My friend Jess introduced me to Totoro a few years ago. She's a big fan AND she's a knitter. Let me tell you I really enjoyed putting this together for her and her future baby!
First up, a little cardi:
Pattern: Puerperium Cardigan by Kelly van Niekerk, free on Ravelry here
I sized it up a bit
Yarn: merino cotton DK by Drops
I was planning to do a very ambitious Totoro border in stranded knitting but it didn't quite work out (several hours to do a few rows on a swatch... no thanks!). So duplicate stitch it was.
Here is the chart for Totoro:
Next we have a simple drawstring bag that can be used as a laundry bag to put the cardi in the washing machine or as a project bag. I used some scrap fabric for the leaves, Bondaweb then narrow zigzag all around.
And finally, let me tell you about those stitch markers...
I have always been arts and craftsy (with more or less natural talent...) so I had some polymer clay in my stash already. Fancy stitch markers and clay charms are big at the moment so I thought I'd have a go... How hard can it be? (ha ha, insert crying emoji face)
After several hours feeling like i have sausages instead of fingers, I have a decent set of stitch markers.
I used a video tutorial from TheLittleMew to help me out (youtube video here)
