20+ Fun Stuffed Animal Patterns That Are Easy to Make
In this post, you will find over 20 fun stuffed animal patterns for all skill levels.
Stuffed animal patterns are great fun to follow along with. They range from simple patterns that can be made by children, to more complex patterns which need plenty of sewing experience.
Whichever pattern you choose to make, you can be sure that your stuffie will be loved by kids everywhere.
You also don’t need loads of supplies and time to whip one of these adorable animals up.
Plush animals make the sweetest handmade gifts, ones that will be treasured for years to come and perhaps even passed down from generation to generation.
In this roundup, you’ll find twenty of my favorite free stuffed animal patterns, from cats and turtles to owls and rabbits!
Hopefully, you’ll find something that you can’t wait to make.
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Table of Contents
20 Sweet Stuffed Animal Patterns
Stuffed Animal Patterns
Take your pick from these adorable stuffies, and choose one to make for someone special in your life.
I've included a range of patterns to suit beginners and expert sewers, so hopefully you won't be short of coices .
You might have noticed by the scrap fabric part of the owls, that this is one of my creations. These cute animals are really simple to make, and great for beginner sewers.
I've included a full tutorial and a printable template that you can scale depending on the size you want to make your owl.
This is another great one for using up your scraps of fabric. These adorable turtles look really sweet in one color palette of various shades, but I bet they'd also look cute in completely random colors!
Be careful ... once you've made one of these, you might be tempted to make a whole family!
You only need two socks to make one of these extremely cute pandas - one white and one black.
Craft Passion have made a printable free pattern to show you how to cut each of the socks to make sure you ave enough fabric for the body, arms, legs and ears.
Don't you find that most handmade stuffed animals actually look handmade?
This one looks like a professionally made plush, perhaps down to the minky fabric choice. It could also be down to the embroidery eyes, which this plush pattern also teaches you how to do.
If you have a cat and mermaid-loving child (or big child!) in your life, this would make the perfect gift for them!
This is another one of my easy free patterns from my other website Upcycle My Stuff. These easy Easter bunny stuffies were made using upcycled cushion covers and fabric samples.
My kids cuddle these guy every night!
This is not a project for beginners, Joy Kelley recommends that if you've never followed a pattern before, or don't have much sewing experience, to choose a simpler pattern to start off with.
If you are an experienced sewer, this will be a great pattern to follow along with, because the result is this gorgeous, professionally made looking plush bear!
These cute little frogs measure around 7.5 inches once they're finished. The tutorial is simple and easy to follow, giving you a list of materials, templates, and step-by-step instructions.
These frogs are filed with dried beans, but you can choose to fill yours will stuffing, or whatever you like!
How adorable are these elephants! Flora the elephant is 9 inches high and 11 inches from trunk to tail.
The secret to making these elephants stand is to stuff them firmly and use a medium-weight cotton fabric.
A classic teddy bear pattern that can be made by almost anyone! I especially love the little hearts of their tummies.
Aptly called The Love Bear, this cute stuffy only has two main pieces to cut out and sew together. This is a perfect pattern for beginners.
Another simple plush toy pattern, ideal for beginners. This black cat can be sewn entirely by hand, and you won't need many materials.
You'll be able to follow this stuffed animal pattern and finish it in under an hour, making it a great last-minute present idea!
If you're more of a dog lover, there is also a pattern for a pug dog in this tutorial!
If you enjoy having a video tutorial to follow along with, this might be the best easy sewing pattern for you to follow along with.
Along with written instructions and photos, Stephanie has also made a printable pattern available in her 'supplies' section.
This would look amazing, made from loads of scraps to create a patchwork-colored cat.
This would make a really sweet Valentines or anniversary present! The tutorial is very straightforward to follow with only a few steps and a supplies list.
The pattern is also available to download, although Ellen from The Long Thread added the heart on last minute, so that's not part of the pattern - it would be easy enough to add on though! You could also switch up the button eyes for glass eyes.
Are you looking for a small bird to make? Here it is! This teeny tiny stuffie can be scaled up to make a larger bird too.
You could make this bird in any colorway, I think a patterned bird would also look really sweet! Given how small it is, it's a great way to use up all your fabric scraps.
This hand-sewn bunny is made from felt and firmly stuffed, making a great play animal for a child.
Jacqui from Hazelnut Girl has also made a few bunnies in other fabrics, one with embellished flowers, which looks extra sweet!
If you don't fancy all the hand-sewing, you could always add seam allowances and use your sewing machine.
