A prototype and patterns, ready for your factory
You have a character. It lives in your game, your book, your brand or your pitch deck, and now you want it as a plush. Not one toy for the shelf, but something a factory can sew again and again.
That is what this service is for. We sew a plush prototype from your sketch or reference, you approve it, and you get the complete set of sewing patterns with a step-by-step assembly guide. Any factory can work from them.
We make these for brands, illustrators, writers, game studios and startups.
Quick facts
- Price: from $1,500 for the prototype and full patterns together. Your exact quote depends on the character.
- Time: usually about a month.
- Rights: the patterns are fully yours. We sign an NDA.
- Small runs: we sew up to about 200 pieces ourselves. No minimum.
- The studio: SKAZKODROM, sewing plush by hand since 2009, 2,100+ toys so far.
What you get
- The prototype itself. The sewn sample you approved. It stays with you.
- A complete set of patterns as PDF files, every part of the toy.
- A step-by-step assembly guide: the order the parts go together, how each part is joined, and how many grams of stuffing go in.
- Embroidery files for specialised embroidery software, when your design needs embroidery.
- Full ownership of the patterns, and we sign an NDA.
With your own patterns you are not tied to one maker. Send them to the factory you choose, and come back to them for the next run.
How it works
Two ways to get there
You have a clear brief and a finished image
We agree up front what “close to the reference” means, then make the prototype to match it. If something still bothers you when you see it, one change is included.
Your idea is rough, very specialised, or the image is very complex
Then we sew one sample first. After that, each round of refinements is priced separately, and a round costs less than the first sample did. In our experience, 2–3 rounds get a result the client is happy with.
Only have the idea so far? We can draw it for you first: see from thought to drawing.
Price and timing
A plush prototype with its full set of patterns starts from $1,500. That one price covers both: the sewn sample and the patterns. The exact quote depends on your character.
It usually takes about a month. There is no minimum order, so one prototype is a perfectly normal project.
Yours to keep, yours to own
The patterns belong to you, fully. Use them with any factory, now or years from now. We sign an NDA, so your character stays private until you are ready to show it.
The physical prototype stays with you too. A factory can use it as the sample to match.
A small batch? We can sew it
Not every project needs a factory. We can sew small batches ourselves, usually up to 200 pieces,
Handy for a first run or a limited edition. There is no minimum, so the batch can be as small as you need.
Prototypes we’ve made
Each of these was sewn to order for one client’s project, as the first sample before a run. New prototypes show up here as soon as we add them.
See them all in Plush Prototypes, brand characters in Mascots, and everything we make for companies in Plush for Brands.
From a sketch to a sample
One small watercolor of a bear in a green skullcap became two prototypes, one in faux fur and one in short-pile plush. Side by side, one drawing reads as two different characters. Muslim Teddy Bear
From a logo to a mascot
A black owl-cat lived only on a company logo. We worked out what the logo never showed, like the tail, the wings and the back of the head, and sewed the first mascot sample. Black Owl-Cat
A small line for a brand
Three teddy-style bunnies and a curly sheep, sewn as one team for a customer’s own label. Their outfits come off, so one base toy can be sold dressed or plain. Teddy Bunnies and Curly Sheep
Not only toys
Corgi, French bulldog and poodle faces for a brand’s hooded towels, embroidered and sewn as samples for a production run. Dog Face Towel Hoods
An orange cat for a game studio
A studio that makes online games sent us their round orange cat: navy bandana, a belt with a gold buckle, big yellow eyes. You can see the character art and the plush copies in the photo at the top of this page.
A lion for a writer from Canada
A writer from Canada wanted their lion character as a plush. It started from the pencil sketch on the left: spiky mane, blue eyes, a small smile. The finished prototype is the white lion further up this page, and the batch photo shows the same lion sewn as a small run.
Read the lion’s story, or see more plush prototypes we’ve sewn.
Questions about prototypes and patterns
A sketch, a drawing or a reference image of your character, and a few words about what matters most in it. If you only have an idea, we can draw it for you first.
The prototype you approved, which you keep. A complete set of patterns as PDF files. A step-by-step assembly guide: the order the parts go together, how each part is joined and how many grams of stuffing go in. And embroidery files for specialised embroidery software when the design needs embroidery.
From $1,500, and that covers both the prototype and the patterns. With a clear brief and a finished reference image, one change is included. If the brief is rough, very specialised or the image is very complex, each extra round of refinements is priced separately and costs less than the first sample.
Usually about a month. If your project needs rounds of refinements, in our experience 2–3 rounds get a result the client is happy with.
You do, fully. You can take them to any factory you like. We sign an NDA, so your character stays private, and the physical prototype is yours to keep.
That is what they are made for. The PDF patterns show every part of the toy, and the assembly guide explains the order of assembly, how the parts are joined and how much stuffing goes in, so a factory can sew your toy the same way every time.
There is no minimum order: one prototype is enough to start. We can also sew small batches ourselves, usually up to 200 pieces.
Tell us about your character
Send your sketch or reference with a few words about the project, and we’ll reply with a quote. Want a one-off plush for your brand instead? See our mascot plush.
