Peekaboo Bunny & Peekaboo Chick Stuffed Animals

Easter will be here soon and I found some cute peekaboo stuffed animals to make and put in kids' Easter baskets.  These would be fun projects to make for your kids or grandkids.

Today I'm featuring a peekaboo bunny and peekaboo chick stuffies.  These are made in the hoop with an embroidery machine.  I made a whole bunch of bunnies and a couple of chicks. 

Learn more about the peekaboo stuffed animals by watching our video or keep reading this post.

About the Peekaboo Bunny Stuffie

This adorable softie is cute by itself but you can flip the pockets to the front and it folds up into an egg like this.

It's a surprise hidden inside the egg!

Turn the egg around and the little cottontail hints at what is inside.

Revealing the Peekaboo Bunny Stuffed Toy

Flip the top half of the egg to the back and the cute bunny ears and face peeks out of the egg.

Flip the bottom flap to the back and the bunny appears.

Revealing the Peekaboo Chick Stuffed Animal

The chick works the same way. 

Flip the top half pocket to the back and the chick peeks out of the egg.

Then unfold the bottom half and the whole stuffie is revealed.

Where to find the Peekaboo Bunny and Chick Design

The design for these peekaboo stuffed animals is by "A Creative Medley".  This designer has many different designs of peekaboo animals so if you don’t like these, take a look and you will find over 70 designs!

You will need an embroidery machine to make the stuffies as the design is an in-the-hoop machine embroidery design.

Each design comes with a step-by-step PDF photo tutorial to guide you through making the in-the-hoop stuffed animal.  Another PDF gives you information on fabrics to use and cutting sizes.

If you would like to make this design, scroll to the end of this article for links to the designs. 

About the Peekaboo Chick Design

These designs are made in the hoop with an embroidery machine.  An In-the-hoop design is stitched in the embroidery hoop and when finished it's a completed stuffie with only one small hole to stitch closed after stuffing.  Cool huh?

The chick design is made in TWO hoopings.  The first hooping stitches the wings.  For the peekaboo chick stuffies, I used a soft fleece and colorful cotton fabric for the wings.  After stitching, the wings are trimmed and turned right side out.  The wings are held aside until it's time to stitch them into the stuffie.

The second hooping starts by stitching the front of the chick.  The feet and face are stitched before adding the wings.

When using fluffy fabrics, always use a water-soluble topper like Sulky Solvy Light.  For this chick, place the plastic-type water-soluble stabilizer over the face area before stitching.

Sulky Solvy is clear and it will tear away easily around the stitches.  This topper holds down the pile (fluff) of the fabric so the stitches will not sink in and disappear. 

The chick's feet are machine embroidery applique.  Pick out some fun coordinating cotton fabric to use for the feet. 

The next several steps stitch placement stitches for the wings and then stitch the wings down.  This ensures that the wings are held in place and don’t shift during the last step.

Be sure to place the wings with the cotton side facing down towards the face and feet.

The last two steps attach the pockets and back to the stuffie.  Place the bottom pocket fabric across the hoop.  The step will stitch a small section across the bottom of the egg and tack the bottom pocket down..

Before stitching the last step, place the top pocket fabric across the hoop.  Overlap the top pocket fabric at least an inch over the bottom pocket fabric. 

Last, place the backing fabric right side facing down covering the whole project.  Make sure it extends beyond the outermost stitching line.  

The last step will stitch around the egg leaving a small opening to turn the stuffie.

Take the chick out of the hoop and trim around the outside leaving at least a 1/4" seam allowance.  Remove the extra stabilizer.

Turn the peekaboo chick right side out through the small hole left at the bottom of the egg.  Use a stick or pencil to push the seams out completely.

Stuff the peekaboo chick with fiberfill stuffing and hand stitch the small opening closed with the ladder stitch.

About the Peekaboo Bunny Design

The bunny is made in the same way as the chick but it requires either 3 or 4 hoopings.  The 4^th hooping is optional and is used to stitch the tail on the back of the bunny.  

