Mermanda's first fabric tail!

[Mermanda]

Hi all!
I'm Mermanda, and I'm pretty new on the network, as well as to mermaiding in general. I've been sewing for years now, and thought, "hey! If I can make crazy looking gowns, I think I can make a fabric mermaid tail... Yeah! Why not!"
:cheerleader:

So, here it goes!

[Calizaire]

Looking forward to pictures and updates! Good luck!

[Mermanda]

So the fabric I chose was a scaled blue hologram polyester and a plain blue polyester to match. I also bought a Finis Wave as the monofin.
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I have a Mertailor Eco tail and it fits me very well, so I'm using this as a base for the pattern. I'm only doing half of the pattern and cutting on the fold of the fabric so that it will be completely symmetrical when I cut the fabric out.
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I used the shape of the Wave to determine the point at the bottom of the tail where the scale pattern will end.
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I layered my pattern paper and place the Wave on top to draw the Fluke. I traced around the shape of the monofin and then drew the shape of the fluke around it. You can see my sketch of the design I decided to go with.
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Next I traced out the pattern for the extra fins. I am going ALLLL out. I've got a Main Dorsal fin, Lower Dorsal Fin, Hip fins, and Ankle fins. I'll also be doing an Ariel style hip fin.
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[Mermaid Kelda]

Looking great so far! It's always nice to see more fabric tails about :)

[Meronica]

Can't wait to see how this turns out! (:


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[Mermaid Alea]

OOOooh that looks like a good tail fabric!

[Vrindavana Starfish]

Commenting so I can see the result! Looks like a beautiful design.

[Mermanda]

Thanks guys!! I'm planning to have this done by the end of the week ^_^

Ambitious? .... Maybe....:cool:

[Mermaid Alea]

I think you can do it. Fabric tails don't take that long to make and since you already have plenty of sewing experience I think you can finish before the week's end. :)

[Ashe]

You can totally have it done by the end of the week! Cute scales :)

[Mermanda]

Thanks! Haha I think you guys are right. It shouldn't take long at all. I'm experimenting with textures in the fabric, so we'll see how it turns out ^_^

[Mermanda]

Update Time!!

Ok so once I had all my pattern pieces, I cut them out of my fabric and laid them out.
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I have the body of my tail cut into 3 pieces so that I could sew the dorsal fin in the seam and the seam in the back wouldn't be too noticeable. Also the fabric wasn't long enough to get the entire length from hip to tip, so I'm going to have a seam around the ankles... oh well.

Before I could sew the front and back together I need to construct the extra fins. I tried a couple different techniques to achieve different textures.
Here's a few photos of how I constructed the dorsal fins.
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I sewed in pin tucks on each ray trying to make them as symmetrical as possible. Them I sewed them with the right sides together and flipped rightside out.
Once that was finished I sewed it onto the center seam of one of the back panels (right sides together) then a sewed the back panels together and voila!
32381 *that handsome little man is Milo... my fur child <3


Then I did something a little different with the side fins.
First, I sewed the edges together with the wrong sides together (right sides out) and used a thicker embroidery stitch for the rays.
Then I used my artist markers to shade and add some color.
Then I cut jagged edges on the inside of the curves.
This was a much easier technique... I think I like the final product a little more too.
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Then I sewed these to the sides of the front panel.
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Next, the fluke!!

I turn my back for ONE SECOND!!!!! :rollover:
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[Celaeno]

I love your fins! Those pin tucks are really cool.

[Mermanda]

Thanks Celaeno!! Hopefully they will look cool underwater too :)

[Calizaire]

Lookin great!! Milo is quite the tailor; would he be interested in making one for me? ;)

[Mermanda]

Haha I might be able to convince him ;)

[MermaidSandie]

Beautiful tail- I am in love with the colours and fins <333

and your cat is so cute!!

[Mermanda]

Beautiful tail- I am in love with the colours and fins <333

and your cat is so cute!!

