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Kangaroo & Joey Costume

 Kangaroo & Joey



Priscilla Queen of the Desert - Amateur theatre production September 2021. 
Murray Bridge Players and Singers

I made these costumes in January 2021


For the final scene an assortment of Australian floral and fauna and icons are featured. I made an adult kangaroo costume and a joey costume for the actors who played Bob and Benji.

I used Simplicity 2853 animal onsie for the adult and Simplicity 2855 for the Childs joey.



I used the animal costume as it is and added my own drafted tail and thighs.

For the tail I drew the shape I wanted onto McCalls trace’n’toile then cut it out, sewed the two pieces together and stuffed it to make a test run for size and bounciness. I made the tail from the poodle fabric as a separate piece. I left two openings for stuffing, one at the wide end of the tail where it would attach to the body and one at the middle so I could stuff the lower part of the tail very firmly then sew this opening closed and continue stuffing from the top. The tail is hand sewn to the bum of the kangaroo. I stabilised the seat with some woven fabric cut into a circle and this supported the stitching on the inside. 

The thighs are a self drafted kidney shape with a gusset sewn around the edge. I hand sewed these onto the sides after the kangaroo was made. Then I stuffed the thigh into the shape I wanted. 

Adults Kangaroo 




The kangaroo headpiece was made using the pattern and a purchased nose headband.


The headband came with ears and a nose. I removed the ears and kept the headband and nose for the base of my headpiece. 
I made bigger ears like the ones off the headband and added boning to the centre to support the length. 
I used foam floor tiles glued to the headband and glued my new ears into slots I cut in the foam. 






I made the hood included in the pattern but made openings by the darts for the ears to fit through. I lined the hood and made an opening in the lining so the nose could be fed through. 




The foam inside gives the hood height and makes the head seem bigger.

rehearsal photo by jaybirds Photography


Actors playing Bob and Benji take their curtain call as kangaroos.



The whole costume has 6 pieces, body, gloves, spats and hood. 








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