue and white. I used a 1/8in seam, but my seams keep falling apart, so I would suggest a 1/4in seam. Stop before sewing on the last panel. Set the skirt on the floor and lay the final panel where it will be attached. Your skirt should have a large gap and should not make a completed circle. 

Use the final panel as a template to cut out more panels to fill in the gap. I only needed two more panels but you will probably need more because of the 1/4inseam. Do make sure that no two colors are touching. Even if you have to add more or fewer panels than the gap needs. I still had a small gap, but I left it because I didn't want two colors touching. 

After you have straight-stitched the panels together, zigzag stitch or serge all of the panel seams to keep them from fraying. 

Now sew in the waistband and zipper the same as the purple skirt. To hem the skirt, I used a clear thread so as to blend in with the two different colors. 

And you're done!!! Hopefully, this tutorial was helpful. If you have any questions or need some help, please comment and I will try my hardest to help!!!

Thank you so much for reading, and happy cosplaying!!!

Maddie Hatter Cosplay Tutorial: The Wig

Hiya, SpaceKitty here!!!

Recently, my Maddie Hatter cosplay has been getting quite a bit of love. So I thought I would begin writing the tutorials on how I made that cosplay, starting with the wig!!!

Please note, I am not a professional seamstress or cosplayer, and this tutorial is far from perfect.

Wig styling can be a little intimidating, but I felt that this wig was somewhat easy to make.

I decided to break this wig process into two sections; the dyeing of the wig and the styling of the wig.

Supplies needed for the wig dyeing: 

• Wig stand or something sturdy to hold the wig (Mine is just a wooden dowel zip-tied to the leg of a chair with a foam head on top 😂)
•  Long white wig (I used the Nyx - Classic White Wig from EpicCosplay, link is here)
• 70% Isopropyl rubbing alcohol (I probably used half of a 32oz bottle) 
• Alcohol inks in desired colors (I used this alcohol ink pack, link is here)
• Spray bottles (I used the little 95¢ ones from the travel section in Walmart)
• Plastic cling wrap
• Long sewing pins and/or hair clips for separating hair sections

I had very few progress photos of this project, so please bear with my explanations.

Let's start this thing!!!

First, set your wig and wig stand up in an area in which you have either covered or are okay with getting messy. The dyed will stain so be careful. I set mine up in my backyard and used a tarp. 

For the dye, mix the alcohol ink and the rubbing alcohol and then put the mix into your spray bottles. The proportions of ink to rubbing alcohol is up to you, but remember this; the more rubbing alcohol will lighten your color and less will give you a darker color. You may want to test the color of each mixture on a piece of paper to at least get an idea of want color you working with. *Please Note* The color on the end result of your wig will be lighter, so just keep that in mind.

Next, take your plastic wrap and begin wrapping it all over the wig, covering all the hair, except for the front bangs. You can dye the wig in any order you want, top to bottom, back to front, but I do suggest doing the bangs first.

Now that you have everything but the bangs cover, select a chunk of hair to dye. Now wrap the remaining bangs, not the chunk you just selected, in plastic wrap. Pick one of the three dye colors, and just spray until the hair is saturated. Please remember that how neat you are during the dyeing process will determine how pretty your wig will turn out.

Unfortunately, I took this picture after I had already removed the plastic wrap from the undyed bangs, but hopefully, it will still give some idea on how the bangs could be dyed.

Wrap the recently dyed hair in plastic and continue spraying the bangs with the different colors, making sure to cover the rest of the bangs with the plastic wrap.

Once you have finished the bangs, you are going to do the same process on the rest of the hair. Now I started with the bottom under layers and worked my way up, but here is the way I am going to suggest you do it. Start at the top of the wig, and select 1 to 2 rows of the wefts. Now the wig I used didn't have weft at the top of it, instead, it had individually placed hairs, so if your wig is like that, just select what you think 1 to 2 wefts would look like. Cover the hair underneath with plastic wrap, make sure all areas are covered. Single out a chunk of hair at the top to begin dyeing, making sure to cover the remainder of the hair.  

When you're ready to move on to your next row of wefts, make sure to keep the bottom layer covered in plastic wrap and also to cover the previously dyed layer. But be sure to keep the different colored sections of hair wrapped in their own individual plastic wrap so that the colors won't bleed onto each other. 

Once you have completely dyed, your wig let it dry completely. Once dry, rinse your wig in cold water until the water runs clear. I accidentally didn't rinse my wig's bangs well enough, and a small amount of ink transfers to my skin every time I wear it 😅

Once completely rinse clean, let dry, and then it's onto styling!!!

The inspiration for the dyeing of this wig came from a YouTube video by Alexa Poletti, the link is here.

Supplies needed for the wig styling: 

• Rubber hair rollers (mine were 3/4" in diameter)
• Boiling water
• A whole lot of bobby pins
• Hair clips to hold excess hair
• A very tall mug (larger the better)
• Wig stand
• Towels (ones that can get stained)

First off, put your wig back on your wig stand, and place a towel or two below the hair. This is in case you may have missed some of the excess dye, and it drips.

