I love plushies, and I bet you do besides ! And did you know they are actually very EASY to make ? Yup, you heard me right. They are EASY to make ! It was one of the first things I learned to sew as a kid ( a heart lavish to be accurate ). so if a fourth grade kid can sew it, you can besides !
Overview of How to Make a Plushie:
- Make a sketch of your plush.
- Keep in mind the complexity of the plush when adding details. The more details your plush has (eyebrows, nose, mouth, clothing, accessories etc), the more time it takes to make.
- Note: If you are just starting off, I recommend drawing an outline of the plush you want to make (for example, a cat). Next, add up to 3 details (eyes, nose, blushed cheeks) and just stick with those. As you make more plushies, you will get better and can add more details.
- Decide on the type and color of fabric you will use for your plush body as well as the fabric choices for the details
- You can also play around with using different types of fabrics for the body (for example, a cotton print for the plushie’s clothing and a solid cotton for the arms/legs)
- Draft (make) the pattern for your plush – Once you’ve decided on the design of your plush, enlarge the drawing to the actual size you want to make the plush. You can do this one of 2 ways:
- Take your design to a local print shop and ask them to enlarge the design to your desired size.
- Manually copy your design onto a larger sheet of paper. If you don’t own any large sketching paper, you can cut open a large paper bag or use the back side of wrapping paper.
- Cut out the pattern on the fabric and sew sew sew!
What Materials Do I need to Make a Plushie?
basic Materials :
- Fabric
- weave
- Polyester Fiber Fill
other Materials :
- narration
- beads/sequence
- fictile eyes and nose
- embroidery floss
- framework paint and framework markers
What Fabric Can I use to Make Plushies?
You can pretty much any fabric to make plushies. Mixing and matching fabric is besides another capital way to make a unique plushie. When it comes to fabric color, choice, and prints, the sky very is the limit !
Common (Recommended) Fabrics for Plush Making:
COTTON SOLIDS & PRINTS
Pros: Easy to purchase everywhere and comes in all sorts of colors and prints.
sanely Priced
Cons: not as easy or bleary as other types of fabric ( fleece, sherpa, etc )
FLANNEL SOLIDS & PRINTS
Pros: Easy to purchase and available in all sorts of colors and prints.
sanely Priced
Minimal Fraying of edges, therefore easy to work with.
Cons: not as piano or fuzzed as other types of fabric ( overcharge, sherpa, etc )
FELT
Pros: Easy to purchase and comes in a good survival of color.
reasonably priced.
Easy to work with and doesn ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate affray
Cons: Polyester felt pills over time. ( see notes about “ Pilling ” )
not as soft and bleary as other types of framework ( fleece, sherpa, etc. )
FLEECE ( my front-runner character of fabric for making plush ! )
Pros: Super easy and great for making a huggable plushie
reasonably Priced
Comes in a big categorization of color choices
readily available in anti-pill choice ( in the United States ), so won ’ metric ton pill over prison term.
Easy to work with and doesn ’ triiodothyronine fray
Cons: Can ’ thymine achieve “ furred ” or “ hairy ” look for certain plush animals
FAUX FUR
Pro: Good for creating plushies that look naturalistic and storehouse bought.
Easy to hide imperfect sew because the long fur covers over the stitches
Con: Difficult to work with as it SHEDS LIKE CRAZY. Your workspace, clothes, floor will be covered with fur everywhere after you cut the framework
Depending on the choice and type, can be expensive per yard
Can be unmanageable to sew depending on thickness of the fake fur
You can besides use other fabrics such as SUEDE, VELVET, KNITS, or even an OLD T-SHIRT or OLD COTTON DRESS/SHIRT .
Fabrics NOT RECOMMENDED for Plush Making:
Sheer ( diaphanous ) fabrics such as LACE or CHIFFON
This is just a recommendation, not a hard rule. Keep in mind you will need to stuff the plushie to plump it up at the end and these fabrics will not be able to hide the satiate. besides, fiberfill is normally white, so the white will show through the fabric. If you are using a dark colored diaphanous framework, you credibly won ’ thyroxine like seeing the whiten fiberfill underneath .
however, lace or chiffon are capital for plushie accessories such as a intertwine dress or chiffon flowers !
firm fabrics such as FAUX LEATHER, PLEATHER, or UPHOLSTERY VINYL .
broadly you sew the seams and turn the framework at heart out to hide the seam. With stiff fabrics you will have a hard clock inverting the sewed plushie.
Notes:
Pilling: Pilling of fabric is when little fuzzball or lint balls form on the surface of the framework over time. “ This happens when asking and wearing of fabrics causes at large fibers to begin to push out from the open of the fabric, and, over prison term abrasion causes the fibers to develop into small ball-shaped bundles, anchored to the surface of the framework protruding fibers that haven ’ triiodothyronine broken ” [ 2 ]
This is not good for plushies that will be hugged and held frequently. You can prevent this by using wool felt. however, wool feel is broadly more expensive than polyester felt. They besides don ’ thymine come in vitamin a many colors as craft fleece in local anesthetic fabric stores. however, there are many specialization wool felt stores online that offer a whole array of colors .
What Do I use to Stuff a Plush?
Plushies are broadly stuffed with a polyester Fiber Fill. here in the United States we have easy access to two types of Fiber Fill : Premium Polyester Fiber Fill and Dry Polyester Packing Fiber Fill .
