
A cockroach plushie?
Who needs cute bear or cat plushies? I’m sure every boy would love a huggable cockroach! This is Sidra’s favorite toy at the moment, he calls it Gokiburi-kun (gokiburi means… well, cockroach).
The cockroach is basically just an oval shape pillow with legs. The wings and head are made with leftover dupioni silk that I dyed brown. The original color of the silk was silver, and the shimmers would make a perfect cockroach. The body is made with cotton/linen fabric with interesting texture, leftover from my husband’s shirt.
Fancy your own giant cockroach? Carry on!
Disclaimer: For personal use only. Please do not pass off the pattern and tutorial as your own. Thank you!

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COCKROACH PATTERN
Note: seam allowances are NOT included. You have to add it before cutting fabric.
Approximate dimension:
- without legs and antennae: 23x38cm
- without legs and antennae: 50x58cm
Materials:
- Fabric scraps. You can mix and match fabric in different pattern and shades.
- scrap of quilt batting for wings.
- thin wire for the antennae and legs. I use thin plastic wire because they’re very soft and won’t poke out.
- Filling for body.
Instructions:
Cutting fabric:
- Cut fabric pieces from pattern: 1 head, 1 body, 1 underside, 4 wings. Don’t forget the placement marks.
- Cut 2 pieces of wings from quilt batting.
- Cut 12 fabric bias strips for legs: 2 x 22 cm.
- Cut 4 fabric bias strips for antennae: 2 x 28 cm.
Wings:
- Place each pair of wing pieces with right sides together.
- Put batting on top and sew around the wings, leaving the top open.
- Clip curves around and turn wings right side out. Batting is now sandwiched between fabric.
- Sew rows of stitches on wings, 1 cm apart. Use the outer curve as guideline and continue inwards.
Legs and antennae:
- Place a pair of strips wrong sides together.
- Make 2 rows of stitching, approximately a sewing foot apart. Tapered the stitching lines to meet at the end, making a pointed shape. Backstitch at the end to reinforce. This will create a tube with closed end.
- Measure each leg and cut 18 cm from the pointed end. Measure antennae and cut 24 cm from pointed end.
- Trim allowances close to stitching.
- Insert thin wire into the tube.
Body:
- Place wings on the placement marks on body. Baste the top.
- Sew the body and head together.
- Place legs and antennae on the placement mark on the underside piece. Baste in place.
- Place body and head piece over the underside piece, matching all placement marks.
- Sew all around, leaving the opening unstitched. Be careful to not catch the wings and legs when sewing.
- Clip curves around and turn cockroach right side out (eww).
- Fill the cockroach with your choice of filling.
- Handstitch the opening close.
I personally think that the roach would look better without eyes, but Sidra was concerned that his roach wouldn’t be able to ‘see’ so he asked for a pair of eyes.
You can shrink or enlarge the pattern to make more roaches! Here’s my prototype roach made with leftover wool. The legs and antennae are braided fabric strips.

Pattern and tutorial by Novita Estiti c 2011.
24 Comments
I just found this and LOVE it. It is perfect timing. I was just going to start pattern making for a firefly fr my twin girls. Now I don’t have to because this work work wonderfully! Thank you!
i made this for my boyfriends daughter [she’s terrified of roaches] for her 12th birthday and though she almost cried at first, by the end of the night she was asking for it back. it was super to easy to make and came out really cute. thanks for the pattern! =)
How much would you charge to make me one?
Sorry I don’t make custom order.
Thanks! My son loves to make fun of my fear of cockroaches, so this will make an excellent gift for him. I can’t wait to surprise him with it.
T’hanks the “gokiburi” tutorial! :)
Great tutorial! You’ve been featured on the Quality Sewing Tutorials blog.
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Oh, god… Love Kafka…
Thank you for the tutorial !
Gosh hope my comes out ok for this 6 year old’s birthday a friend of mine, he loves bugs this is one nice one renee
Hi there,
Great idea, but can you tell me what you used for the eyes. Thanks.
Julie
Hi Julie,
I used plastic eyes. They can be found in stores that sell doll making supplies.
I am really afraid of cockroaches, so I have to make one to sleep with ;P
i’ll make this one for my brother as he really afraid of cockroach (lol)
I’m sure I will make this for the son of my Filipina friend, Kay. He has just started school and has a new baby sister to cope with now!
This is the most sweetest thing I’ve ever seen. I love how you created the different texture for the wings. I’m definitely going to have to make this sometime, so freaking awesome!
I love it! I always wanted a pet cockroach when I was younger. Thanks for the tutorial – I’m definitely making one of these sometime :)
I’m pretty sure I am in LOVE with this cockroach!
Wow, your cockroach plush is so detailed. It looks amazing!
I couldn’t believe the title when I first read it.
Saya sangat gelikan lipas.
However, the close up pic of the roachie looks kind of cute.
But will not try making one. Geliiii!!!! Naik bulu roma Hehehehe
What a wonderful way to use up scraps!! I love cockroaches, but have a hard time with them in person! Thank you for this free tutorial! I may make one for my dog as a toy haha.
so nice:D
lucu.. walau agak menggelikan ;D