Thank you so much! On both accounts ^_^

[Vrindavana Starfish]

LOVING this tail! My first tail will be fabric with all the fins, and it's great to see how you're doing it. That fluke is gorgeous!

[Mermanda]

LOVING this tail! My first tail will be fabric with all the fins, and it's great to see how you're doing it. That fluke is gorgeous!

Thank you!! I'm glad if I'm able to help you :)

[Mermanda]

Question, does anyone know if Velcro is effective under water?

[stellar lee]

Yes, is effective under water. It can catch and snag as well.

[stellar lee]

Grrr... yes velcro is...

[Mermanda]

Good to know!! Thanks:thumbs up:

[Fun123joker]

unless you actually sew the velcro on and not just stick em on. it will fall off. but i dont recomend it. especially if your gonna bring it to the beach

[Mermanda]

I'm definitely intending on sewing it on. And this is a pool only tail, so I think for the small openings, Velcro might be the best option. I was also thinking about using snaps.

[Mermanda]

Yay!! More Updates <3

Ok, so My next step was to attach the fluke. I put the right sides of the fabric together and pinned from the center of the tip to the top most part of the fluke. I did this one half at a time so it was easier to sew and I wouldn't be poking myself with pins constantly.... well... I still did, let's be honest ;p
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Once both halves of the fluke were sewn onto the main body of the tail, I sewed both halves of the full tail together leaving a small portion at the bottom open to be able to insert and remove the monofin as I desire. I hemmed the open edges and added snaps to keep them closed while swimming. I also sewed around the shape of the monofin to create a pocket so it would be a little more structured.
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Then, I sewed elastic to the waist and added a flounce to mimic the top of Ariel's fin.
some hand sewing was required to get the gathers JUUuuuust right.
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And that's that!!
Swimming video to come :)
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[Syrenia]

Very lovely. I adore those colors! And that sew job!! Your tail is fin-tastic!!

[Mermaid Alea]

Wonderful work! I love how shiny it is! I also like how you cut the scales at the bottom so that they transition well into the fluke fabric. I normally don't like the look of a separate fabric for the fluke because usually it transitions very awkwardly, but this has a great transition. :thumbs up:

[Mermanda]

Very lovely. I adore those colors! And that sew job!! Your tail is fin-tastic!!

Thank you so much!! I'm glad you like it :blush:

[Mermanda]

Wonderful work! I love how shiny it is! I also like how you cut the scales at the bottom so that they transition well into the fluke fabric. I normally don't like the look of a separate fabric for the fluke because usually it transitions very awkwardly, but this has a great transition. :thumbs up:

Thank you!! I'm so glad you like it :D
I completely agree with you! I think also, the big help was that I used the plain material for other parts of the tail which tied the entire design together.

[Mermaid Wesley]

Very pretty


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[Celaeno]

It looks great! I hope you get to test it out soon.

[Mermanda]

Thanks Wesley and Celaeno!

[Dancing Fish]

Lovely! I love blue tails. :)

[OceanWhisper]

Great job on this! I can't wait to see its' shimmery-ness in the water :D

[Keiris]

It's really pretty, Mermanda! Such a rich shade of blue!!!!

[Sabrina the Selkie]

Gorgeous tail.

[Mermanda]

Thank you, everyone!!
It was a fun three day project :)

[Mermanda]

I had a bit of leftover material... so I made a matching top ^_^
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I STILL had more material.. So I made some things to sell on Etsy!
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I can keep making bows and bracelets, but it you guys have any good ideas for what else I can make... I'd be much obliged :)

[MermaidSandie]

I love the way your tail turned out!! all shimmery and pretty <33

and those hair bows are to die for!! As for other stuff to make with the extra fabric, you could make some of these cute coasters: http://www.thirtyhandmadedays.com/2014/02/fabric-heart-coasters/
I'm sure it would be cute if you changed the hearts to seashells/starfish/etc shapes, that would be really adorable!