When it comes to dreaming up fun, creative activities, we honestly can’t think of anything better than making your own plushie.
This is a great way to get your creative juices flowing, and make something unique that you can keep forever.
Making your own little furry friend might sound difficult, but we’re here to reassure you that you can do it in a few easy steps. Below, we’ve compiled a handy guide which shows you how you can make your own plushie (see also ‘How To Make A Puppet‘).
To find out more, simply keep reading below.
Table of Contents
The Materials You’ll Require
Before we jump straight into the tutorial, we want to make sure that you’ve got all the materials you need to get started. Below you’ll find all of the things you need to make your own plushie.
- Fabric Marker
- Scissors
- Beads
- Eyes And Nose Made Of Plastic
- Pattern
- Stuffing For The Inside
- Thread
The Steps To Make Your Own Plushie
Now that you’ve gathered all of the materials, we can move on to the fun part, which is actually making your plushie. To find our step by step guide, keep reading below.
Step 1
For your first step, you’ll want to make sure that you have a drawing of your finished plushie to work from.
In order for it to work, you’ll need to have a clear image of what the plushie will look like, including all of the smaller details such as the nose and eyes.
Be as creative as you like, just make sure that you’ve got a clear vision of what you want to make.
Don’t worry if you’re struggling to come up with ideas, because there are lots of templates and patterns on the internet to choose from too.
ou might even be able to find some inspiration for your own creation.
Step 2
Now that you’ve done this, you can go ahead and pick the types of fabrics you want to use for your plushie.
There are lots of different options when it comes to toy fabrics, the key things you want to consider are color and feel.
You’ll want to make sure that you choose a color that’s suitable for your plushie, after all, you don’t want to choose neon orange for a frog shaped plushie.
In addition to this, you’ll want to consider the feel of the material.
One of the most common types of fabrics that people use is cotton, this can be found ubiquitously in craft stores, and is cheap to purchase.
You could also opt to use faux fur, to give your toy a fluffy, realistic feel. Some people will opt to use fleece, to give their toy a thick and luxurious appearance.
In reality, you don’t need to spend tons of money buying fabrics for your toy, simply using an old blouse might be perfect.
Step 3
After you’ve gathered the fabrics that you’ll be using, you’ll need to physically draw or print out your pattern, then cut it out.
Cut the fabric according to the pattern you’ve made, and use little pins to keep them secure.
Once you’ve drawn, traced and cut out both of your fabric pieces, you can begin to carefully sew your little plushie. Using the ever versatile running stitch, neatly close up all the edges with your needle.
Make sure that you don’t finish closing it up just yet however, as you’ll need to make sure that you stuff your furry friend first.
Step 4
This is the step where you actually get to turn your plushie into a fluff ball, as you stuff it with the materials that will make it cuddly.
There are a few different things you can use to stuff your toy, one of the most popular being polyester fibrefill.
If you want your toy to be as squishy and fluffy as possible, the material above is the one we’d recommend.
If you don’t have access to this particular material, then you can use some poly pellets or bean bag fillers instead. The feel of the toy will resemble that of a beanie baby.
In addition to polyester fibrefill and bean bag fillers, you can also use some dry polyester packing fibrefill. This one differs from the other kind of fibrefill in the sense that it tends to be much more dense.
The reason for this is that it’s not been previously treated with silicone, which is the item responsible for making it light and fluffy.
It’s a little bit coarse, but if you don’t mind your toy feeling a little denser, then this might be the right material for you. It’s actually quite good at making your toy feel sturdy and durable.
Step 5
This is the final step on your journey to making the perfect plushie. All you have to do is simply sew up the final portion of your plush that you left open to stuff it.
This means that you can now enjoy decorating your plush with various different items to make it unique.
You could sew on some facial features, as well as buttons, or even hair. Just have fun getting as creative as possible.
You can use hot glue instead of threat if you’d prefer, but we’d always recommend sewing your features on so that they last longer.
Final Thoughts
To sum up, although making your own plushie might seem intimidating, it actually couldn’t be easier.
All you have to do is design the toy you want to make, then purchase the relevant fabrics. With a few simple steps, your furry friend will be complete.
