#stuffed animal repair

[doctorbeth]

A happy colorful monster

Have you heard of My Pet Monster? It's a cartoon from 1986, which had one season (also apparently there's a live movie). You can stream it if you like. But for the purposes of this story, the most important fact is that the star was a very colorful smily, monster. And in January of last year, one of the cuddly plush versions was discovered in the back of a closet (so I guess he was a moonlighting as a closet monster?).

In any case, his original person found him, and wanted to gift him to his own daughters, but this monster had clearly had a rough time in the closet. Here is one of his diagnosis photos:

You can see the wound on his chest, and that his teeth are coming out. His feet and hands were vinyl, and had gotten that sticky feel that old vinyl sometimes gets.... and he needed a bath!

It took almost a year, but in December, the monster's family wrote again. Could we schedule treatment and an appointment for him?

Of course! The hospital was pretty full at the beginning of the year (not uncommon) so we scheduled his appointment for early March.

He arrived and the first step was a spa. He's quite large, so he got the large pink tub. :-)

Next he got restuffed, with a heart of original stuffing included ... who knows where his magic is stored, so it's important to keep at least a bit of original stuffing!

For his feet and hands, I can't replicate the printed nails on vinyl, but we didn't really want to do vinyl again anyway for the feel. So his person and I agreed to recover his feet and hands in new black velvet and then give him new nails from felt in the same teal as the originals. Here he is showing off his manicure and pedicure:

And here he is all better... even his fabric surrounding his tusks has been reglued:

and so he flew home to Colorado!

[spicebiter]

Mr. Cuddles' Spa Day

My roommate, who I will be referring to as K throughout this post for the sake of simplicity, has a teddy bear he loves to death and takes with him anywhere he'll have to sleep at least one night. His name is Cuddles. This was him before I got to work on fixing him up:

Mr. Cuddles is unable to sit up, his fur is matted and his fluff compressed. His ribbon used to be a lot less thin and he's decorated with hair ties and friendship bracelets K didn't like to wear himself. There are spots on his feet and paws that are made of less furry fabric and these are spotted with stains gathered over two decades. K told me he couldn't be sure, but the number of times Mr. Cuddles has been washed through the years could likely be counted on one hand.

For as dirty as he's become, Cuddles is in good shape! He has no holes or spots where his fur is warn through and his nose is sewn with no loose threads to speak of, though K reports he has no mouth which is odd for such a nose style. Cuddles will be receiving a wash + brush, re-stuffing, and a new bow all before it's time for K to go to bed.

First comes taking out his old fluff.

Inside the layer of dirty and compressed fluff was a layer that was fairly pristine! However, the outer layer was so old and saturated with body oils from years of cuddling that it had all but fused to the inside of the fur like an odd velcro. A bit of a challenge, but nothing that couldn't be taken care of.

With all his fluff removed, Cuddles moved on to a soak in hot water mixed with a mild detergent, fabric softener, and a bit of vinegar to help get rid of odor and bacteria. It was here that I began brushing out his fur with a slicker brush, getting every inch but focusing mostly on the matted areas around his paws and face.

It was at this stage that I discovered Mr. Cuddles had a mouth! The area around his snout had become so matted and tangled it hid the single lines of stitching that gave the bear a charming smile- Something K hadn't seen in so long he'd forgotten it even existed.

With his fur brushed, I left Cuddles to relax while I prepared for his later re-stuffing.

K chose a choice bit of fluff and I sewed up a heart using a fabric he'd chosen earlier in the week.

I forgot to take pictures of this but we also clipped a portion of Cuddles' old bow to tie around this heart before it was given to Cuddles.

Thoroughly washed and rinsed, we took Mr. Cuddles on a short trip to our local laundromat for a dry, with a few dryer balls to give him a massage.

Dry and fluffy once more, it's hard once again to see Cuddles' mouth, but parting his fluff to see that smile is no longer the trial it was. Stuffed to K's satisfaction, his heart implanted, and a bow tied and sewn in place, Cuddles was ready for bedtime!

K opted for a bow with shorter tails, in a blue gingham pattern that looks dashing against Cuddles' newly cleaned fur. He's able to sit up on his own, and although K opted to not include the bag of beans that once weighted him he is a pleasant weight and is altogether perfectly squeezable.

