First time tailmaking--Jade's attempt

[Jadestone]

Well I'm looking to make myself a relatively cheap tail this summer... I have free time but not much cash. I'm going to attempt making one out of swimsuit fabric (nylon/spandex) and other assorted materials. I'm weird and don't mind tedious hand-sewing for hours so sequins will almost certainly happen.

I've been looking through fabrics... I'm leaning towards something blue/green, though I have a suspicion I might look better in an orangy-gold color.

This (http://spandexworld.com/c3/catalog/product/1389) seems like the safest choice. It's 4-way stretch, seems fairly strong, and I like the color well enough (though I'd prefer pattern or colors that fade into one another)

Others I liked at were this one (http://www.nyfashioncenterfabrics.com/fossil-foil-fabric.html), which seems RIDICULOUSLY cool as a pattern but it doesn't say if it's 4-way stretch or not, or list if it's suitable for swimwear. Also no blue/green : / I'd settle for the purple because I love the look of it so much but without knowing how it'd stand up in water I don't think it's a safe choice. Same with this (http://www.nyfashioncenterfabrics.com/seascape-hologram-fabric.html), which I might like the pattern of even more and even comes in green or that cool blush-purple/greenish-gold! I might even just get a swatch of that second one, even though it'd mean waiting longer to start, because I like how it looks so much.

I'm also considering making my own monofin out of a pair of flippers we have for cost reasons. That will be done first most likely.

Anyway! I'm just really excited and felt like making a thread. I have design ideas sketched out, but not scanned yet. I'll do that tomorrow. Let me know if there's anything else I should know about fabrics or any other helpful suggestions! I've read a lot of the threads in this topic so far, and just that has been awesomely instructive :D



- Jade

[Mermaid Saphira]

I too am working on making a mermaid tail on a budget for a friend. She had exactly $50 to spend and because of her shoe size, I got her a pair of flippers and I am working out a way to make them more mermaid like. You can view that thread here (http://mernetwork.com/index/showthread.php?2504-Making-Flippers-more-Mermaidy). We are also ordering her fabric from spandex world, they have very nice spandex material for $8.00 a yard. My friend still has $48.95 left over. If you have any question, please feel free to ask and I will try and help you as much as I can ;)

[Jadestone]

Thanks!! I did actually read through that thread, it's given me some inspiration for how to make the fins work. I also like the flippers over the monofin because they're less rigid. Was going to dig out the fins from the basement closet today and try them out in our lake but the water is low which means seaweed = everywhere. I'll probably have to rake out a patch so I can have a clear place to test.Buying material looks like it's going to have to wait a few weeks... going out of town on saturday and won't be back till mid-august. Alas! More time to design I suppose.

[Lyna]

am i the only one not on the boat for creating my own tails? sheesh. at least now if i get one from everyone (as i've been buying so far...) i'll have every color and design known to man and then some! ha!
good luck in your endeavor honey. it's so impressive the creativity and talent i see in merfolk!

[Jadestone]

Haha, well I'd love to buy one of the gorgeous ones I see other people making, but I just don't have the cash. Poor college student and all. I'm not sure I'll ever get to the silicone level myself (so much work and time, though a truly lovely output, but so many materials x_x ).

[Jadestone]

Hey! When I read the old threads here, there was someone who made a scale-pattern on a fabric tail she made by stuffing it, covering it in a fishnet, and then spraypainting over this. I can't find that thread right now, but do any of you know what kinds of spraypaint (or just normal fabric paint I guess) work best with fabric tails? Since it'll be in the water a lot (hopefully!) I want to make sure I get the right sort of supplies :)

Was going to upload the design ideas I drew out, but I'm on a family vacation with limited internet for the next 10 days so that might need to wait, alas.

[Spindrift]

You can try looking into Jacquard's Lumiere fabric paints.

[Jadestone]

The Lumiere paints look beautiful! I'm a bit cautious about the needing to be heat-set though. I don't have a heat gun, and I don't think the fabric I want is supposed to be ironed... could possibly do the dryer method, though. And the colors are BEAUTIFUL, man they have exactly what I want! A bit pricy but so pretty ^^

[Jadestone]

Back home from two weeks of vacation and then 10 more days of being away from home, so FINALLY getting ready to start my tail!! I've decided to just go ahead and buy the Wave monofin. The old flippers we have aren't quite the right size for me, and I've decided I care enough about mermaiding to invest in a real monofin.

Also going to go with shiny orange milliskin, and daffodil yellow for the fins. Gold/crimson paint for scale details, redish on the sides fading to the gold in the middle/back. Also sequins if I have time.

Anyway... here's some ideas I drew out while in the car while I was away. Excuse the shakiness and lightness of the lines. I like the idea of short, horizontal fins on the sides but I'm not sure how well it'd work with fabric. Longer side-fins would be easier, but we'll see.

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Anyway... I AM SO EXCITED. I've been thinking almost nonstop about how much I want a tail, and even practiced only using dolphin kicks to swim last weekend when I was in Lake Erie. Put a hair tie around my ankles to train them to stay together even :) (don't worry, I am an excellent swimmer and could easily have removed/broken it if needed).

[Jadestone]

Monofin OFFICIALLY ORDERED. Mom wants me to wait to buy the fabric until after I finish my other project (a large plush cuttlefish to go with the huge plush squid I made), but I should be ordering that in the next couple days. At least I have the other project to occupy me while I wait for the fin to arrive in 5-8 business days. I can't wait to take it out to the lake we live on and play with it.

[Jadestone]

MONOFIN HAS ARRIVED!! Sooo much faster than I expected it too as well. Wow!

