![Nachbildung 55PB Steiff Museum Giengen](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Nachbildung_55PB_Steiff_Museum_Giengen.jpg)
A stuffed toy is a
toy
A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and pet ...
doll
A doll is a model typically of a human or humanoid character, often used as a toy for children. Dolls have also been used in traditional religious rituals throughout the world. Traditional dolls made of materials such as clay and wood are foun ...
with an outer fabric
sewn
Sewing is the craft of fastening or attaching objects using stitches made with a sewing needle and thread. Sewing is one of the oldest of the textile arts, arising in the Paleolithic era. Before the invention of spinning yarn or weaving fabri ...
from a
textile
Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...
and stuffed with flexible material. They are known by many names, such as plush toys, plushies, stuffed animals, and stuffies; in Britain and Australia, they may also be called soft toys or cuddly toys. The stuffed toy originated from the
Steiff company of Germany in the late 19th century and gained popularity following the creation of the
"Teddy" bear in the United States in 1903, at the same time the German toy inventor
Richard Steiff designed a similar bear. In 1903,
Peter Rabbit
Peter Rabbit is a fictional animal character in various children's stories by English author Beatrix Potter.
A mischievous, adventurous young rabbit who wears a blue jacket, he first appeared in ''The Tale of Peter Rabbit'' in 1902, and subs ...
was the first fictional character to be made into a patented stuffed toy. In the 1970s, London-based
Hamleys
Hamleys is a British multinational toy retailer, owned by Reliance Retail. The world's oldest toy store, it was founded by William Hamley as "Noah's Ark" in High Holborn, London, in 1760. It moved to its current site on Regent Street in London's ...
, the world's oldest toy store, bought the rights to
Paddington Bear
Paddington Bear is a fictional character in children's literature. He first appeared on 13 October 1958 in the children's book ''A Bear Called Paddington'' and has been featured in more than twenty books written by British author Michael Bond, a ...
stuffed toys. In the 1990s,
Ty Warner
H. Ty Warner (born September 3, 1944) is an American billionaire toy manufacturer, businessman, and former actor. He is the CEO, sole owner and founder of Ty Inc. which manufactures and distributes stuffed toys, including Beanie Babies and other l ...
created
Beanie Babies
Beanie Babies are a line of stuffed toys created by American businessman H. Ty Warner, who founded Ty Inc. in 1986. The toys are stuffed with plastic pellets ("beans") rather than conventional soft stuffing. They come in many different forms, ...
, a series of animals stuffed with plastic pellets that were popular as collector's items.
Stuffed toys are made in many different forms, but most resemble
real animals (sometimes with exaggerated proportions or features),
legendary creatures,
cartoon characters
In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...
, or inanimate objects. They can be commercially or home-produced from numerous materials, most commonly
pile textiles like
plush
Plush (from French ) is a textile having a cut nap or pile the same as fustian or velvet. Its softness of feel gave rise to the adjective "plush" to describe something soft or luxurious, which was extended to describe luxury accommodation, or s ...
for the outer material and synthetic fiber for the stuffing. Often these toys are designed for children, but stuffed toys are popular for a range of ages and uses, and have been marked by
fads in
popular culture
Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or mass art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a ...
that sometimes affected
collectors and the value of the toys.
Description
![2018 06 TropicalIslands IMG 2211](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/2018_06_TropicalIslands_IMG_2211.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.
Stuffed toys come in an array of different sizes, with the smallest being thumb-sized and the largest being larger than a house.
However, the largest somewhat commonly produced stuffed animals are not much bigger than a person. Most stuffed animals are designed to be an appropriate size for easy handling. They also come in a wide variety of colors, cloth surfaces, fur textures, and humanizing embellishments.
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.
History
![Beatrix potter certificate of registration for a peter rabbit doll](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Beatrix_potter_certificate_of_registration_for_a_peter_rabbit_doll.jpg)
The first stuffed toy was a
felt
Felt is a textile material that is produced by matting, condensing and pressing fibers together. Felt can be made of natural fibers such as wool or animal fur, or from synthetic fibers such as petroleum-based acrylic or acrylonitrile or wood ...
elephant originally sold as a
pincushion
A pincushion (or pin cushion) is a small, stuffed cushion, typically across, which is used in sewing to store pins or needles with their heads protruding to take hold of them easily, collect them, and keep them organized.
Pincushions are typ ...
, created by the German
Steiff company in 1880.
[Soft toys. (2003). In J. Miller (Ed.), ''Miller's antiques encyclopedia'' (2nd ed.). Mitchell Beazley.] Steiff used newly developed technology for manufacturing
upholstery
Upholstery is the work of providing furniture, especially seats, with padding, springs, webbing, and fabric or leather covers. The word also refers to the materials used to upholster something.
