Custom Gruffalo Plush Toy, Handmade to Order

Description

This is a custom Gruffalo plush, sewn by hand in our studio from a picture the customer sent us. He never sat on a shop shelf. We made him to order for one family, for a child's party, and that's how every toy on this site starts: with what you want.

If you've read The Gruffalo aloud a few hundred times, you know the rhyme by heart. Terrible tusks, terrible claws, a poisonous wart at the end of his nose, purple prickles all over his back. Plenty of kids pick the monster over the mouse as their favourite. A Gruffalo soft toy they can drag to bed is the obvious next step.

The book behind him

Julia Donaldson wrote The Gruffalo, and Axel Scheffler drew it. It came out in 1999. A small mouse walks through the deep dark wood, scares off a fox, an owl and a snake by describing a monster he made up, and then bumps into the real thing.

The sequel, The Gruffalo's Child (2004), is a winter story. The Gruffalo's daughter sneaks out into the snowy wood to find the Big Bad Mouse. Both animated films first aired on BBC One on Christmas Day, in 2009 and 2011.

What we sewed

Shaggy brown faux fur with a lighter muzzle and beige inner ears
Big yellow eyes under heavy black brows, and a green wart on his nose
White tusks, teeth and whiskers, with a grey-blue tongue hanging out to one side
Purple prickles down his back, white claws on his paws and toes, grey patches on his knobbly knees

In the photos he has one clawed paw up by his mouth and a slightly baffled look. That's the Gruffalo from the last pages, after the mouse has talked him out of lunch.

Your Gruffalo, your way

Want him bigger for hugging, or small enough for a bookshelf? Maybe the Gruffalo's Child next to him? Tell us. We work from the book's pictures or from your own drawing, and you see photos of the finished toy before it ships. We can also add a growl sound module, lights or poseable limbs on request.

He's an old friend here, by the way. We sewed our first Gruffalo in 2010, from a drawing a customer sent us.

Planning him as a Christmas present? Order by November 1. For more characters from books, see our book character plush page, meet Christmas Findus, or send us a drawing of your own.

We're an independent studio. This is a handmade fan piece, not an official Gruffalo product.

Materials used

Our Gruffalo is sewn from shaggy brown faux fur with a long, slightly messy pile, so he looks like he just walked out of the deep dark wood. We never use natural fur. The muzzle is a shorter, lighter fur, and the inner ears are a smooth beige fabric.

The details are what turn a brown furry shape into the Gruffalo and not a bear:

yellow eyes and thick black brows
a green wart on the tip of his nose
white tusks, teeth and claws
soft purple prickles along his back
a grey-blue tongue and grey knee patches

Everything is safe and eco-friendly. Want orange eyes like in the book, or a darker fur? Say so before we start.

Lead time

A Gruffalo usually takes 2–4 weeks to make.

The pattern comes first. A big round belly, a heavy head and short legs have to balance, or he ends up looking saggy instead of solid. Then the face. Eyes, brows, wart, tusks and tongue are all placed by hand, and a few millimetres decide whether he looks fierce or confused.

That time frame includes a small reserve for handmade surprises. If he's for a birthday or a book-themed party, put the date in your first message.

Delivery

We ship worldwide. Delivery usually takes 7–20 business days, depending on your country, the carrier and the shipping method.

Before Christmas, couriers get swamped and parcels slow down. If the Gruffalo is going under the tree, order by November 1. That covers the making time and the trip to you, with a little slack.

Before he leaves the studio, we send you photos of the finished toy. Then we pack him so his tusks and prickles arrive in shape.

Guarantee

We've been making custom plush since 2009, and book characters are some of the trickiest orders we get. Your child already knows exactly what the Gruffalo looks like. They've seen him on every page.

So you see photos of the finished toy before it ships. If you don't love it, you get a full refund within 14 days, for any reason.

Send us the pages or film stills you like best when you order. We'll tell you straight away which details we can match and where fur and fabric need a slightly different solution than a drawing.