Make your own stuffed animal in a short time and with a super easy step by step with the tutorial in this article.
Stuffed toys are beautiful and a great gift for children and expectant mothers. During those first years of life, stuffed animals are used to play, they allow them to explore their senses, express their emotions and feel protected from the strangeness of meeting new people and places.
Although stuffed animals are not just for children, they can also be a beautiful anniversary gift with your crush.
I thought it was an original idea to teach you how to make a stuffed animal in an easy way so that you can be part of the process and not just go to the store for a stuffed animal.
Next I will explain how to make a plushie, keep reading! ♥
Make your own stuffed animal: What do I need?
Sewing projects are really easy to do and inexpensive. Have fun making a stuffed animal with the colors, textures and shapes that you like the most!
Materials and Tools Needed:
- Fabric (you can use linen, faux fur, cotton, felt, scraps of different fabrics, etc.)
- Stuffing (polyester or cotton) or loose filling (millet seeds, buckwheat, flaxseed, lavender flowers, among others)
- Sewing machine (if you don’t have one, you can sew by hand)
- Thread
- Scissors
- Printable pattern or paper and pencil to draw it by hand
Step by Step to Create a Handmade Stuffed Animal
This is a general guide to sewing your own stuffed animal, follow the instructions below to create your own stuffed animal.
Step 1
Choose the fabric you like best for your stuffed animal.
You can opt for fabrics in different colors or just one, realistic colors, or other fabrics with fun patterns, like polka dots.
Step 2
Create a template out of fabric or paper for the shape you want to create: cloud, rainbow, stars, animals, flowers, etc. Try to choose a shape that has a simple silhouette.
You can make your sewing pattern by hand or find printables online.
*Animal brainstorm: cat, dog, dinosaur, bear, rabbit, owl, mouse, fish, birds, pig, penguin, whale, etc.
Step 3
Then trace onto fabric and draw an additional line all the way around the shape that is 1 or 2 cm out from the original line. This will be your seam allowance.
Make sure the fabric you are using is wrinkle free.
Step 4
Before you start sewing your stuffed animal, use sewing pins to pin the two pieces of fabric together (which will be the front and back pieces). This ensures that your fabric pieces stay lined up correctly when you start sewing.
Step 5
It’s time to sew, you can do it with a sewing machine or by hand.
Use a thread of the same color as the fabric you have chosen for your stuffed animal.
Sew along the shape lines, but leave an opening of about 3 inches or more to make it easier to insert the stuffing.
After you finish sewing, remove all the pins.
Step 6
Turn your animal over. Using the hole you left unsewn, pull the fabric up and turn it over. You can use a pen or a thin rod to push everything in and get the corners in place.
Once you have turned the entire fabric inside out, the raw seam should be hidden and the good side of the fabric will be visible.Step 7
Start stuffing your plushie with the stuffing you have chosen. You can opt for a soft filling such as cotton, polyester or scraps of unused threads and fabrics, but another option is to fill with different seeds and aromatic flowers.
In the case of choosing polyester or cotton, first fill the corners and then the middle. If you use a loose fill, you do not have to worry about this.
Make sure it is full but there is no stress on the seams.Step 8
Once you’ve stuffed your stuffed animal, close the hole using the same thread that you used for the perimeter of your animal.
Hand sew the opening using a slip stitch. Close the ends with double or triple knots. Trim any excess threads.
Make sure the seam is secure to withstand wear.Step 9
Once you finish sewing your stuffed animal, add some decorations, for example eyes, tail, bows, hats, name, etc. These will make your animal personalized.
You can use items you have on hand or buy some decorations at a craft store. If you wish, you can also use fabric paint to intervene your stuffed animal.Step 10
To dry clean and disinfect stuffed animals, just moisten the stuffed animal with a spray bottle so that the baking soda adheres to the toy’s hair.
Put the stuffed animal inside the bag, add a good amount of baking soda and close it. Shake the bag so the powder spreads all over the stuffed animal. Let act all night.
Take the stuffed animal out of the bag and brush it until all traces of baking soda are removed.
Congratulations! If you made it this far, you have finished your stuffed animal
Design and make your own stuffed animal to practice some basic sewing skills.
Now you have a cute stuffed friend to keep you company, and now that you know how to make plushies you will have fun creating them for your children or your friends, you can even create your own craft business and sell them.
The possibilities to create are endless, you can be inspired by nature, the stars, animated movie characters, the letters of the alphabet or whatever you like the most.
You can also try different textures in the same stuffed animal, different colors and shapes.
Depending on the design, you can also add a bit of firmness to some parts of your character, like its ears by interfacing. If you don’t know what it is, we will tell you in this guide about What is interfacing in sewing.