''Upholstery'' comes from the Middle English w ...
to make its stuffed toys.
In 1892, the
Ithaca Kitty
The Ithaca Kitty, originally known as "The Tabby Cat", was a popular stuffed toy in the United States which started a fad for plush toys that lasted from its introduction in 1892 until after World War I.
History
The Ithaca Kitty was inspired by a ...
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
Muslin () is a cotton fabric of plain weave. It is made in a wide range of weights from delicate sheers to coarse sheeting. It gets its name from the city of Mosul, Iraq, where it was first manufactured.
Muslin of uncommonly delicate hands ...
by
Arnold Print Works
The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) is a museum in a converted Arnold Print Works factory building complex located in North Adams, Massachusetts. It is one of the largest centers for contemporary visual art and performing ...
.
![Best sock monkeys](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Best_sock_monkeys.jpg)
The toy industry significantly expanded in the early 20th century. In 1903,
Richard Steiff designed a soft stuffed bear that differed from earlier traditional
rag dolls because it was made of plush furlike fabric.
At the same time in the US,
Morris Michtom
Morris Michtom (1870 – July 21, 1938) was a Russian-born businessman and inventor who, with his wife Rose, also a Russian Jewish immigrant who lived in Brooklyn, came up with the idea for the teddy bear in 1902 around the same time as Ri ...
created the first teddy bear after being inspired by a drawing of President
"Teddy" Roosevelt with a bear cub.
In 1903, the character
Peter Rabbit
Peter Rabbit is a fictional animal character in various children's stories by English author Beatrix Potter.
A mischievous, adventurous young rabbit who wears a blue jacket, he first appeared in ''The Tale of Peter Rabbit'' in 1902, and subs ...
from English author
Beatrix Potter
Helen Beatrix Potter (, 28 July 186622 December 1943) was an English writer, illustrator, natural scientist, and conservationist. She is best known for her children's books featuring animals, such as '' The Tale of Peter Rabbit'', which was ...
was the first fictional character to be made into a patented stuffed toy. 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 monkey
A sock monkey is a stuffed toy made from socks fashioned in the likeness of a monkey. These stuffed animals are a mixture of folk art and kitsch in the cultures of the United States and Canada. The typical sock monkey is brown and white with ex ...
s originated when parents turned old socks into toys during the
Great Depression.
Paddington Bear
Paddington Bear is a fictional character in children's literature. He first appeared on 13 October 1958 in the children's book ''A Bear Called Paddington'' and has been featured in more than twenty books written by British author Michael Bond, a ...
stuffed toys were first produced by the family of
Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English broadcaster, journalist, game show host and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for the motoring programmes '' Top Gear'' and '' The Grand Tour'' alongside R ...
in 1972, with the family eventually selling the rights to London-based
Hamleys
Hamleys is a British multinational toy retailer, owned by Reliance Retail. The world's oldest toy store, it was founded by William Hamley as "Noah's Ark" in High Holborn, London, in 1760. It moved to its current site on Regent Street in London's ...
, the world's oldest toy store. More recent lines of stuffed animals have been created around unique concepts, like
Uglydoll
Uglydoll is a brand based upon a series of plush toys created by Sun-Min Kim. The toy line and brand began as an idea from a long-distance letter exchanges between the creators David Horvath and Sun-Min Kim.
The Uglydoll line was launched o ...
, introduced in 2001, with a number of recognizable characters and overarching style.
Modern plushies from
Japan are known for ''
kawaii
''Kawaii'' is the culture of cuteness in Japan. It can refer to items, humans and non-humans that are charming, vulnerable, shy and childlike.Kerr, Hui-Ying (23 November 2016)"What is kawaii – and why did the world fall for the ‘cult of c ...
'' styles, generally thought of as (at least globally) starting with
Sanrio
is a Japanese entertainment company. It designs, licenses, and produces products focusing on the ''kawaii'' ("cute") segment of Japanese popular culture. Their products include stationery, school supplies, gifts, and accessories which are sold ...
's
Hello Kitty
, also known by her full name , is a fictional Character (arts), character created by Yuko Shimizu, currently designed by Yuko Yamaguchi, and owned by the Japanese company Sanrio. Sanrio depicts Hello Kitty as an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphi ...
