I finally finished this commissioned project. I cannot BEGIN to tell you just how much I struggled making it.
Especially the bucket hat base. I was struggling with sizing, yarn weights, hook size, and tension. I used a 49% cotton 51% acrylic yarn blend for the hat since I thought that would give the hat structure and stretch.
It took me 2 weeks, 3500+ extra stitches, loads of frogging and a LOT of math to finally finish the base.
I had to switch the hook size for the brim to make it firm, and as a consequence had to figure out just how many increases to do so the brim would have a downward slope without bunching up.
For the ears, I made amigurumi-style arrows since Tototoro's ears kind of look like that, and extended the length of the base.
My favourite part is definitely the cute little leaf on his head!!
My friend, who commissioned me to make this hat, was delighted to receive it. It turned out cuter than both of us expected.
