Categories: Kid Friendly, Doll, Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall

Plush Animals may need to be washed for many reasons…life happens when kids are about…and eventually a well-loved plush animal will become grimy and flat. Large plushies can be especially problematic because they are usually too large to dry well after a thorough washing. So, if you have a large stuffed animal that is too precious to toss, follow these Plush Animal Restoration instructions and love them for many years to come.

What you need to make this project

Materials: Poly-Fil Supreme® Ultra Plush Fiber Fill 5 pound Box (Amount will Depend on Size of Plushie); Quick Craft Poly Pellets® Weighted Stuffing Beads – 6 ounce Bag (Optional); Matching Thread; Ribbon or Embellishments (optional)

Supplies: Scissors; Needle

Instructions

Step One

Start by removing any embellishments that shouldn’t go through the washing machine. In our case, we completely removed the ragged bow and replaced it with a new one. However your stuffed animal could possibly have embellishments that you want to keep in place.

Step Two

Use scissors to carefully open up one of the same just wide enough to comfortably fit your hand through. Remove ALL of the old stuffing and discard. Take notice of any additional stitching inside the plushie that you may need to remove in order to get all the stuffing out. You may need to replace these when you’re finished.

Step Three

Turn your stuffed animal inside out. Wash on a gentle or “hand wash” cycle in your washing machine. Turning it inside out will keep the fur from getting over-rubbed and pilling while in the wash. If the fabric is dryer safe, dry on a gentle cycle. Otherwise drip dry. You’ll be amazed at what a different a wash will make.

Step Four

Turn right side out. Now comes the fun part…adding the new Poly-Fil® Fiber Fill. Start by filling the head and extremities first. Even once they fill “full” you can usually still get a bit more stuffing in. Stuff the body last, once you’re sure everything else is well full.

Before closing up our rabbit, I added some poly pellets to add some weight to help the rabbit sit up on it’s own. This is optional and whether you want to add poly pellets will depend on how you plan to use the stuffie.

Step Five

Once you’re happy with the amount of Poly-Fil, it’s time to sew your creature up. The fur on ours was a medium length and COMPLETELY hid all my stitches even though they weren’t particularly even. I stitched across the opening twice with doubled up thread, just to make sure she doesn’t break open.