Large Gerry Giraffe

Large Gerry Giraffe — 40cm tall and 110g, which is the whole trick

A tall giraffe with long floppy limbs, embroidered features and a pair of overalls fastened with Velcro. The fabric is a ramie and cotton blend, the filling is mostly recycled fibre, and he machine washes at 30°C. 40 x 13cm and just 110 grams. Suitable from birth. He is the big version of our Mini Gerry, and the reason to choose him is not simply that he is bigger.

⚖️ 40cm, and lighter than a tennis ball and a half

Most soft toys this tall weigh two or three times as much, and that is exactly why most soft toys this tall end up on a shelf. A toddler will carry a 40cm giraffe that weighs 110 grams. They will give up on one that weighs 300.

So the size and the weight work together: he is big enough to fill a pair of arms and light enough to be dragged to the car, up the stairs and into bed. For a child of two, a toy almost half their own height that they can still manage alone is a genuinely different thing to own.

🦒 Long limbs, which is what gets grabbed

Thin arms, legs and neck are easy for a small hand to close around — far easier than a round body. Gerry gets picked up by a leg and dragged about, which is the highest compliment a soft toy receives. At 40cm those limbs are long enough to be slung over a shoulder or hooked through a pushchair handle.

👕 The overalls are the bit that lasts

They come off, and they go back on with Velcro rather than buttons — which means a toddler can manage them alone. That turns a soft toy into an activity: off, on, off again, with the kind of concentration you only see when a small child has decided something matters.

It is real practice, too. Working out which way round a garment goes and getting it over a head is exactly the sequence they will need for their own coat, and Velcro is the forgiving version of a fastening. On a 40cm giraffe the overalls are bigger and easier to handle than on the 15cm one, which makes this the better of the two for the dressing stage.

🧶 Ramie and cotton rather than plush

The fabric is 45% ramie, 45% cotton and 10% polyester. Ramie is a bast fibre, like the flax that linen is made from, which is why Gerry has that dry, faintly grainy linen handle rather than a deep furry one. It looks considered rather than cartoonish, it does not mat, and it softens with washing rather than going flat.

If you were expecting a fluffy teddy, this is not that, and it is worth knowing before he arrives. For deep plush fur that also machine washes, our Nattou cuddly giraffe is the one.

🧺 He washes at 30, which matters on a toy this size

Machine washable at 30°C. Take the overalls off first, wash him on his own or with towels rather than crammed into a full load, and dry him flat and away from direct heat. Worth planning for: a 40cm toy with a part-pellet filling holds water and takes a good while to dry properly, so wash him on a day when he is not needed at bedtime.

♻️ The filling, and an honest comparison with the mini

The label gives the filling as 70% recycled post-consumer polyester fibre and 30% plastic pellets, with all new materials throughout. The pellets give the filling a little more substance than pure fibre loft would.

If recycled content is what you are buying on, the smaller one is actually the better of the two: Mini Gerry's filling is 100% recycled fibre with no pellets. Not a difference we would have thought to check, but it is on the labels, so you should have it.

What we like about it

• 40cm tall but only 110g, so a toddler can actually carry him
• Long floppy limbs that a small hand closes around easily
• Removable overalls on Velcro, bigger and easier to manage than the mini's
• Machine washable at 30°C, which is unusual for a toy that looks like this
• Ramie and cotton with embroidered features rather than printed plush
• Filling is 70% recycled post-consumer polyester fibre
• Suitable from birth, and still being dressed and undressed at three
• No batteries, no sound, nothing to switch off

Specification

• Suitable from: birth, with adult supervision
• Size: 40 x 13cm
• Weight: 110g
• Materials: fabric 45% ramie, 45% cotton, 10% polyester. Filling 70% recycled post-consumer polyester fibre, 30% plastic pellets. All new materials
• Features: removable overalls with a Velcro fastening, long floppy limbs, embroidered features
• Care: machine wash at 30°C. Remove the overalls first, dry flat and away from direct heat
• Safety: UKCA and CE marked
• Brand: Jumini

❓ Frequently asked questions

Is 40cm too big for a baby?
For a newborn, yes, in the sense that they cannot do anything with him — at that stage he is something to be shown, and a present for the parents as much as the baby. Picking up and carrying starts somewhere past the first birthday, and that is when 40cm at 110g becomes the point. If you want one a baby can hold now, Mini Gerry is 15cm and 25g.

Can he really go in the washing machine?
Yes, at 30 degrees. Overalls off first, dry flat, and allow plenty of time — he is a big toy with pellets in the filling and he does not dry quickly.

Is the fabric actually linen?
Not quite, and we would rather be precise. It is 45% ramie and 45% cotton with 10% polyester. Ramie is a bast fibre in the same family as flax, so the feel and the look are linen-like, but the label does not say linen and nor will we.

Can a baby manage the overalls?
No — that part is for a toddler, from around eighteen months to two years. For a baby the overalls are simply another texture and a thing to pull at.

Can he go in the cot?
Not for unsupervised sleep, and a 40cm toy is more reason for care than a small one. Safer sleep guidance from the Lullaby Trust and the NHS is to keep the sleep space clear of soft toys, with toys going in from around twelve months. The removable overalls are a further reason to take him out.

Does he make any noise?
None at all. No rattle, no crinkle, no squeaker.

Is he a good gift?
One of the better big ones. A 40cm animal reads as a proper present in a way a small one does not, he photographs well, and the overalls give the recipient something to do with him later rather than just somewhere to put him.

🦒 Mini or Large?

The same giraffe in two sizes. Both have removable Velcro overalls, both are ramie and cotton with embroidered features, and both machine wash at 30°C:

• Large Gerry — this one. 40 x 13cm and 110g. Big enough to fill a pair of arms, light enough to be carried, and the easier one for a toddler to dress. Filling 70% recycled.
• Mini Gerry — 15 x 6cm and 25g. Pocket-sized, so he is the one that comes to the appointment and the supermarket. Filling 100% recycled.

🧸 If you like natural fibres and removable clothes

• Scruffy Dog — 18cm, organic cotton, removable overalls.
• ThreadBear linen dinosaurs — four of them, hand finished in linen, from 19 to 26cm.
• Jumini rag dolls — 30 to 32cm, with full outfits that come off.

Browse more cuddly toys and the rest of the jumini range, or everything suitable from birth. Our guide to what makes a baby toy genuinely eco-friendly covers fibres and fillings properly, and sustainable baby gifts by occasion is worth a look if Gerry is a present.

Safety information

Adult supervision recommended. Inspect the seams, the limbs and the Velcro fastening regularly and stop using the toy if a seam opens or anything is coming loose — the filling contains plastic pellets, so a failed seam matters more here than on a fibre-only toy. Keep a baby's sleep space clear of soft toys, in line with Lullaby Trust and NHS safe-sleep guidance.

❤️ From our family to yours

Carefully chosen products for babies, toddlers and parents. Browse more cuddly toys and the rest of the jumini range — free UK delivery on orders over £25.