Lou started life on paper. He's a scruffy cartoon dog invented by Magge, an animator from Italy, and she wanted to see him as a real toy. This custom character plush is the result: her drawings, sewn into a dog you can pick up.
Nothing here came off a shelf. Every toy we make is made to order for one customer, from their pictures and their wishes. Lou was sewn once, for her.
Two drawings, one dog
Magge sent us two pictures, and each had a job. A colour sketch with arrows and notes set the palette: cool gray, warm gray, cream, black and dark gray. A pencil drawing marked the pose: Lou sitting, front paws forward, back paws turned out to the sides.
Our job was to join them into one toy that still looks like her character from every side. Drawings and fabric don't always agree. A cartoon can have a huge head on a small body, and a plush still has to sit up on a shelf. Solving that is the part of the work we like best.
What you see in the photos
Lou is dark charcoal with a light gray muzzle, gray paw pads and black spots on his feet. He has a glossy black nose, big white eyes that don't quite match, a tuft of wispy gray-blue fur on top and floppy ears with pale pink insides.
His pink tongue hangs out of one side of his mouth, a single fang pokes out below, and a round silver medal with a black letter L hangs from his collar. The last picture in the gallery is Magge's own reference: her two drawings next to a photo of the finished toy.
A prototype for production
Lou wasn't made only to sit on a desk. Magge ordered him as a plush prototype: one finished sample of her character that could go on to mass production. A real sample shows what a drawing can't, like the size, the colours in fabric and how the pieces fit together.
Planning a production run of your own character? Have a look at our plush prototypes and patterns for manufacturing. Want just one plush of your character to keep? That works too.
Your character next
Maybe it's a dog you've been doodling since school, a webcomic hero or the star of a short film nobody has seen yet. Send us your sketches, colour notes or turnarounds, even rough ones, and we'll tell you what the toy can look like and what it costs.
The character stays yours; we only make the plush. More toys sewn from people's own art are in Plush From Drawings and OC Plush.
Lou is made from safe, eco-friendly materials. In the photos you can see what that means for him: soft fabric in two shades of gray, a tuft of long wispy fur on his head, a glossy black nose and bright white eyes.
The colours follow Magge's own notes. Where her sketch said dark gray, cool gray or black, the toy has it, so he reads as her character and not a lookalike.
For your own character we choose materials from your art:
- short, smooth fabric for flat cartoon colours
- longer fur for hair, manes or scruffy tufts
- a shiny nose, glossy eyes or a medal on the collar if your drawing has them
Most toys are best kept clean with a gentle spot-clean rather than a washing machine.
A character plush like Lou usually takes 2–4 weeks. The range leaves room for the surprises handmade work always brings.
Much of that time goes into turning flat drawings into a toy that works in three dimensions: a head that holds its shape, ears that flop the right way, a face that keeps the character's expression. Then come the sewing and the small details, like the eyes and the tag.
When your toy is ready, we send you photos to approve before it ships. If something needs changing, we fix it first.
We ship worldwide. Once your plush leaves us, delivery usually takes 7 to 20 business days, depending on your country, the carrier and the shipping method. Sometimes it arrives in as few as 7.
Around big holidays couriers get busy and parcels can run late. If the toy is a gift, or you need it by a set date for a meeting, a show or a birthday, tell us that date when you order.
Then plan for both parts: the sewing time first, the shipping after it. A few spare days in hand make the whole thing a lot calmer.
We've been sewing toys to order since 2009, many of them from people's own drawings.
If you're not happy with our work for any reason, tell us within 14 days and we'll give you a full refund, no questions asked.
A character you invented is personal. You've drawn it a hundred times and you know exactly how it should look, so you'll notice if the eyes sit wrong. That's why you see photos and approve the toy before it ships, and why the refund is there if it still isn't right.
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Custom toys start from $350.
A bigger size or extra details can cost more.
Why?
No ready-made pattern. Your photo or drawing doesn’t come with one. Our artist builds the pattern from scratch and turns a flat picture into a 3D toy. It’s the hardest and slowest part.
Materials picked for your toy. The right color, fur length and texture. Sometimes we order fabric just for one project.
Sewn by hand. Every piece is cut, sewn, stuffed and finished by hand. The face takes the most time: move an eye a millimeter and the character changes.
You approve it first. When your toy is ready, we send you photos. Something looks off? We fix it before shipping.
One toy, not a thousand. A factory spreads design costs over thousands of copies. Here, all that work goes into one toy: yours.
That’s why prices start at $350. And on a personal order, if you don’t love your toy, you get a full refund.
