History of Plush Toys

A stuffed toy is a toy sewn from a textile, and stuffed with a soft material. In North American English they are variously referred to as plush toys, plushies, snuggies, stuffies, snuggled animals or stuffed animals while in British English they are soft toys or cuddly toys.

Textiles commonly used include plain cloth and pile textiles like plush or terrycloth. Common stuffing materials are synthetic fiber batting, cotton, straw, wood wool, plastic pellets or beans. Stuffed toys are made in many different forms, often resembling animals, legendary creatures, cartoon characters or inanimate objects. They are often used as comfort objects, for display or collecting and given as gifts, such as for graduation, Valentine's Day or birthdays.