Valentine’s Day is the perfect occasion to dive into sweet creative projects, especially those that can be shared with loved ones. Today, we’re going to make an easy, beginner-friendly DIY plush doll of a cupid from felt. This handmade plush is great for those who are into doll making and look for an easy, beginner-friendly plush to make, and also for kids who are old enough to do some basic sewing.
This DIY plush looks kawaii thanks to a few key features: 1) The proportions, with the head being much larger than the body, and the eyes very big for the face. 2) The position of the eyes and mouth – when the facial features are placed in the lower third of the face, and are a bit far from each other, it makes the face look child-like and cute. 3)The white circles on the eyes, that give the eye the beloved kawaii “kira- kira” – Japanese for “sparkle”!
DIY Felt Cupid Plush Doll
* This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you. See my disclosure to learn more.
Materials Needed*:
- This DIY cupid doll pattern
- Soft felt sheets (including skin color)
- Thread and needle
- Glue for felt (I use Aleene’s original tacky glue)
- Scissors
- Polyester stuffing
- Pipe cleaner
- Yarn
*Includes Amazon affiliate links
Step 1:
Print the free DIY cupid felt doll pattern and cut out the parts. Trace the parts onto felt sheets of your desired colors. Make two copies of the head, wings, eye and cheek.
For my cupid doll craft, I picked pinkish skin-colored felt for the body and head, white and blue felt for the wings, and white felt for the cupid’s clothes. The eyes are black and the mouth is red.
Step 2:
Cut out the parts of felt (there is no need to add margins). Carefully trim any visible pen marks left from tracing, so they don’t show in your final doll.
Step 3:
Sew the two body parts together, leaving the neck and shoulders open for stuffing.
Below is a demonstration of the sewing method. If you are right handed, start your stitches at the left of the fabric and work your way to the right. If you are left handed, reverse the directions:
- Start your stitches from the top piece of the fabric. The knot that seals the thread will be visible over the fabric, but later we will turn the fabric inside out and the knot will dissapear.
- Use your free hand to keep the thread on the left side of the needle, so that when you stitch, the needle will go through the loop of the thread.
- Make the next stiches, aiming to keep them small, even and close together.
- When you finish sewing, secure the end: pass the needle through your last stitch, loop it under the thread to create a knot, and then thread the needle through this knot a few times to fasten it.
Step 4:
Turn the head and body inside out. You can use a thin item to push the fabric through narrow parts. I used a chopstick.
Step 5:
Fill your cupid doll with polyester stuffing. Start with small pieces of stuffing and tuck them into the small areas, like the cupid’s hands, legs and ears. Use the thin item to push the material in. Continue stuffing until you are pleased with the softness of your handmade plush.
Step 6:
Sew the open parts of the body and the head. If needed, add more stuffing as you close up. It’s OK if the stitches don’t look great. They will be mostly hidden later on.
Step 7:
Now we’ll attach the head to the body. First, position the cupid’s head exactly where you want it to be.
Hold the head in place and sew it to the shoulders and the neck. The stitches don’t have to look pretty because they will be covered by the hair.
Step 8:
Let’s learn how to make doll hair from yarn! This easy method is great for beginners in dollmaking. We will use big bundles of yarn for the hair on the back of the head, and smaller bundles of yarn for the bangs.
For the hair on the back: Make three bundles of yarn with about 20 strands in each, around 20 cm / 8” long. Tie each bundle in the middle with a thread of similar color.
For the bangs: Make two bundles of yarn with around 10 strands in each one, around 14 cm / 5.5” long. Tie each bundle in the middle. We make the strands long so we can stylize the cupid doll’s hair later.
Step 9:
We’ll start with the hair of the back. Sew one bundle of yarn to the crown of the head, right where the head’s seams are.
Place the second yarn bundle on the back of the head, right under the first bundle. Stitch it to the head and also to the first yarn bundle.
Add the third bundle in the same way. When all three bundles are secured, brush the hair with your fingers over the back of the head.
Step 10:
Apple glue on the top seams of the head and on the back of the head, and press the hair softly to make it stick.
Step 11:
Add the bangs: Sew one bundle of yarn to the top of the head.
Attach the second bundle below it, sewing it to the head and also to the first bundle.
Apply some glue along the top of the forehead, where you want the bangs to stay put. Brush the bangs over the face and imagine how you want to stylize your doll’s hair.
Step 12:
Time for a haircut! Stylize your cupid plush hair the way you want it. I made the bangs longer around the ears and shorter on the forehead. I also layered the back slightly.
Step 13:
Glue the eyes and the mouth. You DIY plush is turning into a smiling kawaii cupid!
To make your plush doll truly kawaii, add small white felt circles to the eyes.
Step 15:
Dress up your DIY cupid plush: Glue the pants’ front part to the cupid’s hips. Then, fold the flaps of the pants and glue them to the back of the cupid. Glue the pants’ back part over the flaps.
Step 16:
Make the wings: Glue the inner part of each wing onto the outer part. You’ll want two wings that face opposite directions, so make sure you apply glue on the correct sides.
Glue the wings to the back of your doll:
Step 17:
Let’s complete our cupid craft by making love-shooting bow and arrow. We’ll create the bow from a red pipe cleaner:
Cut a 12 cm / 4.7” piece of the pipe cleaner and bend it to an arch.
Bend the edges of the bow.
Tie a piece of yarn to the bent edges.
Twirl the edges further to make a fancy looking bow.
To make the arrow: Cut another piece of red pipe cleaner, about 9.5 cm / 4” long. Glue the two fletching parts to the end of the arrow.
Bend the other end of the arrow into a small heart:
Step 18:
Glue the bow and arrow to the cupid’s hands:
Step 19:
Add mow the final touches! Glue the shoulder strap across the cupid’s body, tucking the edge behind the shoulder (trim the strap if you need it shorter). Glue a decorative heart to the pants. You can add other decorations to your DIY plush!
Your kawaii cupid plush doll is ready!
You now have a super cute, loving cupid, perfect for Valentine’s Day decoration or as a unique handmade gift 🌹💕
♥ More DIY cuteness ♥
In the mood for more kawaii Valentine’s Day crafts? Try out this adorable DIY Valentine’s Day Shaker Gift Box! It comes with a free printable template to cut and fold, plus a s tep-by-step tutorial:
* All the free printables in my website are for personal, non-commercial use only. Kindly refrain from sending them directly to others. Instead, feel free to share the link to the relevant post. Thanks!
