Satsuki and Mei for Sew Geeky's Studio Ghibli Theme

So I'm sure no one is surprised that Sophie wanted to be the characters from her favorite movie :)

We're practically the Totoro fan club around here!

Once she woke up and saw Satsuki's skirt it was all she could talk about. I had waited to try it on her before sewing the backs of the straps to the waistband just to be safe, and I ended up having to safety pin them for the pictures because I didn't get it back until she went to bed! She's still young enough that just because she says she wants something doesn't mean she'll still care by the time it gets made so this was a win.

I might go back and top-stitch the straps and waistband, they're kind of bothering me.

This is my winter-ized version of Satsuki and Mei's outfits. I used corduroy for the orange skirt and sweatshirt material for Mei's dress. I lengthened the sleeves on the blouse, which was a downsized sweater. It still has the puff to the sleeves at the top. I had originally planned to fold down the scallops at the neckline to mimic the collars on the girl's blouses but I was afraid that too much stitching would keep the neckline from stretching well and it just didn't seem worth it.

They both wear bloomers and little collared shirts so I kept those pieces the same for both outfits. (Sorry Satsuki, my kid may have your haircut but there's no way she could pull off that yellow shirt and look healthy!) The bloomers are just scraps of a white t-shirt. Nothing fancy, but super cute peeking out from under the skirt while she played. She is seriously going to have a drawer full of these by next spring, I'm in love with them!

I didn't have any patterns with shapes that were quite right so everything is self drafted. I am becoming an expert at the "trace clothes that fit" method.

This is her idea of posing nicely for me. The only almost usable picture of the entire outfit and her face.  I am considering making a Sophie-sized mannikin to take pictures with. (I'm  kidding...mostly.)

So here's my absolute favorite part. The other outfit she asked for, Mei's dress. It would also be worn over the sweater and bloomers. Please note that she is not wearing it :P

I couldn't resist adding the little soot sprites, they make me so happy! They're just little t-shirt scraps, sewn on with big stitches to make them look fuzzy.

I even fulfilled a request of hers while making this dress; last minute pockets. Don't worry though, someone else did want to wear it. Deacon wanted in on the dress-up fun. We had mercy on Daddy though and didn't use him as a model ;)

P.s. If you want to see my concept sketches for these and other Studio Ghibli inspired outfits check out yesterday's post.