I want to try it out but there's some stranger (well, a hired stranger) over painting our house and I would feel awkward swimming while they are here :( Maybe they will leave before it gets too late.

I'm glad I waited for it to come before measuring myself though... it spaces my legs apart farther than I would have guessed and I wouldn't have taken that into account.

I guess now it's time to draw out a better design, with color this time!

[Spindrift]

Happy designing + crafting!

[Jadestone]

My fabric finally arrived! *dances*

I've been working on my pattern this afternoon... finally think I got all the measurements right (and glad I decided to measure myself with the monofin on, it spread my feet apart more than I would have guessed otherwise).

Oh, and here's the design I think I'll be going with:
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I really love red/orange/yellow color schemes because of the way they contrast with the water. They're also colors that would look good on me. However, I know a lot of people pick them because of Splash!... which I actually have not seen. So I wanted to try to figure out how to use these colors without it being too much like that tail. I figured I'd make the back much more red than orange, and a larger yellow section on the front. I'm also going to try to give it darker stripes leading from the back into the belly. Hopefully this will make it more unique, despite the more common color choice.

I also really wanted it to have fins, but I wanted to not have a lot of seams, so I went with ones that attach vertically (I can just sandwich them between the front/back seams this way, and won't have to leave extra material accounted for them).

The fluke... shape is not certain yet, going to draw a few options out and pick what I like best. I want to make it more interesting than just the Wave monofin shape, but I don't want to cut my monofin, so instead I'm going to glue zip ties to the fabric/monofin to give it the extra shape. It'll also make the end a bit less rigid, without decreasing the propulsion from the monofin itself. I'm undecided if I'm going to leave the ends smooth or tattered, I'm going to wait until I'm closer to the finished product to decide :)

[Jadestone]

Pattern drawn and cut out! Clipping the ridges off my monofin with tin snips now, I don't really like the look of them. Also been experimenting with how I want to lengthen it to fit the shape of the fluke. I glued two zip ties together with E6000, and they're about the rigidity I'm looking for. I'll probably glue one above/below the monofin with another in the middle to leave a gap for the fin, and have one of them taper off before the other two do. Hopefully this will gave the "flowing" effect I'mm striving for. I'll also be able to just let the zip ties go through the velcro I want to keep the monofin pocket closed, since they'll be spaced far enough apart it will still stick fine.

[Jadestone]

Just thought I'd share with everyone how I ended up shaping my fluke in the end :)

First, I took my pattern and placed my fin on top of it. Then I taped zip ties all around the edge of the monofin so they lined up with the edges of the pattern.
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Then, I went back around and glued down the zip ties with E6000, cutting off the ends as I went. At first I kept them long, thinking that they might stay attached better because of the larger surface area glued to the fin, but then I decided that they'd stick better if they were shorter because then the movement/rolling of the fin wouldn't stress the glue as much. I didn't go back to fix the others, so if some of them seem to be lasting better than others I'll know for the future if I ever try this method again.
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Then I began to place strips of duct tape (you can see where I actually started this on the left in the last two pictures) along the back of the monofin/zip ties, and then placing another above, sandwiching the zip ties in. I ran my nails along the edge of each tie as I went to make sure the tape was firmly affixed, so the zip ties look and feel raised on both sides of the fin.
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More duct tape...
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And more...
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Duct tape finished, retraced the original pattern on top, making sure to line it up with the monofin/zipties
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Aaaand done! Cut out along the traced lines :)
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I decided on the tape/zip tie combo because I was looking for something that wouldn't be too different in flexability from the fin. The zip ties get more flexable the farther they are from the fin, and the tape keeps everything secure/the same distance apart while adding support and making it a tiny bit stiffer. I've also had doubled-up duct tape submerged in a sink for over two days now and it shows no signs of unsticking to itself. It might become a bit less sticky over time, but it'd mostly be at the edges and I think this is durable enough to last for a while. I haven't done any tests in chlorine or salt water, and in theory the chlorine might eat at it a bit faster, but overall I think this should last me long enough. I'll try swimming with it (in the lake I live on) later, I can't imagine this would add any propulsion, but it hopefully didn't detract any.

[Jadestone]

Mostly sewn :) I still need to take it in a bit more in places. Went for a test swim with it today and decided it it was bubbling/rippling a bit too much. Also still need to add the side fins/adjust the tatters on the end of the fluke a bit more, but I wanted to make sure the body of the tail was how I wanted it first :)

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The dark spots on the tail are water from my hair dripping on it, ehehe. Hoping to start painting tomorrow.

[Mermaid Loki]

Nuuuu I can't see the pic! And HOORAY FOR SIDE FINS! *has always wanted them*

[ShyMer]

Your monofin mod looks interesting. How's that working out for you? I can't see the picture either :(

[Jadestone]

Hmm, that's strange, I uploaded it just like normal. I'll try again...

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[Spindrift]

I see the photo just fine in both posts. Your progress looks great! I really like the creativity you used with the zip ties and duct tape!

[Jadestone]

:) Thanks Spindrift!

Well, it no longer looks quite like this as I've painted one side of it now (just diamonds, not super fancy scales like some do--I'm on a pretty tight schedule), but I snapped a picture before I changed anything :)

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Found a swimsuit top that matches the base color almost perfectly at the store yesterday, so will probably go with just that until I have time to make a more mermaid-y one myself, heh.

The tail also looks a bit more loose/wrinkly in this picture than it actually is. I took the picture with my computer's built in camera, but I only had 3 seconds between clicking the button and it took the picture to scootch far enough away to be in the shot, haha. Some movement of fabric resulted.

[Mermaid Celissa]

It's so pretty, and you look great in it!