The first hooping stitches the bunny's arms. These are stitched similarly to the chick's wings. I used a soft fleece for the arms front and back.  After stitching, the arms are trimmed and turned right side out.

The 2^nd hooping stitches the ears. I used a soft fleece and a colorful cotton fabric for the ears.  Similar to the arms, the ears are stitched, trimmed, and turned right side out.  Use a stick or pencil to push the seams of the ears completely out.

The 3^rd optional hooping is for the tail.  The tail is stitched onto the fabric for the bunny's back.  I used a colorful cotton fabric applique for the tail of my bunnies.

The final hooping will stitch the bunny together.  The steps start by stitching the face and feet on the bunny front fabric.  As with the chick, place a piece of Sulky Solvy water-soluble stabilizer on the fabric before stitching the facial features.  

Finish stitching the face and feet steps of the design.

The next several steps will stitch the placement and tack down stitches for each of the arms and ears.  It starts with the left arm placement and tack-down stitch.  Then continues with the left ear, right ear and right arm.

I recommend using embroidery tape to hold the pieces in place while it’s stitched.  Remove the tape after stitching the tack down for each element.

Before stitching the last two steps, fold the ears and arms towards the center of the hoop.  Make sure the bunny ears will not get caught in the seam when it's sewn.

The bunny is very bulky when stitching the last two steps.  Do not skimp on the size of the fabric for the back and pockets of the bunny.  With the long ears and the arms, there is a lot to be tucked inside, especially when using fleece fabrics.

The next step will tack down the bottom pocket at the bottom of the egg.  Place the bottom pocket across the bunny near the top of the arms.  The bunny will be peeking out and this is what it will look like when the top pocket is opened.

The last step stitches the top pocket and back onto the bunny.  Place the top pocket across the hoop so it overlaps the bottom pocket by at least an inch. Make sure the edge of the fabric goes past the stitch line for the egg.

Finally, place the back fabric with the right side facing down across the whole bunny.  Make sure the fabric edges go past the stitch line for the egg.

Stitch the last step to stitch the bunny together. This step will stitch around the egg and leave an opening at the bottom of the egg.  This opening will be used to turn the peekaboo bunny right side out. 

I recommend using a slower stitch speed for the last step.  Since the bunny is so bulky, the fabric is thick, especially when stitching over the arms and ears.  I broke a couple of needles on this step.

A final tip, especially for the bunny.  My embroidery machine returns to the center position after it completes the last step of a design.  The bunny is so bulky with fabric, the needle and presser foot cannot move easily back to that position. 

In order to avoid it getting caught on the fabric, I paused the machine as it finished up the ending tack stitches. Once it's stopped, I could remove the hoop from the machine without the fabric getting caught under the needle and presser foot.

Remove the peekaboo bunny from the hoop, turn, stuff and hand-stitch closed the small opening using the ladder stitch. 

I used Minky, fleece and cotton fabrics for my peekaboo stuffed animals.  The Minky looks nice on the pocket sections and the soft fleece is nice for the body of the stuffed bunny and chick.

Another Stuffed Bunny Design 

Another in the hoop bunny project I made a few years ago is Bonnie Bunny.  This design is from the designer, Designs by JuJu. I'll include a link to this pattern at the end of this page.

The Bonnie Bunny pattern also comes with a step-by-step photo tutorial that will lead you through creating the bunny.

This Bonnie bunny stuffed animal is made in two hoopings.  One for the ears and one for the rest of the bunny. 

It has applique fabric sections and a machine-embroidered face.  This bunny was made with Minky fabric.  Sulky Solvy water-soluble stabilizer was placed over the fabric before stitching the face features.

Like the peekaboo projects, it’s stitched in the hoop with a small opening to be hand-stitched closed after turning and stuffing.   

Here are some other Machine Embroidery In-the-Hoop Projects.  You can make bags, mug rugs and even placemats!

• Butterfly Bag
• Dog Walking Bag
• Frangipani Mug Rug
• Mouse Cat Toy
• Octagon Splendour Placemats
• Felt & Vinyl Spring Ornaments