Starting from the bottom, separate 2 to 3 rows of wefts from the rest of the hair. Pin the rest of the hair up and out of the way. Take your rubber curler and wrap a section of the hair around it securing it with bobby pins. Repeat with the row's remaining hair. Pour the boiling water into the mug and dip the roller cover hair into the water, getting all of the hair wet. Please do be careful with the water as it will be very hot!!! 

This curling method is the second method from Jak Cosplay's wig curling video, the link is here.

Let the hair on the roller completely dry before removing it. Once you have removed a curl, separate it with your fingers into 2 or 3 individual curls for extra thickness and bounce!

Repeat all of that for the rest of the wig.

Now for the bangs, I wasn't sure how exactly to style them, so I just tuck them into the sides of my wig.

If you used the same wig I did, you are going to need to trim it. The Nyx - Classic White Wig from EpicCosplay is a layered wig, and when curl looks somewhat strange. I trimmed my wig to the layer that fell just below the shoulder. Because the wig is so curly and chaotic, it is pretty forgiving when trimming, so while you should be careful, mistakes while cutting should be easy to fix or hide. I just used a sharp pair of hair-styling scissors.

Here is how my finished wig looks:

My poor wig head has been abused 😅

And you're done!!!

I was able to finish the dyeing process in a day, but the styling took me a little over a week. Waiting for those curls to dry takes forever!!!

Hopefully, this tutorial was helpful. If you have any questions or need some help, please comment and I will try my hardest to help!!!

Thank you so much for reading, and happy cosplaying!!!

Satsuki Kusakabe Cosplay Tutorial

Hiya, SpaceKitty here!!!

Welcome to my first tutorial!!! Yay!!!

I don't know how popular Satsuki Kusakabe is to cosplay, but I hope this tutorial will help those who plan to cosplay her :)

Please note I am not a professional seamstress or cosplayer and this tutorial is far from perfect.

This cosplay should be super easy if you have a basic understanding of sewing. 

Basic supplies needed: 

• Sewing machine or a sewing needle 
• Sewing chalk
• Scissors 
• Sewing pins 
• Zipper foot (if you are using a sewing machine) 
• Measuring tape 
• Pencil, paper, and calculator (for circle skirt math) 
• A ruler or yardstick 

For the skirt, you will need: 

• Orange thread 
• 2 orange buttons (mine were approximately an inch in diameter) 
• An orange zipper (An invisible zipper would be best, but I just used a regular 7" one) 
• Orange fabric (I used a 2 yd pre-cut piece of Polycotton fabric from Walmart, but it turned out to be super thin, so I would highly suggest using thicker fabric like 100% cotton) 

NOTE: I made a full circle skirt for my version of the Satsuki cosplay, however, looking back now, I think a half-circle skirt would have been more accurate to the character. Here is a link to a half-circle skirt video tutorial if you wish to go that route. The link is here.

I didn't have any mid-progress photos of this cosplay project, so please bear with the images I have created in an attempt to explain the steps.

To start off, make a basic circle skirt. To do this, measure your waist and the desired length of the skirt. Once you have those measurements, get ready to do some math. Our equation is as follows: 

The ‘C’ stands for circumference, and this is the measurement of your waist. First, take the measurement of your waist and divide it by (2×3.14) or 6.28. Don't forget to write the number you get down so you don't forget it. Next, take the number that you just calculated and then add your length measurement to it. Please Note: When in doubt, make your skirt longer. You can always shorten your skirt, but it is harder to lengthen it. Write that number down also. Once you have those numbers it's time to cut. 

Take your fabric and fold it in half, top to bottom. Then fold it left to right so that you have two sides with a folded edge. 

In the corner where the two folded edges meet place the end of a ruler. Without moving the end of the ruler from the corner, move the other end of the ruler and begin measuring out the waist calculations number. This will create a curved line. Then repeat with the skirt length measurement. It should look something like the picture below. 

Now cut along on the dotted lines drawn. 

Now if you have gotten this far and are completely confused, I apologize. However, don't despair just yet. There is a great circle skirt tutorial by MADE Everyday on youtube, and the first 7 minutes explain what I have shared here. The link is here. *PLEASE NOTE*: In the MADE Everyday video, she adds an extra inch or two to compensate for the fact that she is using an elastic waistband. Don't add the extra inches if you plan on using a zipper.

Once cut out, unfold your skirt once, so that it is folded in half. Cut along one folded side. Unfold the skirt to reveal a single cut line. Kinda like this. 

This is the final cut out

Now it is time for the waistband. First, you need to decide how thick you want your waistband. Do keep in mind your waistband needs to be a little over an inch thick because you will be adding the buttons to it later. Mine ended up being about 1.5 when my skirt was finished because my button was an inch. Once you have decided how thick your waistband will be. Cut out a strip of fabric that is (the measurement of your waist + 3 inches) long and (the desired thickness of your waistband doubled and add an extra 1/2 inch for seam allowance) wide. You need to double the thickness of the waistband because it will be folded in half when attached.

Now, I am going to be completely honest, I just folded the waistband in half and sewed it into the inner circle of the skirt. Once the waistband was installed, I folded the excess into the fabric tube so that the end of the waistband lined up with the cut in the skirt. But if you would like a more professional and nicer-looking waistband, here is a tutorial on how to do that. The link is here. *Note*: You will need interfacing for this tutorial.