[Jadestone]

Thank you!! I'm glad I went with orange-based after all, I think it's a better color on me than my other thoughts.

Also, I maybe ditched the side fins... they hadn't been working too well and I couldn't figure out how to attach them well x_x I'm going to paint them seperately and bring them with me in case I figure out a better way to attach them later, haha.

[Mermaid Celissa]

I agree, orange is a really nice color on you. It goes well with your hair and skin tone

[Jadestone]

So I painted it last friday, but saturday morning drove back to my college and have been moving in/adjusting to classes since. So no picture of me in it yet, but here's a peek at how the painting turned out:
Front
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Back
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:) Hopefully going to try a swim this weekend if I'm allowed to wear it in the pool... I am a little worried that stuffing/painting it stretched it out a little. We'll see I guess...

[Kanti]

Holy cow Jade that paint job is awesome!
You really did a nice job on this tail~
Are you going to paint the fluke a bit as well?

[Jadestone]

I am, though when I have more time, haha. I still actually need to heat-set mine, I've just been waiting for my laundry to build up a bit so I don't put it in the dryer (don't have a heat gun) all on it's own.

I'm also not quite decided on what colors I want to use on the fluke/where... same palate as that's what paints I have (plus a more bronzy color I will use for sure) but not sure exactly how I want to do it yet :) That might wait till after I swim wiht it first also, in case anything needs adjusting. I'm worried I'll have to take it in a bit since I think it may have stretched when I painted, but I found someone I can borrow a sewing machine from so it's less of an issue now than it might have been :)

[Demi]

Holy... This is awsome! I saw you plushies too, and you really have a talent for handcrafting! well done!

[Blondie]

REALLY nice scales!

[Jadestone]

Hello!!

I know it's been forever, but I'm on break at university so got time to finish painting the fluke!!

Here is the front of the tail:
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Aaaaand the back:
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It looks MUCH more blended in real life, the flash kind of made anything gold just POP and the more orangy-tones got subdued. But tonight I head to the pool, with a friend with an underwater camera in tow! Hurray!

Here's a close-up of the scales, since it's hard to see in those pictures.
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Not super fancy, but it looks okay from a distance. And It works well enough for a first attempt at a tail I suppose :)

[Mermaid Saphira]

this is such a lovely tail! It kind of reminds me of the tails from h2o or a goldfish...I love it :D
Few questions, they may have already been answered but....

- what monofin are you using? Competitor?
- Is the tail just spandex?
- What paint are you using? Lumiere?
- Did you use the fish net technique to make the scales? Did you hand-paint them?

Okay thats all for now..seriously, this tail is so beautiful :)

[Jadestone]

Thank you so much!!

- I used the Finnis Wave monofin. Smaller and doesn't give as much propulsion as the competitor, but fits my feet and was also cheapest!
- The material is all spandex, yes.
- Yup! Lumiere crimson and metallic gold. Straight for some parts, mixed for others, watered down in sections. I covered the whole fluke in a very watered down coat of gold before I did the lines themselves, since i don't like the color of my material as much when it's wet. This way it has a goldish sheen underneath the lines on the fluke (hopefully!)
- I used the fish-netting technique, though not with fishnets. I had a bag made of netting I cut apart and then used as a stencil, though I had to hand paint each scale still. So the netting made the pattern which I followed by hand I suppose. The holes are larger than fish net holes, which helped a lot. I may have a picture of the netting as I used it...

Yup! Here we go!
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It didn't cover the whole tail... I moved it 4 times total I believe. Front top, front lower, back top, back lower. Worked pretty well though I think. As you can see I used a lot of pins to make sure it stayed in place!

[MerEmma]

Wow! It looks gorgeous, both on and off you!

[Koral]

Simply stunning! How is the modified monofin holding up? I've been looking for a way to stiffen the ends, and if your method is holding up, I'd love to give it a try in the distant future and point people to this thread for the monofin mod help.

[Mermaid Saphira]

Thank you so much!!

- I used the Finnis Wave monofin. Smaller and doesn't give as much propulsion as the competitor, but fits my feet and was also cheapest!
- The material is all spandex, yes.
- Yup! Lumiere crimson and metallic gold. Straight for some parts, mixed for others, watered down in sections. I covered the whole fluke in a very watered down coat of gold before I did the lines themselves, since i don't like the color of my material as much when it's wet. This way it has a goldish sheen underneath the lines on the fluke (hopefully!)
- I used the fish-netting technique, though not with fishnets. I had a bag made of netting I cut apart and then used as a stencil, though I had to hand paint each scale still. So the netting made the pattern which I followed by hand I suppose. The holes are larger than fish net holes, which helped a lot. I may have a picture of the netting as I used it...

Yup! Here we go!
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It didn't cover the whole tail... I moved it 4 times total I believe. Front top, front lower, back top, back lower. Worked pretty well though I think. As you can see I used a lot of pins to make sure it stayed in place!

A wave...really? It seems so much bigger than my wave lol
Seriously, I can not get over how nice your tail looks!
Makes me want to start painting mine right now!
Too bad I'm in need of paint :doh: lol
Looking forward to seeing more pics :D bet it looks great in the water!

[Jadestone]

Well, I did extend it using duct tape and zip ties! If you look on the first page of this thread, I showed a series of in-progress shots of it :)

And aha thank you so much :) It's been a long time in progress!! I can't wait to finally try out the finished* result.


*Well... I might like to add side fins sometime, but they must wait until I am back home with a sewing machine sadly. Oh well!

[Jadestone]

Simply stunning! How is the modified monofin holding up? I've been looking for a way to stiffen the ends, and if your method is holding up, I'd love to give it a try in the distant future and point people to this thread for the monofin mod help.

