stuffed toy

File:Big_is_beautiful.jpg

Stuffed toys are distinguishable from other toys mainly by their softness, flexibility, and resemblance to animals or fictional characters. Stuffed toys most commonly take the form of animals, especially bears (in the case of teddy bears), mammalian pets such as cats and dogs, and highly recognizable animals such as zebras, tigers, pandas, lizards, and elephants. Many fictional animal-like characters from movies, TV shows, books, or other entertainment forms often appear in stuffed toy versions, as do both real and fictional humans if the individual or character is famous enough. These toys are filled with soft plush material.{{cite report |title=Explanatory Notes to the Combined Nomenclature of the European Union|url=https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX%3A52022XC0120%2802%29 |access-date=31 July 2024 |work=Official Journal of the European Union|quote=Stuffed toys of this subheading usually have an outer fabric of a soft material and are usually filled with flexible/soft material that makes the toy pleasant to hold.}}

Stuffed toys come in an array of different sizes, with the smallest being thumb-sized and the largest being larger than a house.{{Cite web|title=Largest teddy bear|url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/largest-teddy-bear-(stitched)|access-date=14 October 2020|website=Guinness World Records|date=28 April 2019 |language=en-GB}} However, the largest somewhat commonly produced stuffed toys are not much bigger than a person.{{Cite web |last=Tixymix Editorial Team |title=Sizing Up Stuffed Toys: From Pocket Companions to Giant Comfort Objects |website=Tixymix.com |url=https://tixymix.com/sizing-up-stuffed-toys-from-pocket-companions-to-giant-comfort-objects/ |date=May 2025 |access-date=2025-05-25}}

Most stuffed toys are designed to be an appropriate size for easy cuddling. They also come in a wide variety of colors, cloth surfaces, fur textures, and humanizing embellishments.{{cn|date=April 2024}}

Stuffed toys are commonly sold in stores worldwide. Vendors are often abundant at tourist attractions, airports, carnivals, fairs, downtown parks, and general public meeting places of almost any nature, especially if there are children present.{{cn|date=April 2024}}

Hoffmann von Fallersleben wrote in 1835:

"Bring’ uns, lieber Weihnachtsmann,

Bring’ auch morgen, bringe

Musketier und Grenadier,

Zottelbär und Pantherthier,

Roß und Esel, Schaf und Stier,

Lauter schöne Dinge!"

which can be translated as: "Dear Father Christmas, bring us musketeer and grenadier, shaggy bear and panther, steed and donkey, sheep and steer: lots of lovely things."

In 1878, The Delineator, an American magazine that offered sewing patterns, offered a "Pattern for an elephant and blanket" that was intended to be a child's toy.{{cite web |url=https://archive.org/details/delineator12olou/page/293/mode/1up | title=Pattern for an Elephant and Blanket | series=The Delineator | last1=O'Loughlin | first1=Robert S. | date=December 1878 | publisher=Butterick Publishing Company | page=293 | via=Internet Archive}}

Two years later, the first known commercially available stuffed felt elephant originally sold as a pincushion, was made by Margarete Steiff, founder of the German Steiff company in 1880, using the Delinator pattern.Soft toys. (2003). In J. Miller (Ed.), Miller's antiques encyclopedia (2nd ed.). Mitchell Beazley. Steiff used newly developed technology for manufacturing upholstery to make its stuffed toys.{{cite book |title=Kids' Stuff: Toys and the Changing World of American Childhood |author=Gary S. Cross |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=1999 |pages=93–94 |isbn=9780674030077 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IIh7TSazQLoC&pg=PA94 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160104175732/https://books.google.com/books?id=IIh7TSazQLoC&pg=PA94 |archive-date=4 January 2016}} In 1892, the Ithaca Kitty became one of the first mass-produced stuffed animal toys in the United States, which was sold as "The Tabby Cat" printed pattern on muslin by Arnold Print Works.{{cite news | last = Sachse | first = Gretchen | title = Ithaca Kitty was a success across America | newspaper = The Ithaca Journal | location = Ithaca, New York | date = 28 July 2016 | url = http://www.ithacajournal.com/story/news/local/2016/07/28/ithaca-kitty-success-across-america/87666422/ | access-date = 2 August 2016 | archive-date = 22 March 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190322023513/https://www.ithacajournal.com/story/news/local/2016/07/28/ithaca-kitty-success-across-america/87666422/ | url-status = live }}

File:Best sock monkeys.jpgs have been part of U.S. and Canadian culture since the Great Depression.]]