, with many popular characters from popular media like
Pikachu
is a fictional species in the ''Pokémon'' media franchise. Designed by Atsuko Nishida and Ken Sugimori, Pikachu first appeared in the 1996 Japanese video games ''Pokémon Red'' and ''Green'' created by Game Freak and Nintendo, which w ...
and
Eevee
is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's '' Pokémon'' franchise. Created by Motofumi Fujiwara, it first appeared in the video games ''Pokémon Red'' and ''Blue''. It has later appeared in various merchandise, spinoff titles, as w ...
from
Pokémon, and characters from
stationery
Stationery refers to commercially manufactured writing materials, including cut paper, envelopes, writing implements, continuous form paper, and other office supplies. Stationery includes materials to be written on by hand (e.g., letter pape ...
company
San-x
is a Japanese stationery company known for creating and marketing Kawaii, cute characters such as Tarepanda, Rilakkuma, and Sumikko Gurashi. The characters are usually anthropomorphic representations of animals or inanimate objects. Each charact ...
including
Rilakkuma
is a fictional character produced by the Japanese company San-X and created by Aki Kondo. After the character's launch in 2003, Rilakkuma has been featured on stationery and merchandise created by San-X, as well as several collaboration cafes. Al ...
and the
Sumikkogurashi characters. There is also a trend of Japanese plushies being shaped like
mochi
is a Japanese rice cake made of , a short-grain japonica glutinous rice, and sometimes other ingredients such as water, sugar, and cornstarch. The rice is pounded into paste and molded into the desired shape. In Japan, it is traditionally ma ...
.
Psychology
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. In 2019 about a third of British adults reported sleeping with soft toys, and almost half had kept their childhood toys.
Production
![Comercio de peluches en Lima, Perú, 2015-07-28, DD 47](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/Comercio_de_peluches_en_Lima%2C_Per%C3%BA%2C_2015-07-28%2C_DD_47.JPG)
Stuffed toys are made from a range of materials. The earliest were created from felt,
velvet
Weave details visible on a purple-colored velvet fabric
Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are evenly distributed, with a short pile, giving it a distinctive soft feel. By extension, the word ''velvety'' means ...
, or
mohair
Mohair (pronounced ) is a fabric or yarn made from the hair of the Angora goat. (This should not be confused with Angora wool, which is made from the fur of the Angora rabbit.) Both durable and resilient, mohair is notable for its high luster ...
and stuffed with straw,
horsehair
Horsehair is the long hair growing on the manes and tails of horses. It is used for various purposes, including upholstery, brushes, the bows of musical instruments, a hard-wearing fabric called haircloth, and for horsehair plaster, a wallc ...
, or
sawdust
Sawdust (or wood dust) is a by-product or waste product of woodworking operations such as sawing, sanding, milling, planing, and routing. It is composed of small chippings of wood. These operations can be performed by woodworking machine ...
.
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.
Modern stuffed toys are commonly constructed of outer fabrics such as plain cloth,
pile textiles like
plush
Plush (from French ) is a textile having a cut nap or pile the same as fustian or velvet. Its softness of feel gave rise to the adjective "plush" to describe something soft or luxurious, which was extended to describe luxury accommodation, or s ...
or
terrycloth
Terrycloth, terry cloth, terry cotton, terry toweling, terry, terry towel, or simply toweling is a fabric woven with many protruding loops of thread which can absorb large amounts of water. It can be manufactured by weaving or knitting. Terryclo ...
, or sometimes socks. Common stuffing materials include
synthetic fiber,
batting Batting may refer to:
* Batting (baseball), the act of attempting to hit a ball thrown by the pitcher with a baseball bat, in order to score runs
* Batting (cricket), the act of defending one's wicket with the cricket bat while attempting to score ...
,
cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...
,
straw,
wood wool
Wood wool, known primarily as excelsior in North America, is a product made of wood slivers cut from logs. It is mainly used in packaging, for cooling pads in home evaporative cooling systems known as swamp coolers, for erosion control mats, and ...
,
plastic pellets, and
beans
A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes thr ...
. Some modern toys incorporate technology to move and interact with the user.
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
Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, used in sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery, ropemaking, and the production of textiles. Thread is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern manu ...
. For instance,
Amigurumi
is the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small, stuffed yarn creatures. The word is a compound of the Japanese words ''ami'', meaning "crocheted or knitted", and ''kurumi'', literally "wrapping", as in ''nuigurumi'' "(sewn) stuffed dol ...
is a traditional Japanese type of
knit
Knitting is a method by which yarn is manipulated to create a textile, or fabric. It is used to create many types of garments. Knitting may be done by hand or by machine.
Knitting creates stitches: loops of yarn in a row, either flat or i ...
ted or
crocheted stuffed toy typically made with an oversized head and undersized extremities to look ''
kawaii
''Kawaii'' is the culture of cuteness in Japan. It can refer to items, humans and non-humans that are charming, vulnerable, shy and childlike.Kerr, Hui-Ying (23 November 2016)"What is kawaii – and why did the world fall for the ‘cult of c ...
'' ('cute').
