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oh crafters halp halp halp me please. i am wondering if what i want even exists. i make little amigurumi figures of various kinds, i am wanting to start selling them. atm i just stuff them with hollowfibre, but it occurred to me that they would stand up much better if they had a layer of heavy bean type things in the bottom, like real toys that you buy in a shop. Now, bear in mind this is kind of a trial and error business and i don't know if the beans would fall through the gaps between stitches or if they would have to go in a little bag and stop it dammit i am getting way ahead of myself BECAUSE i can't find these things anywhere.

I've tried in all craft/haberdashery shops round my way and all they have is those polystyrene beans which are no good for weightiness. i have looked on amazon, same deal. i can't even begin to look on ebay because any search no matter how i word it or what dept i put it in brings up MILLIONS of beanie toys.

so does anyone know what i mean? and where such items can be purchased? am i just dreaming an impossible dream? tia.

...and i don't want to use actual beans or anything, because i like my stuff to be at least surface washable.

You want those little nylon chip things they have in the paws and bottoms of sittable bears. They feel nice as well. Just wondering also if you baked your beans whether that would stop them germinating if washed.

ok stop. rewind. i have found some rubber pellet stuffing. on ebay. in canada. which costs £28 to ship to my home.

and literally nothing else.

oh hi duchess

i was just chatting to myself there , but yes, those things, that's exactly what i mean.

thanks, if all else fails i will give it a go, but i'm also a bit worried about pests, won't it attract mice having baked beans sitting around the house?

You're right, best not put the sauce in as well . I'm not sure that mice would be especially attracted by essentially raw beans- they are poisonous after all. And baking them would not remove the toxin that's the poison.

baked raw beans.... i could give it a go i guess. and i could use butter beans to solve the going through the stitches conundrum. the things i make are teeny so i'd only need a couple to weigh the bottom down. i do like the feel of those rubber pellets though. i refuse to believe nowhere does them in this country, how weird.

You could always just buy cheap rubbers at The Works and shred them or chop them up. I think the trouble with this kind of product is that it's marketed at factories rather than individuals. You'll probably find a Chinese wholesaler out there willing to deliver you 5 tons or more.

something like this would work I think

Oh my actual god moaning minnie! Spot on, that is brill! Thank you so much, you beauty.

Ordered! Right i'm taking it to the next level. No stopping me now, i'm a crafting machine.

Can you let us know how much 8 oz is volume wise?

I sure will, i'll measure the bag

I have a bag of plastic pellets bought 10 years ago that I use for the same purpose, trying to source a new bag as I am runing low, recommend tights for putting them in so they don't go through, tie or stitch up. Also recomend plastic milk bottle lids as a good flat base too.

If you google plastic pellets stuffing you get all sorts! You can even buy steel shot to stuff with.

Was going to say plastic pellets. I crocheted a nativity set and the pattern said plastic pellets.
However I used lentils... (In tights - second that.)

Hobbycraft?

i use cheap long grain rice in a pair of tights to stuff my stuff!

old ceramic, wood and clay beads from bygone creations is what I use as stuffing.

lentils, flax seeds and rice will eventually disintegrate after many washes.

Hama beads.

Or rather the cheap Ikea copy of Hama beads.