The toy industry significantly expanded in the early 20th century. In 1903, Richard Steiff, nephew of Margarete, designed a soft stuffed bear that differed from earlier traditional rag dolls because it was made of plush furlike fabric. As an art student in Stuttgart he visited the zoo and sketched the bears, which became the inspiration for his first life-like toy bear, known as "55 PB".{{Cite news |work=BBC |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-14231337 |last=Cronin |first=Frances |title=The great teddy bear shipwreck mystery |date=26 July 2011 |access-date=12 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140417000012/https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-14231337 |url-status=live |archive-date=17 April 2014 }} At the same time, in the US, Morris Michtom created the first teddy bear after being inspired by a drawing of President "Teddy" Roosevelt with a bear cub.{{cite web|url=http://www.americaslibrary.gov/aa/roosevelt/aa_roosevelt_bears_1.html| title=Teddy Bears| publisher=Library Of Congress| access-date=10 December 2007| url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091205035022/http://www.americaslibrary.gov/aa/roosevelt/aa_roosevelt_bears_1.html| archive-date=5 December 2009}} In 1903, the character Peter Rabbit from English author Beatrix Potter was the first fictional character to be made into a patented stuffed toy.{{cite news |last=Lanzendorfer |first=Joy |date=31 January 2017 |title=How Beatrix Potter Invented Character Merchandising |work=Smithsonian |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/how-beatrix-potter-invented-character-merchandising-180961979/ |access-date=6 October 2022 |archive-date=6 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221006132101/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/how-beatrix-potter-invented-character-merchandising-180961979/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web|url=http://www.peterrabbit.com/potters-world-life.asp|title=The life of Beatrix Potter – Peter Rabbit|work=peterrabbit.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120117072323/http://www.peterrabbit.com/potters-world-life.asp|archive-date=17 January 2012}} The following year they went on sale and were mass produced by Steiff.{{cite news |title=Steiff Peter Rabbit 1904 Replica |url=https://www.steiffteddybears.co.uk/steiff-limited-edition-teddy-bears-range/steiff-peter-rabbit-1904-replica--402142.htm |access-date=12 February 2024 |website=Steiffteddybears.co.uk |archive-date=19 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241219020833/https://www.steiffteddybears.co.uk/steiff-limited-edition-teddy-bears-range/steiff-peter-rabbit-1904-replica--402142.htm |url-status=dead }} The popularity of stuffed toys grew, with numerous manufacturers forming in Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Many people also handmade their own stuffed toys. For instance, sock monkeys originated when parents turned old socks into toys during the Great Depression.{{cite news|url=http://media.www.spectatornews.com/media/storage/paper218/news/2007/11/05/Showcase/History.Of.The.Sock.Monkey-3076934.shtml|title=History of the sock monkey: Stuffed animal created during the Great Depression|last=Boschma|first=Janie|date=5 November 2007|work=The Spectator|access-date=1 July 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091218185740/http://media.www.spectatornews.com/media/storage/paper218/news/2007/11/05/Showcase/History.Of.The.Sock.Monkey-3076934.shtml|archive-date=18 December 2009}}