Cultural impact, marketing, and collectors
Stuffed toys are among the most popular toys, especially for children. Their uses include imaginative play,
comfort object
A comfort object, more formally a transitional object or attachment object, is an item used to provide psychological comfort, especially in unusual or unique situations, or at bedtime for children. Among toddlers, a comfort object often takes ...
s, 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 , with the growth in target consumers expected to drive sales upwards.
Fads
![Mom's Beanies (9120344523)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/Mom%27s_Beanies_%289120344523%29.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
H. Ty Warner (born September 3, 1944) is an American billionaire toy manufacturer, businessman, and former actor. He is the CEO, sole owner and founder of Ty Inc. which manufactures and distributes stuffed toys, including Beanie Babies and other l ...
created
Beanie Babies
Beanie Babies are a line of stuffed toys created by American businessman H. Ty Warner, who founded Ty Inc. in 1986. The toys are stuffed with plastic pellets ("beans") rather than conventional soft stuffing. They come in many different forms, ...
, a series of animals stuffed with plastic pellets. The toys became a fad through marketing strategies that increased demand and encouraged collection.
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.
Other recent fads have involved toys paired with technology.
Tickle Me Elmo
Tickle Me Elmo is a children's plush toy from Tyco Preschool, a division of Tyco Toys, of the Muppet character Elmo from the children's television show ''Sesame Street''. When squeezed, Elmo shakes, vibrates, and recites his trademark giggle.
T ...
, a laughing and shaking plush toy based on the character
Elmo
Elmo is a red Muppet monster character on the long-running PBS/ HBO children's television show ''Sesame Street''. A furry red monster who has a falsetto voice and illeism, he hosts the last full five-minute segment (fifteen minutes prio ...
from the
Sesame Street
''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) ...
television show, was released in 1996 and was soon in demand, with some people buying and reselling the toy for hundreds of dollars.
["Just Tickled"](_blank)
. ''People'', January 13, 1997. This popularity sparked similar fads, including the
robotic
Robotics is an interdisciplinary branch of computer science and engineering. Robotics involves design, construction, operation, and use of robots. The goal of robotics is to design machines that can help and assist humans. Robotics integrate ...
talking plush toy
Furby
Furby is an American electronic robotic toy that was originally released in 1998 by Tiger Electronics. It resembles a hamster or owllike creature and went through a period of being a " must-have" toy following its holiday season launch, with c ...
released in 1998 and
Zhu Zhu Pets, a line of robotic plush hamsters released in 2009.
The internet also presented an opportunity for new stuffed toy fads. In 2005,
Ganz
The Ganz Works or Ganz ( or , ''Ganz companies'', formerly ''Ganz and Partner Iron Mill and Machine Factory'') was a group of companies operating between 1845 and 1949 in Budapest, Hungary. It was named after Ábrahám Ganz, the founder and th ...
launched its
Webkinz
Webkinz is a stuffed animal franchise by the Canadian toy company Ganz, consisting of stuffed animals that have online counterparts in the games "Webkinz Classic" and "Webkinz Next". It was originally released by Ganz on April 29, 2005.
Each W ...
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.
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
''Club Penguin'' was a massively multiplayer online game (MMO), involving a virtual world that contained a range of online games and activities. It was created by New Horizon Interactive (now known as Disney Canada Inc.). Players used cartoon ...
and Build-A-Bearville from
Build-A-Bear Workshop
Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. is an American retailer headquartered in Saint Louis, Missouri that sells teddy bears and other stuffed animals and characters. Customers go through an interactive process in which the stuffed animal of their choice ...
. In 2013,
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
launched its first collection of
Disney Tsum Tsum
, pronounced "(t)soom (t)soom", is a range of Japanese collectible stuffed toys based upon Disney-owned characters. The name is derived from the Japanese verb ''tsumu'' meaning "to stack", because the rectangle-shaped toys are designed to stac ...
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
is a Japanese rice cake made of , a short-grain japonica glutinous rice, and sometimes other ingredients such as water, sugar, and cornstarch. The rice is pounded into paste and molded into the desired shape. In Japan, it is traditionally ma ...
shaped plushies) before expanding to the United States. More recently, in 2021,
Squishmallows have made an appearance as a popular internet fad and collector's item.
See also
*
List of stuffed toy manufacturers
This is a list of notable companies that manufacture stuffed toys.
Canada
*Ganz (toy company), Ganz
Germany
*Margarete Steiff GmbH
*NICI AG
*Sigikid
*Teddy-Hermann
Japan
*Nakajima USA
*San-X
*Sanrio
*Monchhichi, Sekiguchi Corporation
United Ki ...
References
{{Authority control
1880 introductions
1880s toys