Mermaid Abigail
08-31-2015, 05:57 PM
Hi Merpeople!
A few weeks ago I finally started making my very first Fabric tail. I've hardly ever made anything from fabric, so I'm extremely proud of how it has become.
I got a lot of help from Mermaid Crystal, which I am so thankful for, but I cán say that I made it entirely by myself :D
I wanted to open this thread sooner to post an actual Work-In-Progress , but I just forgot :$ So here are my Work In Progress pictures and the final result.
Hopefully I'll take my first swim in it this Sunday! :D
32621
The first design idea. (back view). dorsal fin and side fins.
32633
The inspiration for my tail. This absolutely stunning Betta fish :drool:
32622
My fabrics arrived! A deep dark brown, white neoprene and a gorgeous green sparkle fabric which has shimmers of gold/blue/silver/red-ish depending on how the light touches it.
32635
changed the design because I thought that the previous one had too many fins for my taste. Too much of a good thing, so to say ;) this is the front view, so it'll have a dorsal fin as well.
32623
32625
Mermaid Crystal outlined my figure onto the paper and I drew on the fluke the way I wanted it. This is me cutting out the pattern.
32624
Tadah! the pattern!
32628
Traced the pattern onto the neoprene. Not very visible here, but trust me, it's there ;)
32629
Cut out the neoprene, -forgot to take a picture- , pinned both sides together. Since the neoprene doesn't need to be as long as the entire fluke (because then It'll have no flow), the fluke design here is shorter.
32630
I sewed the neoprene together for a test-fitting. This very charming picture was a payback from Mermaid Crystal. I've made a similair picture of her one of the first times she put on her Finfolk tail :p
But the tail fit! Had a little bit extra room so we knew to take it in just a bit more when the final sewing would be done.
Yes, I had to take out all the stitches after this fitting.
32631
I traced the pattern onto the green fabric, this is the second one, and cut them out.
32632
This was the final result of that day. I drew the fluke pattern onto the brown fabric and cut it out. I put the fabrics on each other just to get an idea of how it's going.
**************
Yesterday I finally had the time to meet up with Mermaid Crystal again and finish my tail!
32634
I cut out the dorsal fin without first making a pattern and it turned out pretty great. I deceided to make a double layered one which turned out to be a good idea since now it was much easier to sew it onto the tail without seeing a seam. The original idea was to stitch it onto the neoprene and then make a opening in the green fabric for the dorsal fin to come out of. So glad it turned out this was, so much easier and just as pretty! I also drew and cut out my pelvic fins.
32637
Sewing the fabric together. Here you can see how many beautiful shimmering colors the tail has when the light hits it!
32636
Sewed the green fabric onto the neoprene. We were both puzzeld as to why the fabrics were suddenly so different in pattern. We tried to fit them all in different ways, but they never quite fit. We still don't know what went wrong there. Luckily we had some room to spare with the original pattern, so no huge harm done.
32638
I sewed the Dorsal fin and the Flukes onto the fabric, but forgot to take a picture.
Here I pinned the Dorsal fin together in a nice package so it wouldn't get in between the fabric when I sew the final parts together. Pinned both sides together.
32639
Sewing the final parts of the tail body together. I'm leaving the fluke open so I can easily put the monofin in or out. I'll use velcro to keep the fluke closed together in the water.
32641
The final fitting! It's a bit of a struggle to get it on, but hopefully It'll get a bit easier with practice. It's very snug but also very comfortable! I'm gonna need some help to get my monofin on though.
32640
The final result of the day! I sewed the pelvic fins on and voila, it's done!
Now all it will need are some decorations and the velcro. I will use some beautiful brown oil drop beads to make a prettier transit between the fluke and the tail base. And I'll use black oil drop beads to add details onto the fluke and the fins, like the Betta fish has. I'm also thinking of putting a transparant-brown fabric around the waist of the tail. (not sure of the proper name for that).