In 1921, A. A. Milne bought a stuffed toy from Harrods department store in London for his son Christopher Robin, a toy which would later inspire the author's creation of Winnie-the-Pooh.{{cite news |title=Winnie-the-Pooh goes to Harrods in new authorised AA Milne prequel |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/jul/23/winnie-the-pooh-goes-to-harrods-in-new-authorised-aa-milne-prequel |access-date=23 April 2023 |work=The Guardian |quote=The story of how Winnie-the-Pooh went from a Harrods toy shelf to the home of Christopher Robin and the Hundred Acre Wood is set to be told for the first time, in an official prequel to AA Milne's original stories. |archive-date=8 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240208060022/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/jul/23/winnie-the-pooh-goes-to-harrods-in-new-authorised-aa-milne-prequel |url-status=live }} Stuffed toys of Paddington Bear, a character created by Michael Bond, were first produced by the family of Jeremy Clarkson in 1972, with the family eventually selling the rights to London-based Hamleys, the world's oldest toy store.{{cite episode |series=Inside Hamleys at Christmas |network=Channel 5 (UK) |url=https://www.thetvdb.com/series/channel-5-uk-documentaries/episodes/6942807 |title=Inside Hamleys at Christmas |date=December 2018 |access-date=17 September 2022 |archive-date=28 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228000151/https://thetvdb.com/series/channel-5-uk-documentaries/episodes/6942807 |url-status=live }} More recent lines of stuffed animals have been created around unique concepts, like Uglydoll, introduced in 2001, with a number of recognizable characters and overarching style.{{cite web |title=Toy Industry Association 2006 Award Winning Products and Nominees. List of awards. |url=http://www.toyassociation.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Past_TOTY_Winners&TEMPLATE=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=10594 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120624041923/http://www.toyassociation.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Past_TOTY_Winners&TEMPLATE=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=10594 |archive-date=24 June 2012 |access-date=22 March 2019 |website=toyassociation.org}}

Modern plushies from Japan are known for kawaii styles, generally thought of as (at least globally) starting with Sanrio's Hello Kitty, with many popular characters from popular media like Pikachu and Eevee from Pokémon, and characters from stationery company San-X including Rilakkuma and the {{lang|ja-latn|Sumikko Gurashi|italic=no}} characters.{{Cite web|title=San-X net|url=http://www.san-x.jp/characters/rilakkuma.html|access-date=31 December 2021|website=www.san-x.jp|archive-date=31 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211231080320/http://www.san-x.jp/characters/rilakkuma.html|url-status=live}} There is also a trend of Japanese plushies being shaped like mochi.

{{See also|Comfort object}}

Children, as well as adults, can form connections with their stuffed toys, often sleeping or cuddling with them for comfort. They can be sentimental objects that reduce anxiety around separation, self-esteem, and fear of the night.{{Cite web |last=Kale |first=Sirin |date=5 January 2020 |title='My bears are my lifeline': the adults who sleep with soft toys |url=http://www.theguardian.com/global/2020/jan/05/bears-lifeline-adults-who-sleep-with-soft-toys |access-date=2 February 2021 |website=The Guardian |language=en}} In 2019 about a third of British adults reported sleeping with soft toys, and almost half had kept their childhood toys.{{Cite web |last=Reid |first=Rebecca |date=20 May 2019 |title=1 in 3 British adults still sleeps with a soft toy |url=https://metro.co.uk/2019/05/20/1-3-british-adults-still-sleeps-soft-toy-9607056/ |access-date=2 February 2021 |website=Metro |language=en}}

File:Comercio de peluches en Lima, Perú, 2015-07-28, DD 47.JPG|408x408px]]

Stuffed toys are made from a range of materials. The earliest were created from felt, velvet, or mohair and stuffed with straw, horsehair, or sawdust.{{Cite book|last=Jaffé|first=Deborah|title=The History of Toys: From Spinning Tops to Robots|publisher=Sutton Publishing|year=2006|isbn=0-7509-3850-1|pages=155}} Following World War II, manufacturers began to adopt more synthetic materials into production, and in 1954, the first teddy bear made from easily washable materials was produced.{{Cite web|last=Laliberte|first=Marissa|date=2019|title=11 Adorable Facts You Never Knew About Teddy Bears|url=https://www.rd.com/list/teddy-bear-facts/|access-date=5 October 2020|website=Reader's Digest|language=en-US|archive-date=22 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230522200536/https://www.rd.com/list/teddy-bear-facts/|url-status=live}} Modern stuffed toys are commonly constructed of outer fabrics such as plain cloth, pile textiles like plush or terrycloth, or sometimes socks. Common stuffing materials include synthetic fiber, batting, cotton, straw, wood wool, plastic pellets, and beans. Some modern toys incorporate technology to move and interact with the user.{{Cite book|last=Byrne|first=Christopher|title=A Profile of the United States Toy Industry : Serious Fun|publisher=Business Expert Press|year=2013|pages=14, 62–63}}

Manufacturers sell two main types of stuffed toys: licensed, which are toys of characters or other licensed properties, or basic, which take the shape of ordinary animals or other non-licensed subjects.

