How to Fix Mouths on Stuffed Animals

A beloved stuffed animal can grow worn from lots of hugging.

Both children and adults form emotional attachments with their teddy bears and other stuffed animals. It can be sad, or even traumatic, when one of these beloved animals becomes worn or torn. Often, the first things to require repair are the stitched-on facial features like the nose and mouth. Fortunately, these tend to be easy repairs to make. Even with little or no sewing experience, you can fix your child's (or your own) best friend.

Things You'll Need

• Embroidery thread
• Embroidery needle
• Scissors
• Water soluble fabric pen
• Seam ripper

Instructions

1. Remove any remaining loose threads from the stuffed animal's mouth using your seam ripper. Make a mental note of the mouth shape as you do this, so you can recreate it as closely as possible.

2. Use your fabric marking pen to sketch lines for a new mouth. If you do not know or remember what the original mouth looked like, try using an upside-down Y shape beginning at the bottom edge of the nose. For a neutral face, leave the diagonal lines of the inverted Y facing slightly downward. For a happy, smiling face, curve them up at the edges.

3. Select a thread color that matches the original stitching. If none of the stitching is left, you can use black, dark brown, or a darker shade of the animal's face fur color. Thread your embroidery needle with a double thickness of the thread. (Cut a length of the thread, run it through the eye of the needle and pull until the needle is in the center of the thread. Then, tie the loose ends of the thread together in a knot. When you sew, you will be sewing with two strands of thread at once.)

4. Stitch carefully, with small, tight stitches along your marking pen line. If your bear has a plastic nose, you can potentially hide the cut end of your stitches under the edge of the nose. If not, make sure your knot is secure and cut off the extra thread as close as possible to the knot.

5. 

   Your stuffed animal can look as good as new!

   Sit your stuffed animal up and take a look at him. See if you like his expression. If you wish, you can add stitches to make a wider mouth or a bigger smile. If necessary, pull some stitches out with your seam ripper and redo them. If you want a thicker line, stitch over your lines once more with another double thickness of thread.

Tips & Warnings

• If you are trying to repair an antique or collectible stuffed animal, be aware that this can drastically reduce its value. These kinds of repairs should only be done by a restoration specialist who can match the materials and stitching of the original. Properly done, they will not affect the value of your collectible.

References

• Teddy Baron
• Beary Cute Bears
• Old Bear Clinic