I'll test it out more tonight... It worked alright on my test swim at home, but that was very brief. I don't think I've used it enough to comment on long-term durability, but we shall see! My guess is that if it starts to not hold up as well, it'd be the zip ties coming unglued form the monofin due to the motion. But The duct tape should hold them in position still? Hard to say until I've swum with it more, I suppose. The ends are very flowy, though, which is kind of what I was looking for. Not as flowy as shelf liner which I know a lot of people use, but more than just leaving the edge alone.

[Koral]

I like your way better than shelf liner, unless the wave/rapid are cut to shape then the shef liner could look nice. I think your method will hold up, IF you gave an additional seal to the trimmed ends of the duct tape after you cut it, that way water doesn't seep into the end of the fluke thus tearing into its inner workings. I think when I do it in the distant future (I say distant since I'm waiting on my latex tail to get here instead of trying a 4th tail of my own), I will cover the whole fin with duct tape so that it would hold better on the plastic portion of the fin. That's my only worry, the flow of water constantly beating at the edges holding onto the fin itself, since the tape edges are "swimming against" the chlorine. My mersister, her brother, and I actually covered an uncut monofin with duct tape solely so it was one color and the fabric would be protected by the fin-spines that stick up. It's holding really well, but the ENTIRE fin is covered (except for the rubber parts).

Oh, and let me know about any drag it creates or not, too! I'm so fascinated by your mod! :D The zip ties give it a really nice "spine" look too.

[Jadestone]

All finished!! And it swam quite nicely! :D

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Ignore my dorky expressions, hehe. I have some video too I'll work on uploading :)

[Koral]

You're so beautiful! A natural mermaid. The tail is just *stunning* and I can't wait to see video!!!

[Jadestone]

Thank you so much!! I'm so flattered that you think that :)

Here are the videos:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fl4XGqoqZdg&feature=youtu.be


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCaKiLQ8p5c&feature=youtu.be

As you can see, it's a little bit loose in the waist. An easy fix though! :)

[Koral]

Love it! The monofin mod looks amazing, maybe we'll get to see how it holds up after enough use! Keep us updated yeah? I just can't get over how gorgeous is it.

[Mermaid Saphira]

magnificent and so elegant in the water!!! It looks great :D

[Mermaid Melusinah]

keep us updated on the duct tape method and how it holds up... if you are successful, i might try the same thing! I really need to make a tail soon. my mermaid self is ready to break out over here. just waiting on a tail (and the budget/funds to do so) >_<

[Mermaid Gosalyn]

I am absolutely stunned by your tail! I have to say, you are very talented! I was also excited to see your zip tie/duct tape mod, since I have been thinking of doing something similar. I'd really love to hear how it hold up, though I think I am going to try it anyway as soon as I can. Again, I'm just in awe!

[LindseyLu]

I looove how your tail turned out! I wish I would have seen this thread sooner so I could have given you some tips! I really like that you used a bag instead of stalkings, that was a very creative idea! I used stalkings, which had a plus and a minus...the plus being the scales start larger and get smaller towards the fluke, but on the downside I had to leave the stalkings on for every coat of paint I sprayed on! Meaning I never got to check the progress as I went! Could have turned out bad, but luckily it didn't! ;)

As for your side fins, it would be easy to sew them on since you're using spandex! Even at this point you can sew them on and use paint to blend them with the scales. If you need help PM me and maybe I can offer some ideas?

Congratulations on your first tail, it is absolutely beautiful and you make a stunning mermaid! <3

[Jadestone]

I will definitely let people know how it holds up!! Checked out the monofin today now that it's all dried, and I can't see any difference from yesterday so far. I'll update how it's doing after a couple more swims or if I notice any change :)

LindseyLu--well, it'd be easy to sew side fins into the seams, but I want them to be more than just plain material (maybe duct tape as well? It's certainly flowy enough) and having something inside means I'd have to figure out how to have the inner part end exactly at the seam or the fins would want to lie one way against my skin inside the tail or the other. I completely failed at explaining that. Hm. Well, I will probably try adding them and seeing what happens, but it'll have to wait until winter break as my sewing machine is at home. Oh well. I'm certainly happy with how it is right now as well! :)

[Koral]

Jade, here's why I did for my sidefins. Craft foam! Get either orange or white, probably colorless white since you are probably going to paint the fins (thus the while won't show through). What I did was cut the foam to the shape of the fin, leave enough lined up with the inner hem of the fin where you'll be attaching it to the body of the tail. Sew it all in, and trim the foam kinda close to the seam. This gave me more rigid side and dorsal fins that stayed straight but still had a flow to them. Just ONE idea. Duct tape would also work very well in the same method, but I would hand stitch those in so you don't get your machine sticky from the tape.

[Jadestone]

Ohh, craft foam. I hadn't even thought of that, thanks!

It'll be ages before I can test out anything, but I've already started planning in my head! Whoops! :)

[Mermaid Saphira]

Craft foam? Ohh, nice idea :D I was considering using zip ties, but this idea sounds perfect! ThanQ, Koral!!

[AniaR]

looks really amazing. Congrats on all your hard work

[MermaidBrittany]

I know im pretty late in the thread, but i just wanted to say it looks amazzing! :) And the zip tie idea is soo creative! It also looks really nice in the water. Hope it holds up well! :)

[Koral]

Welcome, ladies. :) I should also throw this word of advice in due to the experience I had with my foam.

