How to Create a Soft Toy From Embroidery

It's easy to create a small stuffie from an embroidered design. These are perfect for little ones as there are no buttons or loops to get caught on their little fingers.

To create your own personal stuffie you'll need:

Embroidered design
Backing fabric
Removable pencil or marker (I like to use Frixion pens)
Ruler or measuring tape
Polyester fibrefill or other stuffing
Scissors or pinking shears
Sewing machine
Needle and thread
Pins

Step 1: Choose an Embroidery

Choose or create a hand embroidered item to use in making your soft toy. Make sure that you have lots of additional fabric around the stitched design. I've chosen a platypus that was designed and stitched by my daughter. I thought it would make the perfect stuffie!

Step 2: Choose a Backing

Choose fabric to make the back of your soft toy. For this stuffie, I've chosen a vintage fabric in shades of orange - to match the bill of the platypus. Have fun and choose fabric that matches the look of your embroidered design.

Step 3: Decide on the Size of Your Soft Toy

Decide how large you'd like the final product to be. Then using a ruler or tape measure measure out from the embroidery to this size and mark around the embroidery using a removable marker or pencil. For example, for my platypus, I wanted the final stuffie to be 2" larger all around than the embroidery, so I marked 2" out all around the embroidered design. Connect these marks together around the embroidery for a complete outline.

Step 4: Add the Backing

Take your backing fabric and place it, right sides together, with the embroidered piece. Pin outside the drawn line (to avoid stitching on the pins) to keep the backing and embroidered fabric together. Be sure that your backing fabric extends past the drawn line. You're ready to stitch!

Step 5: Stitch It Together

Using a straight stitch and a shorter stitch length, stitch on the drawn line, leaving a 2 - 3" opening for turning.

Step 6: Trimming

Using scissors or pinking shears, trim the excess fabric away from the stitched line, leaving a 1/4" seam allowance.

Step 7: Seam Allowance

If you've used scissors to trim the excess fabric, it's a good idea to snip up to, but not through, the seam allowance.

Step 8: Trimmed Up

Here is what your design should look like when all the excess fabric has been cut away.

Step 9: Turn Right Side Out

Turn the stuffie right side out through the opening and press out along the inside edges.

Step 10: Stuff and Stitch

Stuff the stuffie with polyester fibrefill. Make sure you get the stuffing into all the corners and pack it in really tight. You'll be surprised how much stuffing your can get into your stuffie :) Make sure it's nice and firm all over before you hand stitch the opening closed.