[squeekbeep]

someone tucked this poor guy behind the garbage can on my porch, i decided to try and fix him up. i named him harland. kinda thought about putting him back in case the person who put him there wants him back, but i really want to keep him. should i?

poor thing was very dirty and ripped up. he looked like a dog got ahold of him and buried him a few times too.

i unstuffed him, and cleaned him several times. he has new stuffing and is all patched up now!

originally, harland had a mirror on his tummy but it was so damaged i replaced it with a patch that i've been wanting to use but unsure of where to put it. i think he deserves it. :')

[thejadedjester]

Ship of Theseus, but they make a heart for the ship out of the old lumber, like the people who repair stuffed animals

[lilsproutcare]

A lil kindness goes a long way ♥

[build-a-buddy]

Asked on Reddit but I'll ask here too-- this plushie has a scuff mark on her eye; I am trying to mend it.

(I know it looks like a fingerprint; it's definitely a scuff mark, I can feel the texture difference.)

I've tried toothpaste but didn't notice much difference, so I'm looking for any ideas or further advice. Thanks! ^_^

[mere-vanilla]

One of the beanie babies we passed down to kiddo had developed a hole in it, releasing about nine of the plastic "beans". Kiddo collected them and told me about the hole.

I broke out my sewing kit and tried out some of the stuff I'd seen in fabric repair tips on tumblr. It didn't turn out exactly how I'd wanted it to (some loose thread on the base stitches), but the hole is closed and cannot let any more beans out, so I'd say that's a win!

[kirby-the-gorb]

[phantom-does-a-thing]

Repairing a stuffed animal is a very cathartic thing. Like:

you've been loved so dearly that part of you is beginning to fall apart, but I can put you back together. Your stitching won't be the same, but I can fix you, it might be a little lopsided but you're good as new and I can love you again.

[littlefluffbutt]

Youngest Sis has a puppy who unfortunately likes to chew; niece's hedgehog was a victim. I've done repairs before but facial reconstruction? I was wiling to try.

Here she is after 3 baths (I forgot the stain remover the first time and it took 2 rounds with it. The face fur is a light gray; I had a similar pile white that would work. I used felt for the paws and ears. I'm just thankful the nose area wasn't damaged as that would have made things more difficult.

Voila! Ironically the hardest part was making my eye match the other; I ruined the first face piece as I kept trying to make it perfect lol. I left the ear/paw stubs in place to sew the new ones over (I recovered the one good paw too so it would match). The left ear doesn't have a base as it was completely missing; I did put some stuffing in it so it wouldn't be flat-flat. I think she came out great; niece agreed:)

[doctorbeth]

A pair of elderly patients: Part 1 Poochie

Poochie the dog is owned by a family among you dear people. He is over 60 years old, about 7 or 8" tall, and very well loved. He's had repairs before to his shoulders, and he'd been wearing a red dress for years to try to protect his skin from further wear.

His person (his original person) wanted to keep him as close to original as possible, but also wanted to stabilize and reinforce him. Here are his original diagnosis photos, sent by another family member:

I'm showing larger versions in the hopes that you can see not only his holes, but the runs where his fabric is see through.

Poochie came to the hospital last month for wound repair and supplemental stuffing... just a touch to protect him on the inside. He wasn't getting a spa, he needed to stay as original as possible. And we were keeping old repairs where possible too. Rather, the treatment for Poochie was to stitch wounds, adding fabric under his runs to take the pressure of stitches, and patches where he had holes. Just enough to stabilize him. He wasn't going on adventures with toddlers anymore, but he wanted to feel safe watching over his family. Here's Poochie all better:

He's sort of like a kintsugi vase with its visible seams, or an older person, whose wrinkles and gray hairs tell their story. Poochie earned every scar and new seam, but he's huggable and lovable specifically for those patches and seams, which are reminders of all the adventures he's had. And now, he can be hugged again and share his memories (and make new ones) with his family in Washington.

[spoohie]

I found a stuffed toy for Vil.

Look at this shit. It’s a potato. Someone get his credit card; he needs it whether he knows it or not:

Epel: Ah don’t give a darn tootin’ about this goshdarned hair routine!

Vil: *chucks the potato stuffy at him*

Rook: Roi du Poison! My discerning eye has caught that you’ve gained an ounce-

Vil: *chucks the potato stuffy at him*

Neige: *exists*

Vil: *accidentally throws potato stuffy with force to kill*

[beachbearblr]

that grubby. oh how I hate him

[arsenicflame]

(bonus round! put in the tags how old you are <3)

[ted-westerly]

Had to repair a special someone’s stuffed animal. I decided to use a left over hospital wrist band to really sell it.

[charmanderxerneas]

please help does anyone with good sewing knowledge know how I should go about fixing this? One of the threads in his eye has become loose :( i have an embroidering needle, but I dont know how to go about putting that thread back into the head and securing it when its so small?

he is a very special friend to me (but also very expensive, even more so since the price has gone up since i bought him, i cant pay like 55$ to get him replaced)