Greetings, all. My workplace has experienced a baby boom, and since I just finished a two-person-sized worsted-weight afghan for my brother's wedding, I'm thinking small KOs for the next few gift-giving events.

I've knitted a few of the bears from Sandra Polley's book, but none of those were given to babies. For those bears, I packed polyfill into knee-highs from the drugstore and then stitched the knee-highs up with sewing thread before stuffing the whole package into the bears' limbs/torso/head. That kept huge tufts of polyfill from working out through the knit stitches, but I wouldn't call it baby safe.

Is anybody here familiar with stuffed animals? I know that commercial stuffed plush intended for infants sometimes is contained in a second layer within the animal. Is there a fill that won't come out through the stitches? Is it possible to get a foam from the craft store and cut it to fit the segments of the animal?

Thanks for your suggestions.

I've made a couple of bears and things like that, and I didn't do anything except stuff them. The stitches weren't large, and I saw no reason to think the stuffing would come through. The most recent was four years ago, and it hasn't oozed any stuffing yet.

Here is another great felted project it is knitted and felted baby booties. This is if you are looking for something different.

Booties


Have a look at this great pattern. I have knitted several pairs of these. They knit up fast and everyone loves them.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: KnitSki,

If you truly don't want to use regular fiberfill to stuff your animals with, you could use the cotton batting for quilt-making and just shred it apart for stuffing. If your knit stitches are small and/or tight enough, the stuffing should stay in. But you could still use your knee-hi stockings for your 'stuffing packets' if you wanted. I think that's a really neat idea, actually.

Some time ago, some one suggested my stuffing a pin chushion I was making with little yarn pieces or little balls of leftover yarn. Wouldn't this work in stuffing animals as well?

DianaD.--I think that's what I'm going to wind up doing. I just found out last night that my sister-in-law is pregnant. More babies!

Bobbi--loose yarn would be a major choking hazard. It's not so much that I'm looking for something fluffy to stuff into the animals, as that I'm looking for something that won't work its way out easily and, should a seam come open, won't murder the baby if gnawed on.

It sounds like you have three requirements for the baby gift:
1: works up pretty quick
2: knitted
3: won't "murder the baby" if gnawed on

Maybe if you are committed to knitting, it would be good to choose something that won't reach the mouth, because honestly the baby will get plenty of yarn bits from gnawing the toy itself, without resorting to the stuffing. That's assuming the baby has teeth. Otherwise it will just gum the thing and possibly felt it.

I like to knit little hats, myself. You can try out adult patterns in miniature, or get really sculptural. The wilder the headgear, the cuter the babie looks. And the average infant goes thru plenty of hats in a week, at least here in New England.

You could always sew up a toy, like an old fashioned sock monkey, maybe with a mini hat of its own . . .

We gave to charities sacks full of soft toys after each of our kids was born. We acted delighted each time a new bear/monkey/sheep/camel/dog/cat/etc arrived, but eventually even this got difficult. A delicate question to the intended recipient may well be in order:

"Wonderful news about the baby! I'd LOVE to knit something for the new arrival. Would you like maybe a soft toy, some bootees or a first size hat?"

As it happens, we only use hi-loft filled pillows in our house. They are of course washable, but eventually they reduce in size and comfort. This is when they become ideal filling for soft toys. The fibre is matted somewhat, and never leaks out through knitting fabric. When knitting soft toys, remember always use a needle finer than recoommended for the yarn.

Have fun! We all bestow blessings on the New Generation and hope that their lives are even more fulfilled than our own.

Best wishes, John

When I had a stuffing problem and was worried about it's coming out, I buy cheap queen sized pantyhose. Cut the pantyhose to about 4-6 inches longer then the toy,tie off or sew one end shut, put the stuffing into the pantyhose and then inside the toy. Once inside, you can keep stuffing as much as you want because the pantyhose just keeps stretching. You make the section of pantyhose longer then you need so it has room to stretch sideways. When you have as much stuffing in as you want, whipstitch the top opening and sew shut the toy, pillow or whatever it is.
This way you have a liner inside and the baby can chew to their hearts content and the stuffing will stay where it belongs even if you use loose stitches.