Mermaid Menanna
05-21-2015, 06:36 PM
I was so afraid of painting the scales onto my tail for fear of screwing it up and having it be permanent. Well, I found a solution to the problem and it is working like a charm. I started with a printed fish scale stencil I found online, traced it out onto the clear plastic I planned to use as my stencil and cut it out. Next came practice on paper to make sure I had measured everything out so the scales are even and lay properly with each other. Once I had this accomplished I moved over to my scrap fabric to test it out and get a feel for which paint was going to work best (yes, I have a few different kinds I bought to try).
I have found 2 different permanent and waterproof fabric paints that I am liking a lot. One is Jacquard Dye-na-Flow that I ordered through the Walmart website @ $5.99/jar and the other came from Joann Fabrics and is in marker form, Marvy brand Fabric Marker. The Dye-na-Flow requires heat setting, the marker does not. Both are made for synthetic fabric and go on more like a dye than a paint, so doesn't really alter the texture of the fabric. I have found no need to stretch the fabric other than to hold it flat since neither of these paints cracks when the fabric is stretched after drying, but both WILL bleed through the fabric, so be sure to put something inside the tail to prevent it bleeding through to the other side. I am using some basic corrugated cardboard inserted and moved easily as I advance up the tail.
Back to the foolproof method...
Once the test piece was finished I was still nervous about touching my tail, fearing those mistakes that would be permanent... so... I grabbed my fabric marker, also found at Joann Fabrics (Singer brand water soluble disappearing ink, $4.99) and began setting my scales on the tail. This marker is awesome and I want to buy a case of them before I start my next tail soon. The ink is said to be purple, seems a little more pink to me when used on white fabric, but the key is the DISAPPEARING INK! It only stays visible for about 24 hrs, (a little less on the spandex fabric) which gives me the chance to trace out all of my scales, make sure they line up, etc. and then go back and trace over these with the permanent fabric paint/dye marker. Any mistakes disappear by the next day, and the end result is exactly what I want without the issues I feared! Woohoo!!!
Really getting into the scales now!
29890
I have found 2 different permanent and waterproof fabric paints that I am liking a lot. One is Jacquard Dye-na-Flow that I ordered through the Walmart website @ $5.99/jar and the other came from Joann Fabrics and is in marker form, Marvy brand Fabric Marker. The Dye-na-Flow requires heat setting, the marker does not. Both are made for synthetic fabric and go on more like a dye than a paint, so doesn't really alter the texture of the fabric. I have found no need to stretch the fabric other than to hold it flat since neither of these paints cracks when the fabric is stretched after drying, but both WILL bleed through the fabric, so be sure to put something inside the tail to prevent it bleeding through to the other side. I am using some basic corrugated cardboard inserted and moved easily as I advance up the tail.
Back to the foolproof method...
Once the test piece was finished I was still nervous about touching my tail, fearing those mistakes that would be permanent... so... I grabbed my fabric marker, also found at Joann Fabrics (Singer brand water soluble disappearing ink, $4.99) and began setting my scales on the tail. This marker is awesome and I want to buy a case of them before I start my next tail soon. The ink is said to be purple, seems a little more pink to me when used on white fabric, but the key is the DISAPPEARING INK! It only stays visible for about 24 hrs, (a little less on the spandex fabric) which gives me the chance to trace out all of my scales, make sure they line up, etc. and then go back and trace over these with the permanent fabric paint/dye marker. Any mistakes disappear by the next day, and the end result is exactly what I want without the issues I feared! Woohoo!!!
Really getting into the scales now!
29890