Lambs, Lions and Teddy Bears: 9 Best Stuffed Animal Sewing Patterns

Every family has the one toy that went everywhere: the bear with the worn ear, the lamb that had to be found before bedtime. Quite often, someone sewed it. A handmade stuffed animal can become that kind of toy. Useful stuffed animal sewing patterns tell you the finished size before you start and explain how the face and small parts are made.

The smallest of my nine is a felt crab about 3 inches wide, and the largest a 14 inch lamb. Between them sit a dachshund, a hand-sewn felt teddy, a scalable lamb, a 12 inch lion with a fabric mane, a 10 inch teddy bear with clothes, a sea lion in two sizes and a small hanging bee. Below the cards are notes on eyes and small parts, plush fabrics, stuffing, and the hand stitches these softies rely on.

Stuffed Animal Sewing Patterns from Palm-Size to Huggable

Dolls went to their own article, even the ones with animal heads, and SVG cut files without sewing steps stayed off. Where a designer gives a finished size, the card shows it.

TL;DR: The largest toy is a 14 inch lamb you can sew by hand, the smallest a felt crab the size of a palm. In between: a dachshund, a felt teddy, a scalable lamb, a 12 inch lion with an embroidered face, a teddy with clothes, a sea lion in two sizes and a small hanging bee.

• Dog Plush Sewing Pattern – Best dog plush
• Little Teddy Bear Felt Sewing Pattern – Best hand-sewn toy
• Curious Little Lamb Plush Sewing Pattern – Best beginner plush
• Lamb Plush Sewing Pattern PDF – Best big cuddle toy
• Lion Stuffed Animal Sewing Pattern PDF – Best lion
• Teddy Bear Sewing Pattern PDF – Best teddy bear with clothes
• Sea Lion Plush Sewing Pattern – 2 Sizes – Best two-size plush
• Bee Plush Sewing Pattern PDF – Best quick plush
• Crab Felt Sewing Pattern, Sea Animal DIY – Best tiny felt toy

Quick Comparison

Eyes, Noses and Anything a Child Could Swallow

Face details need the closest safety check. The lion’s eyes, eyebrows, nose and smile are all embroidered. The sea lion’s supply list leaves the choice open between safety eyes, beads and embroidery, and the 10 inch teddy has a painted face and arms attached with buttons.

Safety eyes are plastic eyes with a locking washer fitted behind the fabric before the head is stuffed. They are still small hard parts, so on stuffed animals for a child under 3, use embroidered features or fabric or felt shapes stitched down all around instead, and leave out buttons, beads and bells.

• Under 3: when you sew a stuffed animal for kids this young, use no safety eyes, buttons, beads or bells, whatever the pattern suggests, and stitch the 10 inch teddy’s arms on instead of button-jointing them.
• Hanging loops: the bee and the small sea lion are made to hang on a tree. Ribbon and string loops belong on ornaments, not on a toy that goes into a crib.
• The crab: the designer suggests it for a mobile, a keychain or a magnet. A mobile must hang well out of a baby’s reach. A magnet version is not a toy: small, strong magnets can cause serious internal injuries if swallowed, so keep it where children cannot get at it.

Fleece, Minky, Felt or Woven Cotton

Fleece frays little and has some give around curves. The big lamb lists fleece, minky, boucle or cotton knit, and the sea lion and the bee accept fleece, felt or minky.

Minky is softer still, but its pile makes layers creep, so pin or clip more often than usual and cut each piece with the pile running the same way.

Felt suits small hand-sewn toys like the felt teddy and the crab; wool blend felt usually wears better than thin acrylic craft felt. Acrylic and polyester felt can melt with high heat, so press it with a cool iron and keep felt toys away from open flames and heaters. The lion goes the other way, with a cotton or linen body that gives a crisper outline, plus a knit fabric or a sock, which its materials list names.

Stuffing: How Much and Which Kind

The bee lists polyester fiberfill by name; the other listings simply ask for stuffing or toy stuffing. Pull it into small tufts and fill the narrow parts first, legs, ears and paws, using a chopstick or forceps, then the body. Keep adding small tufts until the shape is even and firm, without straining the seams.

Three listings note that the finished size varies with the fabric and the amount of stuffing, so a plumper 10 inch teddy, sea lion or bee will come out a little bigger than stated. Plastic pellets add weight to a sitting toy, but they need their own sewn inner bag, and they should be left out of any toy for a child under 3.

The Hand Stitches Behind a Neat Toy

• Ladder stitch: closes the stuffing opening with no visible seam; several of the free tutorials in the top results teach it.
• Blanket stitch: joins felt pieces on the outside and decorates the edge at the same time.
• Whipstitch or running stitch: attaches felt details, such as a snout or ear lining, on top of another piece.
• Backstitch and satin stitch: outline and fill embroidered eyes, noses and mouths.

The felt teddy and the crab each come with a basic stitching guide, and the big lamb can be sewn entirely by hand. On machine-sewn seams, a short stitch keeps stuffing from pushing the seam open. For more bears, from small felt ones to a memory bear sewn from saved clothes, see my teddy bear sewing patterns.

Plush Toy Questions

Can I make a toy bigger or smaller?

The curious lamb comes as a scalable PDF, the bee includes a resizing guide, and the sea lion has two sizes already drafted. If the pattern includes a seam allowance, scaling it changes the allowance too, so redraw it at the usual width after resizing.

Which is the easiest first plush here?

By the designers’ own ratings, the bee (2 to 3 out of 10) and the sea lion (3 out of 10). The dachshund and the curious lamb are described as suitable for beginners.

Can I sell toys made from these patterns?

Check each license. The bee’s listing allows selling plushies in small handmade quantities. Toys sold in the US for children 12 and under fall under the CPSIA. Depending on the toy and the age it is meant for, that can mean third-party testing, a Children’s Product Certificate and permanent tracking labels; the CPSC website explains the rules, including those for small batch makers, so read them before a craft fair.

Do the teddy bear’s clothes fit other toys?

They are drafted for that 10 inch bear. For other small toys, the doll clothes patterns article has sets for soft toys from about 4.5 to 9 inches, with notes on checking the fit.

Checking a Well-Loved Toy

A toy that gets carried everywhere wears at the same places: the neck, the joins of arms and legs, and the closed stuffing opening. Check heavily used toys regularly and after every wash, pulling gently at those seams and at any felt features. For toys made from any of these stuffed animal sewing patterns, close a loose stitch with a few ladder stitches before stuffing can escape. The same check suits the dolls and other softies in the dolls and softies section. If a felt eye or another detail starts to lift on a toy for a young child, put the toy away until it is repaired.

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