Don't mismatch the color of your foam VS the color of your tail. If your tail is green, get green foam (Michaels carries a ton of colors and nice big sheets of it). Orange, get orange, etc! Or, white should work overall if needed. I say this because I used pink for parts of my fins, white and tan on others (I used what I had as it was an experiment only). My temporary tail I had tested with was silver/gray, and I don't know if it was the chlorine eating at my mutt (cotton, rayon, spandex) fabric tail, or the pink foam - but my tail turned pink! Just a heads up. <3 :) But the foam held up great and looked really nice.

[Mer_Adella]

I did have a question for you Jade...

when you posted pictures of your painted scales I could see a garbage bag inside of the tail to give it your "form" for painting. What did you stuff inside of the garbage bag to give the form? Its a GREAT idea and I am eager to start making yet ANOTHER tail (although I am buying one from Stevi) just so I can paint scales lol.

also when you used your dryer to "heat seal" the paint...what setting did you have the dryer on and were you worried about your paint coming off and staining clothes/towels/whatever you put in the dryer with it?

[Jadestone]

I put old sheets we didn't use/need anymore and scraps of fabric inside the garbage bags to stuff it. I don't think any paint bled through the garbage bags, but I'd reccomend stuffing them with things you don't want anymore. I also put a garbage bag between the monofin and the fabric to keep the paint from bleeding through when I painted the fluke.

The dryer... hm. Well I just used the dryers we have at my college, which have 3 settings (whites/colors, wool, delicates) and I put it on delicate. I didn't put anything else in with it, so I didn't have to worry about things coming off. I actually heat it set it twice--once after I did the scales, and once again after I did the fluke. This wasn't really planned but just ended up happening. But the paint seemed to stay on fine!

[Mer_Adella]

thanks for the awesome information jade :) i bought some lumiere paint that should be arriving by saturday. i have leftover fabric from my tail that i am going to make into a top and use the paint to make my scales. if it all goes well i am considering taking my sequins off my tail and painting the whole thing over the winter. :)

[Mer_Adella]

i just bought 2 lumiere pink/gold 2.5oz 1 lumiere pearl white 2.5oz and 1 lumiere true gold 2.5oz for 17.00 is that good?

[Jadestone]

I think so! I don't know how exactly you plan to do colors, but for mine I used about 1/4 of a 8oz tub of Crimson (watered down a bit) and about 1/2 a tub of Metallic Gold, though I didn't water down the gold and I mixed the two together a lot to get a 'fading' effect between the back and the front. I also used a lot of gold doing a watered-down gold wash over all of the fluke before I painted on the lines. SO I used about ~6oz total, I suppose, which is what you bought. If you plan to have any of those colors be more predominant on the tail you could always buy another small jar I suppose. Nice job getting all that for $17 though, mine were more expensive!
I've found the non-metalic water down better than the metallic ones--with the metallic you have to stir a lot or the paint separates out.

[Mermaid Jewel]

It actually looks super realistic. When I first saw the pictures, I thought it was like a latex tail or something. The paint job is simply gorgeous! Amazing tail :)

[Mer_Adella]

I think so! I don't know how exactly you plan to do colors, but for mine I used about 1/4 of a 8oz tub of Crimson (watered down a bit) and about 1/2 a tub of Metallic Gold, though I didn't water down the gold and I mixed the two together a lot to get a 'fading' effect between the back and the front. I also used a lot of gold doing a watered-down gold wash over all of the fluke before I painted on the lines. SO I used about ~6oz total, I suppose, which is what you bought. If you plan to have any of those colors be more predominant on the tail you could always buy another small jar I suppose. Nice job getting all that for $17 though, mine were more expensive!
I've found the non-metalic water down better than the metallic ones--with the metallic you have to stir a lot or the paint separates out.

each jar was on sale for $4.25 so I thought it would be a good idea. I have to read the whole "painting" thread because I have only painted on canvas before and that was a little different than painting on fabric. I am just doing the bathingsuit top and bottoms for now ( i found I have enough material to make a bottom with scales, a top with scales, and then another top that I am going to add sequins to so it will match my tail now :]) anyways if you have any tips on painting jade i would love to hear them.

[Jadestone]

Well, I'd say be sure to stuff your tail with old sheets/garbage bags before you paint it. That stretches it out to the size your body will be, so the paint doesn't crack when you put it on/it looks the same as when you painted it. I'd reccomend stuffing it to be just every so slightly smaller than your body though, so it's still tight when you put it on.

I found keeping a plastic bag layer just under the fabric also helped stop the paint from just soaking through the fabric and into the sheets beneath it. Saves paint!

How are you planning to paint it? Are you going to do just solid paint, or scales? If you're handpainting round scales like I know a lot of people do I sadly don't have much in the way of information, but you can see how I did the fishnet method earlier in this thread :)

Mermaid Jewel--Thank you so much!! And welcome back :)

[Sherl]

Your tail is so beautiful and you look very elegant in it Jade! I couldn't understand most of the material terms used, but it was enjoyable reading about each step you took to make it. I don't think I could ever accomplish making a tail :P Hope you're having plenty of fun swimming in your tail! (:

[Mer_Adella]

Well, I'd say be sure to stuff your tail with old sheets/garbage bags before you paint it. That stretches it out to the size your body will be, so the paint doesn't crack when you put it on/it looks the same as when you painted it. I'd reccomend stuffing it to be just every so slightly smaller than your body though, so it's still tight when you put it on.

I found keeping a plastic bag layer just under the fabric also helped stop the paint from just soaking through the fabric and into the sheets beneath it. Saves paint!

