Stuffed banana peppers with cream cheese this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. For the practice of stuffing and mounting dead animals, see taxidermy. A stuffed toy is a toy doll with an outer fabric sewn from a textile and stuffed with flexible material.

Britain and Australia, they may also be called soft toys or cuddly toys. Stuffed toys are distinguishable from other toys mainly by their softness, flexibility, and resemblance to animals or fictional characters. 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. 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. 1903 patent for a Peter Rabbit toy created by Beatrix Potter.

They were first mass produced in 1904. The first stuffed toy was a felt elephant originally sold as a pincushion, created by the German Steiff company in 1880. Steiff used newly developed technology for manufacturing upholstery to make its stuffed toys. Homemade sock monkeys have been part of U. Canadian culture since the Great Depression. 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. Stuffed toys of Paddington Bear, a character created by Michael Bond, were first produced by the family of Jeremy Clarkson in 1972, with the family eventually selling the rights to London-based Hamleys, the world’s oldest toy store. There is also a trend of Japanese plushies being shaped like mochi. 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. Stuffed toys are made from a range of materials.

The earliest were created from felt, velvet, or mohair and stuffed with straw, horsehair, or sawdust. 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. Stuffed toys are among the most popular toys, especially for children. Their uses include imaginative play, comfort objects, display or collecting, and gifts to both children and adults for occasions such as graduation, illness, condolences, Valentine’s Day, Christmas, or birthdays.