How to Make Filler Pouches for Toy Balls and How to Make Recycled Toy Stuffing | Cherry and Crochet Designs

How to make filler pouches for toy balls and how to make recycled toy stuffing

Pouch for inside of toy ball

These are very important in toys for babies as they prevent the stuffing from coming out of the toy and also allow you to use different colour stuffings without it ruining the appearance of the toy.

Take square of fabric around 6 inches square (I used an old camisole so that I could recycle it) and sew three sides closed with a small running stitch. It doesn’t need to be neat, only secure so that no stuffing can come out. Turn inside out and stuff with stuffing or fabric scraps. Sew the final side closed and tie off securely. 

How to make recycled toy stuffing

Not the most glamorous looking bag, I know!

I rarely have to use polyfill, as I mostly use fabric scraps and yarn scraps to stuff children’s toys. I do this for two reasons. Firstly, it is cheaper, as polyfill is relatively expensive for something that isn’t visible in the end product. Secondly, it is more eco-friendly as it uses a waste resource to replace a product that would otherwise have to be manufactured and shipped to me. Therefore, I use as much recycled toy stuffing as possible, and even take old raggedy clothing from friends and family otherwise destined for the bin and shred it into my toy stuffing. 

So, how to actually make it. 

First of all, get old unusable fabric, (my fave is tatty underclothing such as clean camisoles and pyjamas). You could clean them then soak in boiling water for an hour or so if you want to. Once it is completely dry, lay the fabrics out on the floor and get a carrier bag for your stuffing once produced. 

Now is the fun part, shred them into lengths using scissors, but try to keep them flat on the floor. Then, cut them into tiny squares by cutting across the lengths. Gather all the stuffing up and put in the bag, then repeat the whole process for all your fabric. 

The other way to ‘make’ toy stuffing is by saving all tiny lengths of yarn and small fabric scraps, and putting them in the same bag to use for stuffing. I have never put yarn or fabric in the bin as I use all of it, anything that is exceptionally knotted and cannot be untangled is cut and put in the bag. Tiny bits of yarn go into the bag, projects that have been unravelled, then the last tiny piece becomes knotted and not worth untangling, goes into the bag. In this way, no yarn is wasted and I save money and produce less waste. 

Thank you for reading and please comment letting me know your best way of saving money and the environment while crafting.