How are you planning to paint it? Are you going to do just solid paint, or scales? If you're handpainting round scales like I know a lot of people do I sadly don't have much in the way of information, but you can see how I did the fishnet method earlier in this thread


for right now i am just going to make my swim suit top and bottoms (make a bathing suit to wear on occasion but also to wear with my tail) i was thinking about doing fishnetting as a template. my boyfriend has millions of the kinds that go around the big liquor bottles and all different sizes too. so i could make small and big scales. eventually, if all goes well with it, i will get more fabric and do scales on a tail. or i may just remove the sequins from my tail now and paint onto that one. ( i have to fix the fluke anyways, i hate how min looks sooooooo big on me)

[starlite]

congrats it's a great job, your tail is great :-)

[Lois]

I think you could totally sell these if you worked out how to do it quick enough it looks awesome well done you should be very proud of yourself! :)

[Jadestone]

Miserere girl-- Thanks so much! And if you do have questions or want clarifications about the materials I used, feel free to ask :)

Mer Adella-- awesome! Can't wait to see how everything turns out :)

starlite-- thank you!

Lois-- aha, thanks! I'd really enjoy making/painting tails for people, but I might be too worried about getting it to fit someone right without having them there to try it on. Though, I probably spent more time than I needed to making mine fit perfectly.

[starlite]

I have a question about : will your monofin be in contact with water ? As you used duck tape does it come off with water ?

[Jadestone]

It will be in contact with the water when I swim, as the fabric lets water through it. Duct tape does surprisingly well in water--the stuff on the outside is stickking to itself and it will be a VERY long time before it comes unstuck this way as I've "sealed" the edges. The strips attaching the extension to the fin may loose their hold over time, but can easily be replaced with more tape! So far I've had no problems, although I haven't gotten out in it too many times :)

[Mer_Adella]

I think I am going to do some "test" painting tonight and start painting my top finally! lol thanks jade for the inspiration

[Mer_Adella]

Ok Jadestone. I love your fluke...especially because you didn't cut the monofin down you added to it. now my question is how big is your fulke from your heels to the end of your fluke? i feel that mine is too long and unporportionate to me...and i was wanting to see the length of yours because it looks both natural and amazing.

[starlite]

It will be in contact with the water when I swim, as the fabric lets water through it. Duct tape does surprisingly well in water--the stuff on the outside is stickking to itself and it will be a VERY long time before it comes unstuck this way as I've "sealed" the edges. The strips attaching the extension to the fin may loose their hold over time, but can easily be replaced with more tape! So far I've had no problems, although I haven't gotten out in it too many times :)

Ok thanks, i will keep in mind this tip ;-)

[Jadestone]

Ok Jadestone. I love your fluke...especially because you didn't cut the monofin down you added to it. now my question is how big is your fulke from your heels to the end of your fluke? i feel that mine is too long and unporportionate to me...and i was wanting to see the length of yours because it looks both natural and amazing.

I will measure it later when I get back to my room :)

[Merrow Fair Isle]

Thiss is wonderful. I am beginning my fabric tail and wanted to extend my my monofin. This thread has helped me soooooooo much. Thanks to ALL who contributed :)

[Mermaid Wesley]

OMG i saw this earlier and thought this was a silicone tail! jkashfgiquvhcbow I AM NOW INSPIRED!!!!!! IM GONNA COLOR NOW BYEE

[Jadestone]

Glad you like it! :) And yes, there are a lot of things you can do with a fabric tail to make it look nice!

If you're looking for scale-painting ideas, I'd also check out LittleOrca's tails--she uses a different technique than I did and they also look very nice!

[Mermaid Allie]

Hey i was just wondering mermaid jade, what kind of fishnet did you use and where did you buy it? Your scales are the PERFECT size!!!

[Mermaid Wesley]

Glad you like it! :) And yes, there are a lot of things you can do with a fabric tail to make it look nice!

If you're looking for scale-painting ideas, I'd also check out LittleOrca's tails--she uses a different technique than I did and they also look very nice!
I have seen her tails :) I am getting really excited and I would love to use your technique of using netting like a stencil... If I ever get the cash haha maybe Christmas....

[Odette]

great job! the way you did it and they way it came out is very clever <3

[Jadestone]

Thanks Odette :)

alliegator--the netting I used came from some bags we happened to just have around at our house (we won them many years ago). But I looked them up online, and this is basically what I used:
http://www.ecobags.com/core/media/media.nl?id=3530&c=340019&h=6d6fe46dac6e8caf770e

Except mine was pink! It's just a stretchy cotton netting. I cut off the handle/rim, and it spread out into a rectangle shape. I was able to cover my tail by placing/pinning it down and painting, then moving it. It took four steps to cover all of it, top front, top bottom, back top, back bottom. I painted by hand so I filled in each scale individually, but the material is thick enough that spray painting it would probably work fine.

you can see the bags here: http://www.ecobags.com/Natural-tote-handle#.ULehL45AGQs

They're like $7, which isn't so bad I suppose, but I encourage scouting around your house or thrift stores for other netting-type things if you're on a budget like I was :)

[Mermaid Allie]

Sounds great! I might just get one of those bags anyways.... so great for the farmers market!! then i can cut it apart lmao! I found like netting on a wine bottle, but its plastic and that would cause variation in scale sizes... I was just wondering, how is your fabric holding up? My first spandex tail is like a nightmare it ripped the first time I swam with it!!! I want to know whether to go with milliskin (which has a color i like more) or high performance spandex. Also, how is the monofin mod holding up? I think i'm gonna make that!! My friends and i are making tails sorta like this (different color and fluke shape but same method) , and the problem is that we have finis mermaid monofins (yuck i know but they won't buy waves) and they are SO HARD TO TAKE OUT. I might end up doing velcro at the bottom. Would that work? Plus i thought velcro might decrease the drag because water that got in would flow out.

[MerEmma]

How deep is the pool you were swimming in for the second gif in your signature? xD I was looking at it while re-reading this thread and it looks deeper than a standard 12 ft. :P

[Jadestone]

Didn't see your question until now, sorry!

