A Heart Plushie is a great home accent or gift for Valentines Day bring hearts into this cute plush.
After Christmas ends, my local store quickly turns into a sea of pink and red to get ready for Valentines Day. And I was thinking, why not join them? This year, I wanted to make some heart plushie. I wanted the plush to have heart shape eyes and be in the shape of a heart as well.
I feel like there has been a recent trend in the U.S of adding eyes to everything and make it into a plush. Food. Random Objects. Organs. Whatever really. I think this trend has been happening for a long time in Japan, and to some extent the U.S., but has become extremely common place.
And why not put eyes on a heart plushie? It looks so cute! I did debate giving the heart arms and legs, but I thought keeping it simple was the best solution. Why mess with something this adorable?
Also, this plushie was a little harder than I anticipated, there were several little tweaks I needed to make to get the plush perfect. I ended up having to make multiple and tweak several things before getting it right. These heart plushies are available in the MCG store and on Etsy.
Check out the Craft section of MCG for more fun patterns in fabrics or more unlimited ideas. Leave a comment below and let me know what you think and how the pattern works for you!
Supplies
For this project, I did not need much in terms of supplies. I decided to use Minky fabric because I think it is the best fabric for making heart plushies (or any plushies for that matter). Then I had to think about what type of thread I wanted to use. Black is the most visible, but I did debate using different shades of red as well.
Process
Embroidering the Eyes
The first step of the process is embroidering the eyes onto the Minky fabric. I have done plushies before where I did the eyes later and that was a mistake. It is much easier to cut the fabric around the embroidery then embroider in the cut fabric.
I use a sewing machine to help create the faces. I designed the faces on my computer (using my top-secret methods 😂) and programmed the design into my sewing machine so I could get the right face for my heart plushie.
Sewing the Heart
I had two approaches in mind when it came to sewing the heart. I could cut out the pattern and then sew. Or I could sew and then cut out the pattern. I opted for the latter as it gave me more leeway to make mistakes. And I didn’t feel as constrained by the fabric.
I placed the fabric with the “right” sides facing each other and sewed around a drawn pattern. And yes, I do freehand draw the pattern if that wasn’t obvious. This makes each plushie a little more unique.
I attempted to keep the eyes in the center of the heart. On my first try, I felt the eyes were too high. The second try has the eyes to low. The third try (which was more a re-do of the first), I think I got it pretty close to my vision.
I did keep one bit of fabric open so I could turn the heart plushie right side out and fill it will polyester fiberfill. I also used some of the scrap fabric as filling. If I am just going to throw it away anyway, why not put the fabric to use? I love finding opportunities like this to reduce the scraps I am making while sewing.
I use a hidden stitch to close up plushie projects because I don’t like to see stitching on my finished projects. I do this by hand. It is time consuming, but I think it is worth the effort.
Reflections
I really love how the plushie turned out. The sewing machine makes creating a heart plushie easier than doing it by hand. Especially when it comes to embroidering the eyes. This plushie is cute and super soft. Working with Minky fabric can be a little challenging but it is work having that soft plushie at the end.
There were definitely some tricks that I came across with this plush, but I was able to figure out what was causing the creases. The project is mainly time consuming especially when it comes down to the details. If you don’t want to try your hand at one, stop by the MCG store or MCG on Esty to get one!
Lessons
Minky Fabric
I believe I have talked about Minky fabric a little bit in the past, but I want to talk about it again. Especially now that I have a little more experience with it. This fabric is a pain to work with for one major reason: it sheds.
I have so much of the fabric scattered around my work area when I am finishing a project. It is necessary to be extra careful when cutting the fabric. I also had to make sure that the fabric did not catch on anything as it could lead to patches of missing Minky when working around sharp objects.
Creases
One of the biggest challenges I faced while making this heart is the created that came around some of the points. I could not figure out what was happening here. Did I need to sew it a little different on the inside so it would look different on the outside? No. There was too much excess fabric on the inside. I needed to cut around the stitching just right to keep an edge but not affect the plush when turned right side out.
Quick Recipe
Sewn 2D Plushie
Materials
- 1 piece minky fabric red or pink
- 2 spools thread black and pink / red
Instructions
- Embroider the fabric with the desired face. Use a stencil to outline the shape of the final plush (or draw freehand).
- Place the fabric right side up on the table and then place another layer of fabric with the right side down.
- Sewing along the stencil, leaving a small hole on one side of the project. Remove excess fabric.
- Turn the project right side out and fill with polyester fiberfill (and excess fabric). Close gap with a hidden stitch.
- Hug that plushie!