The Geekiest Baby: Totoro-Themed Bouncer

As Mr. Cation and I have been preparing for SHB's arrival, we've noticed a couple of things:

1) Cat-themed baby things are inevitably pink. It's like baby item designers/manufacturers all think cats = girls and dogs = boys. Even if SHB were a girl, I don't like pink that much, nor do I want to financially support the erroneous idea that only females can love cats.* So a cat-themed nursery is out. (While I could make quite a few cat-themed baby things myself, namely the textile-based items, I don't feel like making an entire baby arsenal.)

2) Since we're not going cat-themed, we decided to go with an "under the sea" theme instead, for no reason other than that it seemed gender-neutral and with geek-potential (I mean, how cool are hagfish, blobfish, and anglerfish!) without buying into lots of licensed merchandise (e.g. Star Wars or superheroes). Also, whale-themed baby bath things are both plentiful and ridiculously cute.

2) But unfortunately, baby things are expensive! If we thought wedding planning was bad, baby planning is even worse. Slap the word "wedding" or "baby" on anything and the price goes up. So buying everything new is out of the question, not to mention very consumeristic and unnecessary. I'm trying to make what I can (but I'm also giving myself permission to not feel like I have to make everything just because I can), but some things we are buying used.

Like this bouncer:

I got a great deal on a used one in good condition, but I was bothered for a really superficial reason: the "Snugabunny" theme. I have no sentimental attachment to bunnies or birds, but even if I could change up the textile portions of the bouncer, there's still that plastic leaf that is decidedly not marine in nature. I know, I know, SHB won't care and it certainly doesn't matter in the long run if all the baby things coordinate...but a tiny part of me still cares! As soon as I brought the bouncer back home, I started wracking my brain trying to think of how I could, if not marine-ify it, at least geek it up some so that it wasn't so...bland. As I thought more about that annoying leaf, though, I was reminded of all the times you see Totoro and his fellow forest spirits holding or wearing leaves.

A quick rummage through the stash, some frenzied measuring and sketching, and a couple of late night sewing sessions later, I had this:

Sometimes I impress even myself. I'm sorry, was that too self-congratulatory? It's the truth, though! I really am quite pleased with myself for figuring out how to make a unique cover that fits with the bouncer's green leaf elements. And the soot sprite dangly things are high-contrast black and white shapes to boot!

It was actually pretty easy to make this Totoro cover, since he's a fairly simple shape oval shape. The trickiest parts were probably trying to decide how I wanted to 1) make the holes for the straps, and 2) how to make the cover fit over the existing cushion.

The main shape is simple enough. I did manage to put the V's on slightly off-center though. Not so consummate after all, I guess. 

I decided on this arrangement on the back so that I could just slip the cover over the existing cushion. I underlined the front piece with some anti-pill fleece so that the lumps from the original cushion would show through the thinner gray fabric, and also to provide some stability for sewing on the facial features.  

Its face from the underside looks a little creepy, doesn't it? Like some weird Sith Lord wearing a hood.

The grosgrain ribbon strap helps it stay on the existing cushion. 

I ended up just making rectangles with a zig-zag stitch and then cutting a slit in the middle (like really huge buttonholes) for the straps to come through. 

The soot sprites seemed like the perfect way to complete the Totoro theme; they were just little circles of black fleece that I cut out with my pinking shears (for the fuzzy sooty outline, you know) and sewed and stuffed.

Ignore the creepy wide-eyed Totoro stare in the background...

I sewed a piece of twill tape to the back so that I could tie the sprites to the plastic arm of the leaf. 

Summary:
Fabric: Less than a quarter of a gray sheet, yellow fleece for underlining, and scraps of cream-colored rayon jersey knit, white fleece, and black fleece
Notions: Steam-A-Seam to fuse the gray V's to the Totoro's tummy, grosgrain ribbon and velcro for the strap in the back
Hours: About seven? I took my time handstitching the facial features, but everything else was quick to do on the machine.
Will you make it again? Not unless I have a really good reason to.
Total cost: Considering that this was all made with stash fabrics leftover from other projects, I'm going to say that this cost less than $5.
Final thoughts: I'm really pleased with how much more personalized this bouncer is now! Mr. Cation suggested that I make a Totoro outfit for SHB and a hoodie for him, then we can do family pictures with this bouncer and Walnut the Catbus (he certainly has the right coloring!).

What's this? Who are you?

I'm not too sure about this guy and his unblinking stare...

Me and my buddy the soot sprite are just gonna hang out on your face, if that's okay with you, Mr. Totoro. I guess you're alright.

This is just the start of what I hope will be the geekiest set of baby things ever. I've been nesting like crazy, so I've got some other cool crafts to show off (if you follow me on Instagram, you've already seen some previews!) in the coming week(s).

A more pinnable image, in case anyone else needs geeky nursery inspiration!

*Apparently, as early as 2008, it was becoming more okay for men to love cats! I'm so glad that Mr. Cation loves Walnut as much as I do. I think men who love cats really are better, and I certainly hope SHB becomes one!