The pool is my college's pool. I was swimming in the very deep end, below where the diving board is, so it is probably at least 3 meters deep? I don't think it'd be much more than 12ft though--if you look at the ledge in the background, I think the depth of that shallower portion is at least 5 feet on the edges and dips slightly deeper in the middle, if that gives you any comparison.

Looking at other pictures, it looks to be a bit over about twice as deep as I am tall, so 12ft seems about right.

I'm not sure exactly and I'm not there this semester (abroad in Ireland! woo!) so I can't check, sorry!

[seagirls626]

That looks awesome!!! Maybe I'll do that to my monofin....

[Mer_Adella]

How deep is the pool you were swimming in for the second gif in your signature? xD I was looking at it while re-reading this thread and it looks deeper than a standard 12 ft. :P

I know that that pool is WAAAYYY deeper than any pool that I have seen. Even my college pool wasn't anything in comparison to that one. I wish that was my pool lol

[Mermaid Marissa]

Didn't see your question until now, sorry!

The pool is my college's pool. I was swimming in the very deep end, below where the diving board is, so it is probably at least 3 meters deep? I don't think it'd be much more than 12ft though--if you look at the ledge in the background, I think the depth of that shallower portion is at least 5 feet on the edges and dips slightly deeper in the middle, if that gives you any comparison.

Looking at other pictures, it looks to be a bit over about twice as deep as I am tall, so 12ft seems about right.

I'm not sure exactly and I'm not there this semester (abroad in Ireland! woo!) so I can't check, sorry!

What college is it (if you don't mind me asking) and congrats on going to Ireland :D

[Jadestone]

Well, I'll be sure to double-check the depth the next time I'm there!!

And Marissa, it's a small liberal arts school in Ohio. I can PM you the name if you're really interested, I just try not to post it in public forums :) I don't mind being asked at all, I just try to keep pictures + identifying info separate when possible (:

[Miyu]

First of all, your tail is GORGEOUS, I absolutely adore your paintjob! When I get some paint-able fabric (my first tail is going to be stretch velvet), I hope it's half as nice as yours. The fluke, the shading on the scales, ~AMAZING~! Until I finally got around to reading this thread, I'd always thought it was at least latex on spandex, or some kind of partial silicone, it's just such an awesome tail! :D

Also, Miyu the Recycling Mermaid sez: I like the netting from produce for making mer-things - It comes free with tasty snacks; in lots of different colours, sizes, and textures; and it's re-useable many times since it's plastic, which means less plastic in landfills and our oceans! <3

LOL sorry, I had to :D But that's what I like to use to make scales and things :)

[Jadestone]

Oh my gosh, thank you so much!! I'm always flattered when people like it ^^ And you're the second person to tell me they thought it was latex/silicone not fabric, so woo there I suppose.

And ohh, that's a good idea about the netting from produce!! Extra waterproof too, being plastic. I'll make sure to save some the next time I buy oranges haha.

Anyway, my tail has had two big photoshoots so far, so I guess I'll link to those here in case people want to get a look at it in the field:

On the Isle of Skye in Scotland (full album here (https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.420614661388146.1073741828.392459100870369&type=1&l=2b8fa5e6eb))
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aaaaand in Lake Erie, in Ohio :) (full album here (https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.426365220813090.1073741833.392459100870369&type=1&l=e189e40958))

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Next week I'm going to touch up the waist a bit--it fits well dry, but opens a bit more than I'd like in the water. I'm also going to make it a little less high in the front. Pretty minor alterations.

[Mermaid Julz]

Great photos.... I would love to go to Ireland.... that, or go visit my family in Denmark, and get photos by Copenhagen mermaid in the harbor

[Mermaid Allie]

Wow thats in lake erie?! Its so pretty! Where around the lake? (its pretty big lol)

[Lyna]

so the orange one is the one you made?!?! and your first one?! I saw I was one of the original responders to this thread. that is amazing to see that you accomplished your goal! huzzah!!

[Jadestone]

Great photos.... I would love to go to Ireland.... that, or go visit my family in Denmark, and get photos by Copenhagen mermaid in the harbor

Ireland was amazing :) Even if I never technically mermaided there (I was in scotland for the pictures), I absolutely loved my five months there. I miss it so much!


Wow thats in lake erie?! Its so pretty! Where around the lake? (its pretty big lol)

Yep! These were taken in Huron, OH. My friend has a lake house around there.


so the orange one is the one you made?!?! and your first one?! I saw I was one of the original responders to this thread. that is amazing to see that you accomplished your goal! huzzah!!

Yep, my very first tail :D And ahaha, so you were!! I am definitely thankful for the support of MerNetwork in making this tail... not just for the tutorials and information from other threads, but everyone was so helpful and encouraging along the way! :)

[Mermaid Adriel]

*.* when I saw your tail for the first time, I thought it was made with latex. SO REALISTIC!
Great job, I love it <3

[Jessica]

amazing pictures! I love the ones in Scotland. I would love to go to Scotland someday and I definitely plan on bringing my tail. Your tail is one of the best fabric tails I've seen. It really looks like latex or silicone in the pictures.

[Jadestone]

Aw thanks guys!! Yes, I am definitely glad I had it with me so I could do that shoot in Scotland :) the fairy pools are a place I've wanted to go to for a looong time now, and to be able to mermaid there was magical.

