How to Make an Elephant Plush

Use pictures of real elephants as inspiration for your plush.

The enormous elephant is a creature adored by children and adults alike. Create a miniature version of this mammal that you can cuddle by creating an elephant plush. Making your own stuffed elephant is fairly easy and can be completed at home with some basic sewing techniques. Use a soft gray material for the toy, or make an abstract elephant using bright or patterned fabrics. Keep your finished elephant plush for yourself, or give it to another animal lover as a gift.

Things You'll Need

• Thick paper
• Scissors
• Material
• Pins
• Needle
• Thread
• Stuffing

Instructions

1. Draw the silhouetted profile of an elephant on a piece of thick paper, such as poster board or a file folder. This image should include the elephant's broad body, thin tail, four stout legs and a tear drop-shaped head, as well as the animal's iconic trunk. Do not add too many details to this sketch, and instead focus on the basic shape of the elephant. Also, sketch an elephant's ear shape -- a circle with one flat edge -- that will extend off the sides of your plush. Make the drawings about 1/2 inch larger all around than you want the completed size to be. Cut out the sketched shapes to create your patterns.

2. Lay your material on a flat surface wrong side up. Place the elephant's body cutout on the material and trace around its perimeter. Flip over the elephant cutout and trace another outline on the fabric. Cut out the elephant shapes.

3. Place the elephant ear cutout on the backside of the material and trace its perimeter. Flip over the ear pattern and make another outline. Cut out these shapes. Lay the two ear pieces, right sides together, and pin them. Repeat the entire process to create a second ear shape.

4. Sew a 1/2-inch seam around the outer edge of the ear shapes. Leave a 1-inch hole open at the base of the ears. Turn the elephant ears right side out through this hole, then hand-stitch the opening shut.

5. Put the elephant ear on the decorated side of one elephant body fabric cutout. Pin the bottom edge of the ear to the head of the body, where the ear would naturally be found on an elephant. Hand-sew along this pinned line to connect the ear. Repeat the step with the other ear on the other body cutout. Remove the pins.

6. Place the two elephant body cutouts one top of each other, with the right sides of the material facing each other in the center. Ensure the features and edges of the elephants line up evenly. Pin the materials together along their perimeter.

7. Sew along the perimeter of the elephant shapes, making a 1/2-inch seam all around. Leave a 2-inch opening unsewn somewhere on the elephant, such as its rump or the bottom of its torso. Remove the pins.

8. Flip the elephant shape right side out through the unsewn hole. Stuff the inside of the plush with any fluffy material, such as fiberfill or tissue paper. Hand-stitch the open hole shut to complete your elephant plush.

Tips & Warnings

• Create eyes and other features on the elephant plush by embroidering the additions with thread or drawing them on the fabric with a permanent marker.

References

• Eldrbarry's Story Telling Page: Directions for Simple Bear
• MakeBabyStuff.com: Stuffed Bunny Pattern
• Google Images: Elephant Silhouette