Both the Premium and Dry Polyester Packing Fiber Fill are made by the Fairfield Company and are good for stuffing plushies. According to the company web site, the deviation is that the Dry Polyester Packing Fiber Fill “ has not been treated with silicone so the character has a coarse texture that packs securely, allowing you to stuff it into small spaces with a stuffing instrument without the fiber “ popping ” out of space. ” 1
From personal experience, I find the Dry Polyester Packing Fiber Fill to be much easier to push into close corners ( i.e., limbs ) compared to the Premium Fiberfill. besides, this “ stay put ” property besides makes it easier to conform the lavish to your desire shape .
For these reasons I recommend the Dry Polyester Packing Fiber Fill if you can get your hands on some. If not, the Premium Fiber Fill works well besides. merely know that you may need to spend a little more time stuffing and contouring your plush.
What Alternatives Can I use to Stuff a Plush?
Fairfield Company besides makes Poly-Pellets and Bean Bag Fillers ( in 2 sizes ) that can be used to stuff plush
Shredded foam is another good option for farce animals equally well
other plush stuffing alternatives :
- Dried Rice
- Dried Beans (remember those beanie babies from the 90s?)
- Large Plastic Beads
- Shreds of Old T-Shirts and fabrics
- Stuffing from an old pillow or stuffed toy
- Mix of different materials.
How long does it take to Make a Plush?
There in truth is no accurate answer to this interrogate ! It depends on how complicated and detail your plushie is. obviously, the more details you want in your plushie, the longer it will take .
For the plushies we will make in this tutorial today, they will take around 45-60 minutes if you make both using my pre-made patterns ( available in my free resource library ). If you are going to design your own plushie and make your own blueprint ( which I will show you in this tutorial ), the process will take longer.
How do you Make a Plush Without Sewing?
You can decidedly make a lavish dame using glue to keep the seam together if you don ’ thymine want to sew. Hot glue is a thoroughly choice as it generally adheres well to fabric and dries fast. however, hot glue dries a little rigid, so that will create a heavily partially around the seam of the plushie. This is all right if you are trying to make a plushie for cosmetic purposes ( decorate, wreaths, etc ). however If you are trying to make a super soft and huggable plushie, I would recommend sewing .
today, I will show you the demand steps to well make a easy plush from the design, the model making process, to sewing the plushie. If you are new to sewing, or consider yourself a founder, this is a big project. We will practice sewing curves and besides using the zigzag stitch on your sewing machine to machine-appliqué.
For this tutorial, we will be making a small brown behave. I ’ ve besides made a white k mountain lavish because I thought brown bear seemed a morsel lonely ! Both the wear and mountain plush pattern are available in my complimentary resour hundred e library.
ready to design and sew your own plushie ? Follow along this photograph tutorial !
MATERIALS :
tool :
- Sewing Machine with zig-zag stitch option
- Fine Pins
- fabric scissors
- Pencil + Paper
- Regular scissors for cutting out paper pattern
How to Design Plush Pattern:
Sketch design ( or find one that you like ). Enlarge sketch to size you want your plush to be. If you don ’ triiodothyronine feel convinced to draw an blow up sketch, take your design to a print shop and ask them to enlarge it for you. however, don ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate worry excessively much about how accurate your blown-up sketch is. We will be adjusting for symmetry in the following step .
(This step is only needed if your plush is symmetrical). Approximate mid telephone line of elaborate sketch and fold in half. then decide which side of the sketch you like more and cut along that english of the sketch on fold .
In this case, I liked the left side of my cartoon more so I cut along that side .
Unfold your sketch and you ow have a harmonious design. Note how unsymmetric the master disembowel was ! ( see the opening between the trimmed agate line and the sketch wrinkle on right side of yield ) .
fold a second slice of wallpaper in half and match it to the mid course of the have a bun in the oven. Sketch the hold belly on the leave english .
Cut out the belly to get it to be a symmetrical egg-shaped. Repeat this process for all other details of the plush that need to be harmonious and cut them out .
How to Label Plush Pattern:
Brown digest lavish radiation pattern pieces all cut out. Label the convention as such :
- Name of Project – Brown Bear Plush
- Name of Pattern Piece – [Body]
- How Many Fabric Pieces to Cut – “Cut 2 on Brown Fleece“
- Seam Allowance – “Seam Allowance not included” or “Includes 1/2″ Seam Allowance”
Keep all pattern pieces stored away when finished ( I like to use a big zip-lock bag )
place hold traffic pattern on framework, making certain the mid line of the pattern is parallel to to the selvage of the fabric. touch with chalk and cut out 3/4″ ( ~2cm ) from decipher line .
Cut out bear eyes, nose, snout, and abdomen .
Applique Plush Details (eyes, nose, etc):
For more details about how to applique, check out this post
Applique nose to snout using embroidery stabilizer. Back horizon of appliqued nose .
Glue eyes to bear torso and pin snout and belly on. Machine applique details with matching thread .
Sewing Plush Together:
Pin bear torso right sides together and sew at tracing telephone line. Leave an first step on the side ( Red dotted tune indicates sew line ). Clip curves and sharp corners ( blasphemous arrows indicate sharp corners ) .
Turn bear plush to right side through the open. Stuff bear with Fiber Fill, starting at the corners farthest off from the open. In this shell, start by stuffing the ears, then the face, and the arms, all the way down to the legs.
close the side opening with a blind stitch ( ladder stitch ) and you are finished !
repeat the lapp march to make the green batch plush. eminence that 1/2″ seam allowance is already included in green batch traffic pattern .
Wasn ’ metric ton that comfortable ? I would love to see what plushies you come up with. They ’ re then fun ! Leave a comment below about what you made and happy sew 🙂
