Making a fabric tail

[Mermaid Marissa]

Hey everyone!

I'm about to start working on my new fabric tail and I had a few questions.

One, should I use spandex or neoprene?
Two, what kind of paint should I use on the tail so it would come off we I swim? Textile paint? At the moment I will be swimming is chlorinated waters till the lake warms up.

Thanks
Mermaid Marissa

[Mermaid Dottie]

Spandex/Lycra wears down quickly, esp. in Chlorine. I would do Neoprene.
And you can go with just Acrylic paints mixed with Textile Medium (http://shop.hobbylobby.com/products/textile-medium-31583/).
Neoprene will be skin tight on you, but it shouldn't stretch too much, but you will probably have to touch up your paint job every once in a while.

[Ayla of Duluth]

I'd go with neoprene. It's stronger, less stretchy so the paint will stay on better, but still stretchy enough to wear comfortably. My sequin tail is going to be neoprene.

[Mermaid Marissa]

I'd go with neoprene. It's stronger, less stretchy so the paint will stay on better, but still stretchy enough to wear comfortably. My sequin tail is going to be neoprene.

my goal is to make a sequin tail. If I make a neoprene tail and I'm using stretch sequin fabric do I layer them?

[Ayla of Duluth]

I'd imagine so. I've never really dealt with stretch sequin fabric before. I'm sure you could put the stretch sequin fabric over the neoprene and either sew it or glue it in place. Fabric tails are easy to experiment with anyways. :)

[Mearlin]

How fast do spandex tails wear down to be exactly? I have been looking for neoprene fabrics in my local fabric shops (even one that specializes in odd and creative fabrics) but I couldn't find it for the life of me. And no one seems to want to stock up on it since it doesn't sell enough? I did however find a crazy beautiful fabric that I think is spandex, but it would be a waste to train in it if the fabric only holds out for say a year or so.

[Mermaid Wesley]

They last exactly as long as a bathing suit! If you rinse it out after each use and take care of it it can last a few years. I didn't ever take care of mine and it lasted over a year before I had to replace the skin. Paint and other factors like how much and where you swim play a role in longevity too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mollythemermaid]

I'd imagine so. I've never really dealt with stretch sequin fabric before. I'm sure you could put the stretch sequin fabric over the neoprene and either sew it or glue it in place. Fabric tails are easy to experiment with anyways. :)

Hi Mermaid Marissa,

Do you plan to swim in this tail? If so, I wouldn't recommend sequin fabric as it can get expensive and in general not a very flexible fabric. There are a TONE of things you can do with reversible mermaid fabric. You might have already made the tail but if you have some scraps let over I have a blog post that will give you some good ideas of what you can make.

Enjoy!

MERMAID SEQUIN FABRIC (http://www.everythingmermaid.com/mermaid-sequin-fabric/)

42528