And of course I'll need to make a top to match the tail! :)
A few weeks ago I finally started making my very first Fabric tail. I've hardly ever made anything from fabric, so I'm extremely proud of how it has become.
I got a lot of help from Mermaid Crystal, which I am so thankful for, but I cán say that I made it entirely by myself :D
I wanted to open this thread sooner to post an actual Work-In-Progress , but I just forgot :$ So here are my Work In Progress pictures and the final result.
Hopefully I'll take my first swim in it this Sunday! :D
32621
The first design idea. (back view). dorsal fin and side fins.
32633
The inspiration for my tail. This absolutely stunning Betta fish :drool:
32622
My fabrics arrived! A deep dark brown, white neoprene and a gorgeous green sparkle fabric which has shimmers of gold/blue/silver/red-ish depending on how the light touches it.
32635
changed the design because I thought that the previous one had too many fins for my taste. Too much of a good thing, so to say ;) this is the front view, so it'll have a dorsal fin as well.
32623
32625
Mermaid Crystal outlined my figure onto the paper and I drew on the fluke the way I wanted it. This is me cutting out the pattern.
32624
Tadah! the pattern!
32628
Traced the pattern onto the neoprene. Not very visible here, but trust me, it's there ;)
32629
Cut out the neoprene, -forgot to take a picture- , pinned both sides together. Since the neoprene doesn't need to be as long as the entire fluke (because then It'll have no flow), the fluke design here is shorter.
32630
I sewed the neoprene together for a test-fitting. This very charming picture was a payback from Mermaid Crystal. I've made a similair picture of her one of the first times she put on her Finfolk tail :p
But the tail fit! Had a little bit extra room so we knew to take it in just a bit more when the final sewing would be done.
Yes, I had to take out all the stitches after this fitting.
32631
I traced the pattern onto the green fabric, this is the second one, and cut them out.
32632
This was the final result of that day. I drew the fluke pattern onto the brown fabric and cut it out. I put the fabrics on each other just to get an idea of how it's going.
**************
Yesterday I finally had the time to meet up with Mermaid Crystal again and finish my tail!
32634
I cut out the dorsal fin without first making a pattern and it turned out pretty great. I deceided to make a double layered one which turned out to be a good idea since now it was much easier to sew it onto the tail without seeing a seam. The original idea was to stitch it onto the neoprene and then make a opening in the green fabric for the dorsal fin to come out of. So glad it turned out this was, so much easier and just as pretty! I also drew and cut out my pelvic fins.
32637
Sewing the fabric together. Here you can see how many beautiful shimmering colors the tail has when the light hits it!
32636
Sewed the green fabric onto the neoprene. We were both puzzeld as to why the fabrics were suddenly so different in pattern. We tried to fit them all in different ways, but they never quite fit. We still don't know what went wrong there. Luckily we had some room to spare with the original pattern, so no huge harm done.
32638
I sewed the Dorsal fin and the Flukes onto the fabric, but forgot to take a picture.
Here I pinned the Dorsal fin together in a nice package so it wouldn't get in between the fabric when I sew the final parts together. Pinned both sides together.
32639
Sewing the final parts of the tail body together. I'm leaving the fluke open so I can easily put the monofin in or out. I'll use velcro to keep the fluke closed together in the water.
32641
The final fitting! It's a bit of a struggle to get it on, but hopefully It'll get a bit easier with practice. It's very snug but also very comfortable! I'm gonna need some help to get my monofin on though.
32640
The final result of the day! I sewed the pelvic fins on and voila, it's done!
Now all it will need are some decorations and the velcro. I will use some beautiful brown oil drop beads to make a prettier transit between the fluke and the tail base. And I'll use black oil drop beads to add details onto the fluke and the fins, like the Betta fish has. I'm also thinking of putting a transparant-brown fabric around the waist of the tail. (not sure of the proper name for that).
And of course I'll need to make a top to match the tail! :)