Zipper time! Now, I hate that I keep sending you to other tutorials, but I don't think I could explain zippers if I tried. This circle skirt tutorial starts explaining the zipper process at the 3:08 minute mark.

The link is here.

Once the zipper is installed, hem the outer edge of the skirt. I used a basic double fold hem, but you can hem however you wish.

For me, the straps were the hardest part. Put your skirt on and using a pencil mark where you want your buttons to go on the front of the skirt. Using a measuring tape, measure from the button mark, and over your shoulders, crossing in the back. Write the length measurement down. Mark where your strap will go on the backside.

Now decide how thick you want your straps to be, and then double that. Cut two strips of fabric that are double the width you wanted, plus a 1/2 inch seam allowance, and the length plus 2 to 3 inches. I folded my strip in half width-wise, ironed it flat, and then sewed it into a tube. Once sewn turn the tube inside out and iron flat.

Next, I attached one end of the tube to the inside of the waistband under where I had marked for my buttons to go. I did the same thing for the other end of the strip on the backside but made sure to sew it on the opposite side. Remember the straps criss-cross in the back.

For some reason, I only topstitched the waistband and not the straps, but looking back I would topstitch both, it will give the skirt a nicer finish. 

Button time! Now sew on your buttons and you are finished with the skirt!!!

For the bloomers, you will need: 

• White or cream fabric (Mine was about a yard, but I would suggest getting a little over a yard)
• White or cream thread
• Elastic
• A safety pin

To start the bloomers, you need to take some measurements and write them down. First, take your waist measurement and add a couple of inches, about 7 or 8. Next, decide how long you want your bloomers to be. You might want to add a little extra to compensate, maybe an inch or 2, for the hems and elastic. Next, take the measure of your thigh and double it. Then measure the inner part of your leg from the crotch to where you want your bloomers to end. The final measurement is half of your crotch measurement which is from (where you want your bloomers to rest on your waist) through your crotch area and to where the bloomers will rest of your back waist side. Using all the measurements you just gathered, you will need to use them to make a shape like this:

Note: Make sure to add about 1/2 inch to each side to compensate for seam allowances when cutting out the leg pieces.

(This is one pant leg)

Now cut out two of your bloomer shapes. Fold one bloomer piece in half, right side together. Sew along the inner leg length. Repeat on the other the bloomer piece.

Now here's where it gets tricky, turn one bloomer piece right side out (we'll call it 'A'). Take the bloomer piece that you just turned right side out (A) and put it inside the other bloomer piece(we'll call it 'B'). So one piece (A) should be inside the other (B) with right sides facing. Line up the two edges of the crotch all the way around and sew (as shown below). I tried to make some images to help explain this step.

I 'serged' all the seams with a simple zig-zag stitch before moving on. 

I think generally, you are supposed to use thicker elastic for the waist and thinner elastic for the legs, but I just used the same 1/2 inch elastic, for my waist and legs. Starting with the waist, fold in a 1/4 inch seam. Next, fold over enough material to make a channel to fit your elastic. Sew in place, leaving a gap to insert the elastic later. This will create a cleaner seam on the inside.

Next, fold up the unhemmed bottom of your bloomer leg and fold in a 1/4 inch seam. Now decide how long you want the ruffles on your pant leg to be, mine was about 3/8in when finished. Take that folded bottom, fold it up and sew it at the length of the ruffles + the elastic width. So for me, I folded and sewed the folded edge an inch (3/8inch ruffle + 1/2inch elastic). Make sure to leave a space in the seam to insert elastic. Sew a second seam for the elastic channels.

The image above shows the bloomers inside out

Cut one elastic strip that is about an inch more than your waist measurement and two more strips that comfortably fit around your thigh, make sure these are not too tight or too loose. Thread your elastic through the channels using a safety pin. Next, sew the elastic ends together by overlapping them and securing them with a zig-zag stitch. Finally, sew the channels closed. And you're done!

Once again, if you had trouble following, I'm sorry. TezMania TV has a great bloomer tutorial. The link is here.

Other elements for the cosplay

The polo shirt

     For the polo shirt, you just need a yellow polo shirt, preferably one with no logos. I got my polo shirt from a local thrift store. My polo shirt was too wide, but I took in the sides, and now it fits perfectly.

The wig

    I chose the Dereck wig in dark brown, from Arda Wigs, the link is here, but any short brown wig will work.

The shoes

    I couldn't find anything like Satsuki's shoes. I simply just painted a pair of canvas tennis shoes (from Walmart) a similar blue color. That being said, I often go barefoot outdoors in this cosplay.

The Totoro plush

    I tried to make sure that my Totoro was an official Ghibli product. Mine is the "My Neighbor Totoro 30th Anniversary Totoro Plush" by GUND and I got mine off of amazon. It's super cute!!!

 

Hopefully, this tutorial was helpful. If you have any questions or need some help, please comment and I will try my hardest to help!!!

Thank you so much for reading, and happy cosplaying!!!