Everybody Was Kung-Fu Fighting

So, when it came to Kimmy's costume, I had decided that I wanted to make something warm for trick-or-treating. I actually bought the fabric and the pattern for a panda costume 3 years ago for Dana, but for whatever reason I didn't get it made. So I decided that I would make it this year for Kimmy. Nate and Dana didn't think that being just a panda was exciting enough for Kimmy, so they decided that she should be Po the Kung Fu Panda. So, that's what she was. Here is Po in action in the movie:

And here's the finished product:

I spent the least amount of time on this costume, and it was actually my favorite one as far as cuteness goes.

This was my first time working with faux fur. It took me a while to figure out that you only cut it out one layer at a time, but then it wasn't so bad.

The hardest part of the whole thing was keeping the black fuzz off the white fur.

I made the head-piece and then lined it so it wouldn't irritate her. Then I stuffed it full of batting to give it some shape. I was afraid that she wouldn't like having something on her head all the time, but even though it made her head sweat and gave her "panda-head hair," she didn't try to take it off once! In fact, she wore it around the house for about an hour yesterday.

Since the movie doesn't come out on DVD until this next week, I didn't have any reference for how to make Po's shorts. I spent about 3 hours total searching Target and Walmart for a Kung Fu Panda book so I could get an idea for how to make them.

The most distinctive thing about the shorts is the red and yellow waistband, which you can see in the pictures. If you look closely, you can also tell that I waited until the night before Halloween to start Kimmy's costume, and pulled an all nighter again. All the finishes on the shorts are pinked (ie cut zig zagged with pinking sheers).

The suit was also supposed to have soles on the bottom of the feet with leather paws. Instead I skipped the soles and wrapped the foot edge with 1/2 inch black double fold bias tape. I had also planned on doing some sort of fabric wrap around the ankles, like Po has in the movie, but by 7 am on Halloween morning, I just stopped caring. Jared made fun of me because he said that Kimmy didn't know any better, and I could have just used one of Dana's old costumes, but that was just not fair. Whether or not Kim cares, I care, and she is just as important as the big kids, and when she is a teenager and hates me, I can pull out pictures of this costume and show her proof of how much she matters to me and how much I love her!

Isn't this last picture just classic? She is not upset about the costume, rather she was ready to go and play outside, but the big kids weren't ready and it was raining and wet, so I made her come in and wait. KIDS ARE AWESOME!