Stuffed toys can also be homemade from numerous types of fabric or yarn. For instance, amigurumi is a traditional Japanese type of knitted or crocheted stuffed toy typically made with an oversized head and undersized extremities to look kawaii ('cute').{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/hookedforlifeadv0000temp|url-access=registration|quote=Amigurumi.|title=Hooked for Life: Adventures of a Crochet Zealot|pages=[https://archive.org/details/hookedforlifeadv0000temp/page/40 40]–41|author=Mary Beth Temple|publisher=Andrews McMeel|year=2009|access-date=20 March 2010|isbn=978-0-7407-7812-4}}{{cite book |author=Mary Belton |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F-DcK0QY3ZwC&pg=PA41 |title=Craft, Volume 1: Transforming Traditional Crafts |publisher=O'Reilly Media |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-596-52928-4 |pages=41–42 |access-date=20 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171228065306/https://books.google.com/books?id=F-DcK0QY3ZwC&pg=PA42&dq=Amigurumi&cd=12#v=onepage&q=Amigurumi |archive-date=28 December 2017 |url-status=live}}

Stuffed toys are among the most popular toys, especially for children. Their uses include imaginative play, comfort objects, display or collecting, and gifts to both children and adults for occasions such as graduation, illness, condolences, Valentine's Day, Christmas, or birthdays. In 2018, the global market for stuffed toys was estimated to be {{USD |7.98 billion}}, with the growth in target consumers expected to drive sales upwards.{{cite web | title=Stuffed Animal & Plush Toys Market Size, Share – Industry Report, 2025 | website=Grand View Research, Inc. | url=https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/stuffed-animal-plush-toys-market | access-date=11 October 2020 | archive-date=25 September 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230925143854/https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/stuffed-animal-plush-toys-market | url-status=live }}

File:Mom's Beanies (9120344523).jpg

Many stuffed toys have become fads that have boosted the industry overall. Teddy bears were an early fad that quickly grew into a cultural phenomenon. Close to 100 years later, in the 1990s, Ty Warner created Beanie Babies, a series of animals stuffed with plastic pellets. The toys became a fad through marketing strategies that increased demand and encouraged collection.{{cite magazine|last1=Wickman|first1=Kase|date=30 August 2017|title=The Life and Death of the Princess Diana Beanie Baby Market|language=en|magazine=Vanity Fair|publisher=Condé Nast|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2017/08/princess-diana-beanie-babies-20th-anniversary|access-date=5 June 2019|archive-date=4 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230504012247/https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2017/08/princess-diana-beanie-babies-20th-anniversary|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|last=Getlen|first=Larry|date=22 February 2015|title=How the Beanie Baby craze was concocted — then crashed|url=https://nypost.com/2015/02/22/how-the-beanie-baby-craze-was-concocted-then-crashed/|access-date=7 October 2020|website=New York Post|language=en-US|archive-date=8 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108124910/http://nypost.com/2015/02/22/how-the-beanie-baby-craze-was-concocted-then-crashed/|url-status=live}} Pillow Pets, which can be folded from a pillow into a stuffed animal, were another successful brand, launching in 2003 and selling more than 30 million toys between 2010 and 2016.{{Cite web|last=Glazer|first=Joyce A.|date=31 January 2017|title=Celebrating Women: Jennifer Telfer|url=https://www.sandiegomagazine.com/people/celebrating-women-jennifer-telfer/article_1ad79902-dc29-5f14-ac05-9ffe9456c117.html|access-date=7 October 2020|work=San Diego Magazine|language=en|archive-date=22 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230522200354/https://www.sandiegomagazine.com/people/celebrating-women-jennifer-telfer/article_1ad79902-dc29-5f14-ac05-9ffe9456c117.html|url-status=live}}

