Free Pattern Friday! Rat Plush

Hi everyone!

Between the people who own cute rats as pets and those noticing that the year after next is the Chinese Year of the Rat, I was getting a lot of suggestions for a rat plush! I thought it might be fun to share it during October so I could do both a sweet version and a scary version like the Owl plush from last year.

So these sweet little rat babies have both a cute face to choose from and a creepy face – complete with bitten ear and eye scar! I’m sure one of them is bound to get you excited to sew <3

They don’t have a lot of pieces, so they come together rather quickly. The neck is a little tricky so I’ve rated it a 3/10, but it might feel more like a 2 to some.

You can sew all the features with fusible web applique or using the embroidery files I’ve included below. Both faces only need a 4” x 4” hoop, so no one is left out! <3 I hope you all like it!

And if you’d like to buy the fabric already pre-printed and ready to sew, 4 different designs are available on my Spoonflower page! No embroidery or applique (or even fabric hunting for that matter) needed <3. The group is modeled after Halloween candy! So there’s candy corn, caramel apple, pumpkin, and chocolate (with bat sprinkles ♥)!

35 thoughts on “Free Pattern Friday! Rat Plush”

  1. OMG!!! 😳🤗🎉🎈🎊 I love, love, love these little cutties!! I have a new brother SE 400 machine like yours that my wife bought me for our 20th anniversary. I took it out of the box back in August and that’s as far as I have gotten in the world of sewing. 😢 I am terrified of the machine and needles. When I was around 6 I sat on a sewing needle and it broke off in my leg. Skip to 50 and here I am yearning to learn to sew. Does anyone have any advice on how to get past this so I can use up all these materials? 😩 ~Margo

    1. Congrats on your new machine! I am sorry about your past with needles, though! I completely understand your fear ♥ I could probably write volumes on how to start using your machine, but I tried to break them down into small tips 🙂 I hope these might help!
      • Keep your needles in their package until you use them. And keep them in a special, noticeable place, like a little colorful tray, so you always know where they are.
      • Consider getting a magnetized needle holder, so you can pick up dropped needles easily.
      • When threading your machine the first time, do it with the machine turned off. This way there’s no fear of it moving.
      • When you thread the machine needle, you can use tweezers so you don’t have to get close to the needle.
      • When you touch the fabric to guide it (while sewing), keep your fingers a few inches away from the needle at all times. Keep them flat on the fabric and focus on staying away from the presser foot — which is easier because it doesn’t move, unlike the needle. If you’re not touching the presser foot then you know you’re safe from the needle.
      • If you need to guide the fabric closer to the needle, many people use a chopstick, tweezers, or similar tool to push the fabric along.

  2. Hi! It wouldn’t let me leave a comment:Thank you for the free pattern ❤️ These are adorable!! Next year is the year of the pig though. The year of the r

  3. Hmmm…
    Turns out I don’t know anyone born in the Year of the Rat (Pig either)
    But I do know plenty of Harry Potter fans…

    1. I know I am late to the party as these designs are a couple years old…but where I find the downloads…I have tried to click on them but nothing happens.

  4. Wow!! I love all your designs!! I was wondering if it would be possible for me to use the free patterns to make plushies to sell? I’m trying to raise money up for college and I promise to credit you of course!! Ahh once again I love your designs!!

    1. Of course! You are more than welcome to sell items you’ve sewn using my patterns 🙂 A credit back to me would be very much appreciated. I wish you luck in your selling!

  5. Wow this has to be one of my favorite patterns. I love that they are free because I just print them out and spend hours on my sewing machine working. You are incredible for doing this.

  6. This pattern is so adorable! Thank you for sharing it with us. I just lost my two precious little ratties and making this plush has helped me a little to get through the pain. Thank you.

  7. Love your patterns I have another suggestion. Since it is near thanks giving what about a turkey? And for Christmas a reindeer?

    1. Thank you so much! I haven’t gotten many requests for those yet, likely because many other patterns already exist for them. But if I should get more people asking I’ll certainly consider it! Thank you for the suggestions! ♥

  8. Hi, I don’t think my sewing machine can do embroidering. Is it be possible to do the embroidering by hand? Thanks so much for the pattern. I love rats and have been looking for a plush everywhere, turns out I have to make one. ♥️ 🐭

    1. You definitely can do it by hand! The original pattern has applique templates, so you can stitch the faces using small pieces of fabric like felt, cotton, or flannel 🙂 And it shows options for both machine or hand stitching the applique.

  9. I can’t wait to make these! My kids are all grown and I have a little grandson but these are for my 2 blu point Siamese babies!!!! They will love this!

  10. Cant wait to use the wings because i’m trying to make a plush with random patterns. His name is Iggy from Keepers of the lost cities and my friend wants one soo bad! thanks!

  11. I printed this pattern a while back as my daughter and I love rats but hadn’t gotten around to making one yet. Right now I am trying (and failing miserably) to make my own pattern for a plush my friend wants. Its his own character and the head of this pattern would work well for that. Im wondering if I could make the face/muzzle part be a bit rounder at all but i dont know what I’m doing. I suppose a trial and error sort will have to do. I do love your patterns tho. They are always so cute and easy to follow. Definitely the best out there

    1. Thank you for the kind words! To make the face rounder, you could start by bringing in the middle dart area so it isn’t so wide. That will make the head shape closer to a circle than the long, pointed muzzle it has now 🙂

  12. Made for my best friends birthday 🥳 she is obsessed with rats and now my other friend wants one! Also I’m only eleven and I have made soo many of your patterns and they are much better than the other patterns I have tried from other sites

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