And haha, thank you!! I put a lot of work into my tail so I'm always happy when people like it :) I'd consider trying to sell painted fabric ones if I had the time/was more into business, but I'd be too afraid of not getting the measurements right. If I could paint people's already made tail skins, now that would be fun I think :) I loved choosing and mixing the colors for this haha. Sadly, I don't have any more tails to paint! Although I am going to be making another spandex tail, it'll be quite a different approach to how I'm doing the scales. I won't get to work on it in full until winter though probably.

[Daelyn]

A bit late on this; I just discovered it. How did the duct tape/zip tie tail work out? Was the flexibility normal? How did the duct tape hold up underwater after several usages?

[PaolaMF]

hello, that I can paint latex? acrylic paint?
to paint with pearl ex, Yea, I have to mix the pigments? what kind of paint I have to mix the pearl ex?

thank you

[ShyMer]

Paola, there is no need to post the same question in a bunch of different threads.
It's considered poor etiquette to clog up the forum with duplicate posts.
It's okay to have questions, of course. I just want to make sure you understand how the forum works<3

Just out of curiosity, have you read through the etiquette sticky? You may find it helpful in general.

[Mermaid Alaria]

I have a fabric tail construction question...I followed your monofin alteration strategy and I have a fin I love the shape of based off my Rapid. Now I'm wondering...how did you get your monifin IN the tail? Did you slip in in the bottom and do a seam at the end of your fluke? I'm so puzzled by the logistics of this, and I'm a seamstress! Any threads other fabric tail lovers have found helpful?

[Mermaid Fenicia]

All my tails have a hidden zipper in the fluke, so I can use 1 monofin for all of my tails ;)

[Angel Sara]

Your journey in creating a tail has been vital to mine, and I am very grateful that you posted it :)
I was wondering, what material is the white, seemingly cardstock-like stuff that you used to expand your monofin?
Thank you very much ^_~

[mermaidenspins]

I'm not sure if I am correct, but it looks to me that the white paper is just her paper pattern underneath the monofin. I think she just follows the outline to make sure it is the correct shape and the zip ties aren't too long, and the duct tape stays inside the lines, so to speak. She doesn't use the white paper inside the fluke at all- from what I've read and understood.

[Jadestone]

Oh gosh I haven't really had time to be on the forum in a couple years, sorry I didn't see these questions/those pm'd to me before!! D:


I have a fabric tail construction question...I followed your monofin alteration strategy and I have a fin I love the shape of based off my Rapid. Now I'm wondering...how did you get your monifin IN the tail? Did you slip in in the bottom and do a seam at the end of your fluke? I'm so puzzled by the logistics of this, and I'm a seamstress! Any threads other fabric tail lovers have found helpful?

I decided I wanted my monofin to be completely removable for cleaning, packing, alterations, etc. The bottom of my fluke has small patches of velcro glued onto it with e6000, about an inch before the edge of the tail. hat way I can open and close it. I used industrial strength velcro so that it would stay closed underwater, which has worked pretty well. It sticks a little less now that it's older, and I think in the future, I will sew the velcro instead of gluing it so that I can cut the threads to replace it if I need to (but it did last very well for 4 years!). If you do this method, make sure you put the monofin inside your tail where it will natureally be placed when your feet are in it, and then attach the velcro, so you don't have it too short/not enough room for the monofin by mistake. I would suggest leaving half an inch or so between the end of the monofin and where you place the velcro.



Your journey in creating a tail has been vital to mine, and I am very grateful that you posted it :)
I was wondering, what material is the white, seemingly cardstock-like stuff that you used to expand your monofin?
Thank you very much ^_~


I'm not sure if I am correct, but it looks to me that the white paper is just her paper pattern underneath the monofin. I think she just follows the outline to make sure it is the correct shape and the zip ties aren't too long, and the duct tape stays inside the lines, so to speak. She doesn't use the white paper inside the fluke at all- from what I've read and understood.

AngelSara: I am so glad that this was helpful to you!! I tried really hard to document everything I did since I spent soooo much time reading other people's tailmaking threads before starting my own tail. The white material as Mermaidenspins said is actually just a paper pattern, made out of some large sheets of paper I happened to have in my basement. The fluke extension itself is made ONLY of duct tape and zip ties, and I had the pattern underneath it while I worked to make sure I was geting the general shpe right--although I purposely made the duct tape larger than that, so I could trace it exactly and then cut it down to the proper size.

I also wanted to give an update on my fluke extension. Frankly, I am amazed that it has held up like it has--e6000 is no joke and duct tape really can fix anything!

Here are some photos of what my monofin looks like as of this morning:

??? Ok it won't let me upload the photos from my computer so I guess I will try again on my phone!

[Jadestone]

Well, I can't for the life of me get the monofin photos to upload (I guess mernetwork won't accept photos I take with my phone?? even after I email them to myself and try to upload them with my computer. Ho hum). But: it actually looks pretty much the same. The duct tape is coming up a milimeter or two on the edges of the fin, and sometimes bubbles around the zip ties, but i just run a finger over them whenever I use it and nothing ever comes up. The ends of it are also holding together fine, and it doesn't seem like any zip ties have come loose under the tape, though it's hard to be sure and I don't want to pull on them too much to check.

Overall, I think this method worked a lot better than I expected. I thought I'd have to do maintenance on it after a year or so but it's been 4 and held up fine. I think if I were using it every week (or multiple times a week) it would definitely have a lot more wear, but for the amount I get to use it, there haven't been any issues. And even if it was wearing out more, I think it'd be pretty easy to fix up now and then--just take off only the edge layer of tape to replace every now and then, since that's the only area that shows wear I can tell. Hurrah!

For my next tail I definitely want to go more dramatic on the shape, though. the fringe at the end of my tail makes it look more like a straight line than it is, and I really wish it had a more prominent length difference between the tips and the middle point for a more fishey effect.