This little piggy went to market, and this little piggy went to town... How adorable are these little piggies?!
It is extremely simple to make, requiring just seven oval shaped pattern pieces which you then sew together to create a ball shape.
This little guy is one of my favorites out of all the stuffed animal patterns! He was designed to be a friendly Godzilla. He does take longer to make than the other stuffies you'll find here, around 8 hours.
Plush dinosaurs always make the perfect addition to a child's room. If you're looking for a quicker make, you could always make the wings and spikes from felt instead of individually sewing each one.
Another cute owl, this one with wings! I love the huge eyes, and beak too.
This stuffie is very simple to make and is so quick and easy to make that you could make a whole bunch of them as gifts or for party favors for an animal themed birthday party! Why not also make little scrap fabric bags to put them in?
This is a really clever, quick and easy way to make a stuffed animal. If you have an old t-shirt with a picture of an animal on it, simply cut around the picture (making sure you cut the back of the t-shirt too), and sew the two pieces together.
This is a great idea if your child really loves a t-shirt that they have outgrown!
Made from an old pair of corduroy trousers and some floral shirt fabric, these gorgeous bunnies are sure to be a hit with whoever you're making them for.
Red Ted Art also later dressed these bunnies in cute little clothes - the options are endless!
I love making things from old clothes too, check out this quilt I made from old jeans.
This bear was designed for people who want to make stuffies for charity, with a few aims in mind. Firstly, it had to be easy to make, and secondly, he had to be a good huggable size! Talking of huggable, I imagine this would look extra cute in faux fur.
This cute pattern certainly meets those aims, and Charity Bear is one of the most forgiving patterns I've included in this roundup. His features don't need to be perfectly placed. In fact, it makes him even more endearing if they are a little wonky!
If you're looking for other ideas for sewing for charity, check out my post here.
Is there anything cuter than a Koala? Sew up one of these sweeties even if you're a beginner by following these easy step-by-step instructions.
I love how easy it is to work with felt, as it doesn't stretch too much, and holds its shape well. This website also has some other felt animal patterns, so you could whip up a few to make a zoo! A group of these would make such great gifts.
Top Tips for Stuffed Animal Patterns
- If you’re making your first stuffed animal, start with an easy pattern that uses just a couple of pieces of fabric (a front and a back) with no fiddly bits to add on.
- The amount of stuffing you add to your stuffed animal will determine how firm or soft the finished stuffie is. Think about whether you want the animal to be able to stand up on its own (if so, it’ll need to be firmly stuffed) or whether you want it to be floppy and cuddleable.
- Most stuffies are sewn inside out and then turned the right side out when you’re ready to stuff them. At this stage, double-check for any holes so you can fix them up before stuffing the animals. Tiny holes will soon open up, especially if you’re firmly stuffing your animal.
- Cut all the sections of the pattern neatly. How neatly you cut the individual sections of the pattern will determine how neat your finished stuffie will look.
- I’d recommend washing any fabric you want to use before cutting and sewing. Some fabrics will shrink in the wash, and it’s almost guaranteed if you’re making a plush for a child, that it will need washing at some point – you don’t want all your hard work to go to waste when a shrunken and squished teddy comes out of the washing machine!
- Add a label to your handmade stuffie to make sure people know where it came from!
Frequently Asked Questions
If you’ve found a fun pattern that’s not quite the right size for what you want to make, you can easily enlarge the stuffed animal pattern before printing it.
If your pattern is already on a computer, open Word or a similar program and insert the pattern as an image. Make sure the image is set to ‘maintain the aspect ratio.’ This means when you make the image larger, it’ll adjust the height and the width proportionally.
This is essential because you don’t want to alter the ratio – this could lead to a very tall, or overly chunky animal!
If your pattern isn’t on a computer, scan it in and complete the process above.
When you finish sewing your stuffed animal, you’re usually left with a small hole that you need to stitch by hand. The best way to close these holes is to use to use straight stitches, from side to side.
Start off on the top piece of fabric, insert your needle into the line of the seam allowance, and bring the needle back through the same piece of fabric a few mm away from where you first inserted the needle.
Then repeat this on the bottom piece of fabric. Repeat on the top, and then the bottom piece of fabric, you’ll notice a ladder of stitches forming. When you’ve finished, you can pull the stitches tight.
I hope you’ve found the perfect free stuffed animal sewing pattern. Which one do you love the most?
I’d love to hear from you if you decide to make any of these plush toys! Do let me know!
