Ondine's First Fabric Tail!

[mermaidondine]

So I've been designing and re-designing like a mad-woman, and while I thought I knew what I wanted at first, I switched it up a bit and finally decided on the direction I want to go with my first tail: I'm going to be doing a fabric tail, or rather a suit, with upper body scales ^^

[IMAGE REMOVED BY AUTHOR :D]

(Apologies for the cut-off, my sketch book was too big for the scanner to get the whole image. Boo. Lol.)

Its pretty heavily based on the mermaids from On Stranger Tides. I also borrowed a little inspiration from the Animal Makers' mermaid suit. It will be a full-length design, however mine is going to be a monokini/cut-out style on the top :-)

I searched high and low for the perfect fabric--unfortunately I couldn't find a scale-print or a hologram fabric that I liked so I started looking at different sequined materials. I almost gave up after I requested several samples from a few different places (to narrow down my choices), because they all either looked different in-person than they did on the websites or they just seemed a little on the cheesy side to me, BUT then I dug through the depths of google and discovered the most gorgeous sequined fabric with large, wide sequins sewn in a horizontal pattern, which looked oh-so fishy! So I requested a sample...and it came today!

http://mernetwork.com/index/attachment.php?attachmentid=1971&d=1331022429http://mernetwork.com/index/attachment.php?attachmentid=1970&d=1331022415http://mernetwork.com/index/attachment.php?attachmentid=1967&d=1331022364

I forgot to order the sample for it, but I plan on doing the same fabric in nude for the upper body, but paint some of the individual scales in orange for a transitioning look from the waist-line up to the chest. (I may paint some gold scales throughout the whole tail as well.) The monofin will be cut and then covered with spandex/lycra with a layer of sheer fabric over it that will go past the edge of the fin to create excess, which I plan to tatter, with the same sheer material for side fins.

I'm so excited to get started! The fabric is pretty expensive though, so it may be another check or two before I'll be able to purchase all the yardage that I'll need. Still, I can't wait!

What do you guys think? :-)

[Winged Mermaid]

Love the design! The fabric looks pretty cool! I've never sewn sequined fabrics before, but just thinking about it, it seems like there may be potential snags, so be prepared if it turns out to be more challenging than you originally thought. Prepared for the worst and all that :) Also how secure are the sequins? On some fabrics they aren't attached well enough to take too much abuse. Some things you wash them, even delicate hand washing the sequins come off like crazy. Do some water tests with the swatch you got before dedicating an entire suit. Also just know that if it's wet use they WILL be damaged over time- colored backings peeling off, cracking, chipping, and losing the sequins off of the fabric. It's the nature of the beast. How well made and how well attached will mean how much of that happens. See if you can find a place that sells the shape and color of the sequins on the fabric so you can do maintenance as it wears. All sequin tails need this kind of maintenance, so just be prepared for that. I can only imagine how much of that Hannah has to do for her sequin tails!

Also I can't quite make out what the base fabric is. Is it thick or is it like a chiffon type material? Is it stretchy? Does it fray easily? When you get it wet is it heavy like regular fashion fabric or does it remain lighter weight like swim suit fabric?

[ShyMer]

That is a lovely piece of fabric!

[Mermaid Jewel]

Love the design and the fabric! I'm sure it'll look amazing

[Blaze]

Really love the fabric! I think if you do a few stress tests with the fabric you will be able to tell more how it will hold up. It will be delicate regardless but still.

[Nate Walis]

That's an original design and I applaud you for going the route of a costume in which the scales continue above the waist, I'm sure the effect will be amazing when it's completed.

[Gem Stone]

love the design but i warn you to watch out, i mite steal it (joking of course! i already have my designs!) your designs are really gud though. i think itll turn out pretty

[mermaidondine]

Thanks for the kind words everyone! I hope it turns out like I have in my head! Lol!


Love the design! The fabric looks pretty cool! I've never sewn sequined fabrics before, but just thinking about it, it seems like there may be potential snags, so be prepared if it turns out to be more challenging than you originally thought. Prepared for the worst and all that :) Also how secure are the sequins? On some fabrics they aren't attached well enough to take too much abuse. Some things you wash them, even delicate hand washing the sequins come off like crazy. Do some water tests with the swatch you got before dedicating an entire suit. Also just know that if it's wet use they WILL be damaged over time- colored backings peeling off, cracking, chipping, and losing the sequins off of the fabric. It's the nature of the beast. How well made and how well attached will mean how much of that happens. See if you can find a place that sells the shape and color of the sequins on the fabric so you can do maintenance as it wears. All sequin tails need this kind of maintenance, so just be prepared for that. I can only imagine how much of that Hannah has to do for her sequin tails!

Also I can't quite make out what the base fabric is. Is it thick or is it like a chiffon type material? Is it stretchy? Does it fray easily? When you get it wet is it heavy like regular fashion fabric or does it remain lighter weight like swim suit fabric?

Yeah, I've worked with sequins before and if you're not careful things can definitely fall apart easy in the making. Luckily the sequins are pretty secure already, but I plan to re-enforce them myself when I get the fabric--time consuming, I know, but worth it! Lol! Even still, I'm alright losing a few sequins here and there. I kind of like the sporadic/patch look. Kind of like Hannah Fraser's blue tail, where there are sequins in certain places and not elsewhere. It kind of gives the tail a realistic, "lived in" sort of feel I think :-) I'm also going to purchase extra, so that if I do have a lot of sequins falling off, I'll have a yard or two of extras that I can replace them with. I did some water tests today--one in fresh water and the other in chlorine. I'll see how they turn out tomorrow when I let them air/hang dry.

The fabric backing is made of a sheer taffeta. I'm going to re-enforce it with spandex/Lycra though. But because its taffeta, its not very forgiving stretch-wise, so rather than the usual side seams for fabric tails, I'm actually going to place a strip/panel of spandex down the sides (to give it some stretch) where the side seams would usually be when you sew the front and back together, but I'm going to hide the panels with the side fins, which will have snaps or velcro :-)


That's an original design and I applaud you for going the route of a costume in which the scales continue above the waist, I'm sure the effect will be amazing when it's completed.

Thank you! I remember us talking about the effect of the upper body scales--I just hope I can do the look justice :-D

[Nim]

News from your tail? I really love the fabric! I'm sure it will look amazing :D