Despicable Me Kyle (Gru's Dog)

Kyle from Despicable me is the winner of the Best Ugly Dog Award to me!

The body for Kyle started with a large oval ball shape that would cover the wearer to the waist. I made my oval ball base by forming a king size pillow into an egg shape then covering the pillow with heavy paper and duct tape. When i felt that the oval base was firm and sturdy enough then I cut a circular opening in the oval large enough for the wearer to slip his shoulders through.

I reinforced the opening with extra duct tape.

The body was then slipped onto the wearer and slits were made for them to see through. The slits were covered with fur fabric , but the fur was thin enough to see through.In the photo above a drew a yellow head to show where the wearer's head will be.

THis oval base was then covered in a faux fur. I folded and pleated the fur in place, cutting away excess fur and then sewed the darts and folds down. Try to make this step as smooth and seamless as possible.

At the bottom edge I rolled the raw edges over and then glued the fabric to the edge of the opening.

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The snout has 2 parts , the upper lip and the lower chin. Kyle's chin should jut out past his upper lip.

Proportionally Kyle's jaw should be about half of the size of the body. It is large.

I cut a crescent moon shape for the upper lip from fur and a matching piece from red fabric. Sew the fur and red fabric together right sides together and then turn right side out. Then sew red bias tape to the edge for the lip. Lay the lip onto a piece of cardboard and cut out the cardboard shape and slide it between the fur and red fabric layers to make the upper lip firm. Glue the cardboard to the red fabric.

For the chin I cut out a crescent moon about twice the size of the chin . I had a play ball that I used to make a round paper and duct tape base for the chin. It is about half the size of a standard kick ball. The chin is about 2/3 the size of the ball.Cut away 1/3 of the paper and duct tape base into a semi circle . Try it on the costume for size and adjust accordingly.

Once satisfied with the chin base then cover it in the fur . Glue the fur in place. I cut 2 darts into the fur under the chin to get a smooth fit. At the lip area I gathered the edge of the lip slightly with a gathering stitch. I then sewed red bias tape on for the lip. On the inside of the mouth I glued red fabric to the inside lip

The teeth are made from an oven baked polymer clay (Sculpey) . The teeth var in size from 1.5 to 3 inches.

The teeth were glued inside the lower lip.

The eyes are made from a dollar store foam ball cut in half and painted with craft paint.

The eye lids are brown fabric made into a tube. The tube was turned half way inside itself for a nice folded edge and the it was glued to the eyeball. Experiment with the placement of the eyes by pinning in place. I think this is one of the hardest parts to do. If the eyes are not right the whole costume looks off.

The eye sockets were sewn onto the fur.

The nose is a triangle of brown fabric. The fabric is gathered around the edge . Pull the gathers together to close the opening together. I pinched one point of the triangle to make it look like nostrils then sewed the nose between the eyes.

You can decide on the expression you want for Kyle by adjusting th e angle of the eyelids. Diagonally slitd make him look angry.

Almost done!The hard part is over.

For the legs i cut out 8 long skinny pieces of the brown fabric . There are small feet. Sew 4 sets of 2 pieces of leg shapes. Leave open at the top. Turn right side out and stuff lightly. Glue these to the opening under the body.

The ears are about 12 inches long. They are tapered. At the tip I glued on a tuft of the fur. There is wire inside to pose the ears and keep them erect.

The tail is the same as the ears without the wire added. It is sew to the back end.

Lastly I cut a piece of red fabric about 2 inches by 20inches , folded it over and sewed along the long edgeturned this right side out and fit it around Kyle's neck for a collar . It is sewed in place.

Well good luck !!