Does anyone know approximately how many 20mm sequins you need for a full tail???

[MermaidParties]

I'm all set to try to make my first sequin tail, I just don't know how many sequins I need and I don't want to run out and not be able to reorder more since I'm such an ebay fanatic. Please help :D

[Kanti]

I would go with ebay and just buy a whole ton of em!
Especially since you make tails a whole lot anyway, you'll probably end up using them all

I'd guess 2000 or more. Since they'll probably overlap, you can probably fit 2-3 in a square inch.
So technically depending on how much fabric you plan on using, you're going to have 2 pieces with
2 or 3 sequins per squareinch. So if your fabric piece has an average width of 20" and a length of 40"
(just randomizing here) you'd have roughly 800 square inches to cover.
So 800 times 2 (lets say we go with 2 sequins per square inch) that's 1600 sequins for ONE side of
the tail.

I think that's how you calculate it?? I'm going by Area of the very raw average of the piece? I could
be completely wrong haha. Late nite math :'P you know how that is

[Gem Stone]

How tall is the tail?

[MermaidParties]

It'll be about 50 inches in length and the widest part at my hips, about 18 inches for one side of the tail and 24 inches wide at the fluke. I'm horrible at math lol
Thanks for your help you guys!

[Kanti]

Then it'll probably be more since 50 is your new height.
-You basically multiply AVERAGE width (since it changes a lot with the curves of your person)
by height of the tail. That's the area you have to cover in square inches.
-You can draw a picture of a square inch, a square where each side is 1" and see how many sequins
you can fit in there comfortably. You can even go off on a tangent and put 1.5 if one of them sticks
out or you don't want to put 2 when 2 sequins don't really fit in the box.
-Then you just multiply your Area by the number of sequins that fit in that box and that's a rough
estimate of how many sequins you need for ONE SIDE of the tail.

To get the average width, take ALL your main measurements from the width of the tail (hips, ankles,
knees, largest areas, vs smallest areas, etc.) and divide them by however many units you have.

For example:
We're going to be doing this using 2 sheets of neoprene. Each sheet is only HALF of the real measurement
of someone since you're using 2 of them. So keep in mind these measurements are for a SHEET not the
actual person's measurements, if that makes any sense.

Lets say the tail's width is:

1- Waist - 20"
2- Hips - 22"
3- Thighs - 20"
4- Knees - 18"
5- Calves - 19"
6- Ankles - 17"
7- Fluke - 22"

There are 7 measurements taken total. You can take more or less, I would take them on all the skinny points
and all the large points so you get a nice average.

So now we're going to add ALL those numbers together then DIVIDE by the number of measurements taken (7)
It's the same thing as finding your average on a test.

1. add all the measurements togehter
(20+22+20+18+19+17+22) = 138

2. divide by your magic number
138/7 = 19.7

So there you go, your AVERAGE width of one side of the tail is 19.7
So multiply that by your length to get your AREA

19.7 x 50 = 985
985 square inches is the AREA covered by your tail

Now I'm going to say 2 sequins fit in a square inch so:
985 x 2 = 1970 sequins total



Jesus what a math lesson haha. I hope that wasn't too much of a pain to read
but I'd like you to understand the concept so you can do it again on your own :')
it's pretty easy once you do it once or twice on your own, then it'll come natural.

[MermaidParties]

Thank you!! I appreciate it! :D As soon as the sequins I ordered come in and I start the tail I'll post pictures :D Thanks again!

[Blondie]

Kanti... Can I like rub my math tests on you and hope maybe some of your math smarts will rub off on me? haha!

[New York Mermaid]

Kanti if i ever make my rehab center, im hiring you to help with all the math stuff..lol

[malinghi]

Wait, isn't the area you came up with just the area of one side of the tail? I think you should double it for the other side.

Also, I think you need more sequins per square inch. You can find the area that each sequin can cover.

Convert to inches to make it easier:
20 mm = .78 inches

Find the area of a circle: Area equals pi times the radius squared.
radius is .78/2 = .39
3.14 * .39^2 = .48 square inches

Since there's overlap between the sequins, I'd consider each sequin to cover half as much area, or .24 square inches.

If each side of the tail is 985 square inches, then the total surface you're trying to cover is 1970 square inches.

Each sequin covers .24 inches, so now you just find the number of sequins you would need to cover 1970 square inches.

.24 * number of sequins = 1970

Solve for "number of sequins:

number of sequins = 1970/.24 = 8209

So I think you'd need around 8200 sequins. Depends on how much overlap there is between the sequins though.

[AniaR]

ask Bonnie, she's almost finished hers!

[Kanti]

Haha yea I only did the math for one side of the tail.
Forgive me if it's wrong, I just sort of made it up on the spot. I'm pretty sure to calculate area
you just multiply width by length?
I sort of just guessed for the sequins per square inch. I really didn't want to get technical on
that haha.
I'm sure the number of sequins you use will be a bit more, though. The fluke is very huge!
I'd go on the safe side and just buy as many sequins as you can get away with haha.

Malinghi's number seems way big too! If you really need 8000 sequins then buy the biggest number
you can find!! xD

[MermaidParties]

Thanks you guys! I ordered a ton, I guess if I run out I'll just order more haha It's going to take me a while any way but I'll start posting pictures as soon as I start :)

[indigoice]

buy fabric with sequins already sewn on it? it saves time and sometimes money, it often goes on sale the end of june when prom season is over so noone wants the sparkley stuff anymore.

[AniaR]

buy fabric with sequins already sewn on it? it saves time and sometimes money, it often goes on sale the end of june when prom season is over so noone wants the sparkley stuff anymore.

I think most sew it onto neoprene which doesnt usually come with sequins ;)

[MermaidParties]

I want to sew them on individually so I can make my own design :) I thought of something I haven't seen yet, so hopefully it stands out in a crowd haha I've seen the sequin fabric and considered it but it's not very durable in the water. It's pretty thin. But it'd be pretty for a fabric tail of one color for sure :D

[Kanti]

If so, you better charge a hefty amount for all that work.
Sewing on 2000+ sequins is not going to be easy ):

[MermaidParties]

If so, you better charge a hefty amount for all that work.
Sewing on 2000+ sequins is not going to be easy ):


I've been contemplating price on them for weeks haha I think, I'm not sure, that I'd be the only person selling sequined tails. I can't find any for sale anywhere. Does anyone know of any sequin tails for sale?