Minky Deep-Dive: All About The Plushest Of Plush Fabrics

Minky is my absolute favorite fabric to work with when making stuffed animals, and while plenty of articles exist about the fabric very few of them seem to focus on where it truly shines- plush toys!  I realize this is because plushmaking is a niche craft and there's a lot more mass appeal to writing about all the applications of this super-soft fabric in bedding and sleepwear, but that’s not what I’m here for today.  Let’s talk about minky and stuffed animals; what is it, what distinguishes the different types of it, and what’s the best kind to use for your plush crafting?

What is minky?

Minky is a textile made from polyester- it’s fabricated by melting down an assortment of chemicals and extruding them into tiny fibers, which are then knitted into a sheet of fabric with a super-soft pile that has a texture similar to mink fur at no particular danger to any mustelids (that’s where the name comes from!)

Minky is sometimes referred to simply as “plush” fabric, though I would consider this more of an umbrella term that includes other soft, piled fabric such as velvet, velour, faux fur and velboa.  These fabrics are similar to minky and definitely belong to the same “family” of textiles, but all of them are produced a bit differently and have slightly different textures and ideal applications.  Because it's so ridiculously soft and easier to work with than many of the other fabrics in this family, I don't think it's a hot take to say that minky is king when it comes to making stuffed animals.

Because it’s a synthetic fiber, minky can be manufactured with a number of different qualities- the world of minky is vast and colorful!

Different varieties of minky

Smooth

Smooth minky is sort of what I would consider the “default” type of minky.  The pile is untreated aside from trimming, and can be any length from 1mm to 40mm or more.  Worth noting is that the length of the pile doesn’t affect the softness at all- short minky can be just as soft as longer minky, it just has a smoother appearance.

Mochi

“Mochi” minky is a variety that has spandex in it, making it much stretchier than normal.  Most minky has a stretch of about 20% in one direction (for the uninitiated, this means if you take a 10” square of minky and stretch it one way it will go up to about 12”, and the other way won’t stretch at all) while mochi minky can stretch up to 100% in both directions.  Mochi minky is named for its similarity once stuffed to the texture of the stretchy, squishy Japanese confection, and is also more generically called 4-way stretch minky.  Plush made from this fabric have a delightful marshmallow-like texture!

Dimpled

Dimpled minky is super popular as a fabric for baby blankets because of its fun texture.  It’s made by rolling the untreated fabric through heated, textured rollers.  Super fun to watch (check out the video below!) but, frankly, not that useful for plushmaking- although in a pinch you can iron out the dimples to get a smooth fabric.  This is often the only variety of minky that chain fabric stores sell.

Rosette

Rosette minky has a longer than average pile of around 25-40mm, which is then heat-treated into cute little curls.  Crushed minky is very similar, but with a more chaotic texture.

Embossed

Minky can also be “embossed” with designs and patterns, either through cutting the pile into a particular shape so that the surrounding fibers are longer, or by heat-pressing a design into the fibers.  

These examples are by no means the only types of minky, but they cover some of the major groups you’ll see when shopping!

“Best” minky for plush

Minky is used for more than just stuffed animals, and that’s reflected in the varieties available, not all of which are ideal for plushmaking.  Of course, you absolutely can use any type of minky for your stuffed animals - they all have their potential applications depending on the project - but when it comes to a “staple” fabric that’s going to work for the majority of your plush, you don’t really want all the bells and whistles and fancy patterns and textures.  For the most part, what you’re really looking for for plush is going to be:

• Untextured
• Short pile (1-3mm; the shorter the better if you tend to work at a small scale, though this is ultimately a matter of taste)
• High quality (characterized by dense, soft fibers)

Because of the prevalence of “fun” minky meant for baby blankets and pillows and how niche plushmaking is as a craft, this simple list of requirements can be surprisingly hard to meet.  Which is why Lazy Lamb is focused on stocking exactly that- not to toot my own horn too much, but I’m approaching our catalog of materials with “would I use this fabric for my own plush work?” at the forefront of my mind, meaning we’re only stocking high quality materials that are actually useful to plushmakers.  Our initial collection of minky fabric is dense, luxurious, and has a super-short 1mm pile that gives finished plush a smooth and professional look. Eventually I’ll start stocking the fancy stuff (the fabric hoarder in me can’t resist), but not until we’re already stocked up on your staples and must-haves.