by Danielle Petroskey, Marketing
Learn how to heat print a stuffed animal to create thoughtful & personalized gifts.
There are so many items you can heat press beyond the classic T-shirts, hoodies, and sports uniforms, as we’ve seen in all the videos and a recent blog. And as I know you already know, kids (young and old) love to have their name on everything, especially those of us with different names!
When I was growing up, Danielle wasn’t one of the popular or common names. Oh how I longed for one of those No. 2 pencils with my name on it at the local museum or the license keychains you find at the airport. I couldn’t quite understand why there were tons of Daniel but not Danielle? I mean, what’s an extra l and e in the grand scheme of things?
That’s why I love the industry we’re all in! We can personalize just about anything with any name or text, including stuffed animals! Plus, we can prevent anyone feeling left out because their name is unique.
Check out how I personalized some stuffed animals with a heat press for my niece and nephew for Valentine’s Day.
Heat Transfer Vinyl Products Used:
- (Brown bear) CAD-CUT® Flock II Heat Transfer Vinyl
- (White monkey) CAD-CUT® Glitter Flake™
I cut the names on a vinyl cutter, but you could also order pre-spaced text and achieve the same effect.
Tools Needed
- Heat press
- Cover sheet
- EZ Weeder®
- scissors
Where to find a Plush Stuffed Animal
Think of all the different holidays and/or celebrations: bunnies and ducks for Easter, elves for Christmas, lions, tigers, bears (oh my!), etc. for team mascots – the list is endless! This search on Google brought up a bunch of companies selling these wholesale. I recommend ordering a few extras for testing and to use as samples.
Set up heat press with these settings:
- Temperature: 320°F/160°C
- Time: 15-20 seconds
- Pressure: Medium (#6 on Hotronix® heat presses)
Tip: Set the pressure with the stuffed animal on your heat press.
Heat Application Instructions:
- Preheat your stuffed animal for a few seconds, covered with a non-stick cover sheet – be sure the head is not under the heating element.
2. Lay out the name on the chest area of the stuffed animal, carrier side up.
Tip: Depending on how plush/furry the stuffed animal is, trim the area that you’ll be applying the name to with scissors. This will ensure the name applies to the animal and not to just the fur.
3. Cover with a non-stick cover sheet
Tip: If there are buttons or other decorations on the animal that will be under the heating element, try using a flexible application pad You’ll want to increase the heat dwelling time a few seconds to make up for the thickness of the pad.
4. Heat apply for 15 seconds
5. Peel COLD – set animal aside to cool and finish heat applying the rest of the project.
Tip: for best results, peel slowly.
6. Re-fluff the stuffed animal
If you have any tips or questions on how to heat press a stuffed animal, please post in the comments.
Share Your Designs on Social Media with Us
I can’t wait to see all of your new personalized stuffed animals! Please share your pics on our Facebook page. #StahlsShowandTell or Tag us on Instagram @Stahlsheatprinting
We found that the hat press worked best for small stuffed animals.
And if you weed in the negative, then the plush that pops up through the design looks very nice. That effect depends greatly on the design.
Putting the stuffed animal, and some candy, into one of the larger wine sippy cups (Vino2Go) would also make a very nice adult Valentine’s Day gift.
Hi! Thanks for the tips! So, you would suggest glitter or flocked htv, not smooth? Thanks!
Hi Theresa,
Here are Danielle’s recommendations:
The reason I chose those htvs is because they are thicker materials. With the thinner htvs you most likely will have the texture of the animal showing. If that’s ok with you, then by all means, you can use it. Or you could use some of the thicker smooth htvs such as Thermo-FILM and Glow.
My recommendation would be to test different materials on the stuffed animals to see which looks you like best.
We offer swatches for this purpose. You can find them here: https://www.stahls.com/heat-transfer-material-swatches
Hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any other questions.
I have a small elf on the shelf fir my granddaughter and I wanted to personalize it with her name on it – can you pls tell me how to print Isobel on her elf. Do I use a glue gun? What kind if drawing substance is needed? Thank you very much. Kathy
Please refer to the blog post as it provides information on the products and equipment and accessories used.
I love printing animals! The best part is that they’re all easy to order and come from one nice person.