Other recent fads have involved toys paired with technology. Tickle Me Elmo, a laughing and shaking plush toy based on the character Elmo from the Sesame Street television show, was released in 1996 and was soon in demand, with some people buying and reselling the toy for hundreds of dollars.[http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20143226,00.html "Just Tickled"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140602092827/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20143226,00.html |date=2 June 2014 }}. People, 13 January 1997. This popularity sparked similar fads, including the robotic talking plush toy Furby released in 1998{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/US/9810/05/furby/index.html |date=5 October 1998 |publisher=CNN |title=New toy an interactive fur ball |access-date=13 July 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070616120237/http://www.cnn.com/US/9810/05/furby/index.html |archive-date=16 June 2007 }} and ZhuZhu Pets, a line of robotic plush hamsters released in 2009.{{cite news |last1=Mabrey |first1=Vicki |last2=Janik |first2=Kinga |date=20 November 2009 |title=Zhu Zhu Pets: Hamsters to Save Christmas? |publisher=ABC News |url=http://www.abcnews.go.com/Nightline/HolidayShopping/zhu-zhu-pets-holiday-seasons-toy/story?id=9137390 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091122122234/http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/HolidayShopping/zhu-zhu-pets-holiday-seasons-toy/story?id=9137390 |archive-date=22 November 2009}}{{cite news|last=Anderson|first=Mae|date=27 November 2009|title=Robotic hamsters are holidays' unlikely new craze|work=Denver Post|url=http://www.denverpost.com/ci_13875660|url-status=live|access-date=18 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629133510/http://www.denverpost.com/ci_13875660|archive-date=29 June 2011}}

The Internet also presented an opportunity for new stuffed toy fads. In 2005, Ganz launched its Webkinz stuffed toys, which each came with a different "Secret Code" that gave access to the Webkinz World website and a virtual version of the toy for online play.{{cite web|last=Pardo|first=Steve|url=http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070411/BIZ04/704110410|publisher=The Detroit News|access-date=23 April 2007|date=11 April 2007|title=Kids hooked on Webkinz world}}{{Dead link|date=April 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}{{cite web |last=Barakat |first=Matthew |date=13 July 2007 |title=Review: Webkinz pleases parents and children |url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/19732158 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714224023/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/19732158/ |archive-date=14 July 2014 |access-date=20 August 2007 |publisher=NBC News}} Webkinz's success inspired the creation of other stuffed toys containing codes to unlock digital content, such as the former online worlds Disney's Club Penguin and Build-A-Bearville from Build-A-Bear Workshop. In 2013, Disney launched its first collection of Disney Tsum Tsum stuffed toys based on characters from different Disney properties. Inspired by the popular app of the same name, Tsum Tsums were first released in Japan (an example of mochi shaped plushies) before expanding to the United States.{{Cite web|last=Walujono|first=Amanda|date=26 February 2015|title=How Disney's Tsum Tsum Craze is Taking America By Storm|url=https://charactermedia.com/how-disneys-tsum-tsum-craze-is-taking-america-by-storm/|access-date=7 October 2020|website=Character Media|language=en-US|archive-date=23 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230523174321/https://charactermedia.com/how-disneys-tsum-tsum-craze-is-taking-america-by-storm/|url-status=live}} More recently, in 2021, Squishmallows have made an appearance as a popular Internet fad and collector's item.{{Cite news |last=Lorenz |first=Taylor |date=16 March 2021 |title=Squishmallows Are Taking Over |language=en-US |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/16/style/squishmallows.html |url-access=limited |access-date=30 December 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=16 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230816063703/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/16/style/squishmallows.html |url-status=live }}

• List of stuffed toy manufacturers

{{Clear}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Wiktionary|soft toy|stuffed toy}}

{{commons cat}}

{{Teddy bears}}

{{toys}}

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Category:1880 introductions

Category:1880s toys

Category:Dolls