I've been thinking that I want to try my hand at sewing, specifically, because I wanted to make myself a plush of my favorite anime character. However, I've been searching around and I've been having no luck with finding a suitable pattern to try for the base. I've thought about commissioning, but commissions are super costly and I don't have a job right now, so I think it might be better to try myself. Plus, I'm kind of looking for something else to occupy my time, since I'm on the internet way too often these days...

So does anyone here have experience with sewing anime-esque kinds of plush toys, that might be able to offer me some advice or know where to find a good pattern? Keep in mind I'm not looking to profit from this, it's just for personal interest.

Also, sorry if this isn't the right forum. I wasn't really sure where to post this, as this isn't something I normally deal with. orz

If it's an anime-esque kind then there is possible patterns online of items like it. You could try searching for patterns close to it and then alter the design. Maybe you wanted to make a cat like plushie, but the head shape it diffrent. you could get the normal cat head pattern and use that as a reference to make a new pattern. Normally, the plushies i make you can find the pattern online. Also when you sew a plushie, make sure to hand sew tiny parts unless you can do that better with a machine. Also, if there is decals like a face or a cute heart on the chest, just an example, sew those on before you sew everything together. Sorry if this isnt really helpful. Most of my patterns I make from scratch or find online.

I make and sell Pokemon and balloon plushies on Etsy ^X^ I don't have any experience with making human plushies, but if you want to make an anime-style animal maybe I could help.

Also, I make all my own patterns; it's not as hard as it sounds. For a round plushie, you just need a football (American) shaped pattern. Cut out 4-6 pieces and sew them together for a ball ^X^ I started with that and pretty much adapted and altered it to make just about anything I needed.

Oh, and I don't know if you need advice on fabric, but fleece is a good one to start with. It's easy to work with and not too expensive. Minky feels better but is expensive and messy. Felt might also be good to practice with, but it feels rough and is stiff so it's harder to shape.

Ah, thanks! I did end up finding a human pattern that I found suitable, finally, it just needs to be enlarged a bit since it's for a small plushie and I want a slightly bigger one. :3

Fabric advice is always more than welcome though. I own a few humanoid anime plushies (A Hatsune Miku and two KHR plushies) but to be honest I've never made my own before and I can't identify a lot of the fabrics used in them since I've never dealt with this before.

Thanks for replying though guys, I appreciate the feedback!

I think I will be hand-sewing the entire base of the plushie to be safe. The clothing, I'm hoping to use the machine for, but the rest will definitely be done by hand for sure! And for the face, I think I'm going to use iron-on transfers. I would like to embroider the eyes by machine by my hand likely won't be steady enough for the details and I don't know how to program my machine to make anime-styled eyes either. (If you can even do such a thing.) :(

I did manage to find a pattern though, I just need to blow it up to be more the size I want the plushie to be, and now I need to buy the fabrics. Mom used to sew so she has an entire case of thread and tools, I just need the materials of the clothes and base/hair.

Good luck with the project!!!