Making a sequin tail!

[Sephina]

So I'm starting on my first tail project, a sequin tail! My mertailor tail is holding up better then most (3ish years in) but I can tell it is starting to show wear and tear. I don't really use it on a regular basis because I know how fragile his tails can be due to not really being made well. So since I really can't afford another realistic tail I've decided the cheapest route will most likely be a sequin tail, which is ok by me since I've loved Hannah and kariel's sequin tails since I've seen them.

I bought my Neoprene off of ebay since it was the cheapest I could find, and I'm getting my sequins from cartwrights in iridescent black, orchid and rose. I don't have a specific pattern in mind other then an orchid underbelly, hot pink mackerel stripes, then filling the rest in with black. I'm also going to use clear shelf lining with ribs to make some pectoral, ankle and heel fins, as well as a dorsal fin.

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Here is my neoprene, it's 1.5mm and spandex lined on both sides. The shiner satiny side I'm going to use for the outside of my tail.

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I used my existing Mertailor tail as a pattern when cutting my neoprene however I wound up changing the fluke since i"m going to be using a rapid with it, and if the mertailor put a rapid in there he cut it down quite a bit.

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I laid my orchid and black sequins out to cover a square inch, then calculated how many I'll need to cover the entire tail, about 17 per inch, then I took my full length and largest measurement (which was my hips) and found out I'll need around 46 000 sequins to cover my tail from waist to fluke tip. This is the point where I gave up the idea of fully covering it and decided on the fluke, the under belly and stripes will all be filled in, however the black will probably be a little more sparsely done as it would be over $500 worth of sequins. I decided this will basically be a 'forever' project where I buy black sequins when I can to fill in the rest slowly.

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after 1.5 hours of work

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after around 5 hours of work. It's going to be a super long slow process but I think it will turn out awesome in the end!

[Ashe]

Exciting! I totally admire those who go for sequin tails, I would NEVER have the patience! :lol:
Can't wait for more updates!

[Mermaid_Kenzee]

Can you post a video on how you sew the sequins on?

[Sephina]

Kenzee I just hand sew them on in a scale like pattern. I was hoping to use a zigzag function on my sewing machine but the holes are far too small for that.

[Mermaid_Kenzee]

Could you pretty please post a video ???

[Sephina]

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Update! I'm finally getting the hang of the spacing and how to sew them on better, so it's going much more quickly. I ordered more sequins Thursday, so I'm hoping I don't run out before then. lol

[Mermaid Clara]

wow that looks gorgeous!

[Sephina]

Thank you! I was a little worried about how see through the orchid sequins were, but against the black you can barely tell that they are translucent at all.

[Seraphina Suds]

Pretty color choices~

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[lynsea]

Care to share your technique sewing-wise? My biggest issue was it would take way to long to sew just one.

[Mermaid_Kenzee]

beautiful:lol:

[Sephina]

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Some more slow progress. The sequins really sparkle and catch the light now.

as for my technique i don't really mind having the second set of holes showing, so i just put a few hand stitches through the center of the second hole following the shape of the back of the shell until it feels secure. If you blow up the pictures to full size you should be able to see what I mean.

[lynsea]

Are you sewing each of your sequins individually or does the thread follow through to a whole row of sequins?

[Alcyone]

That is a looooot of work! I admire your patience, after one hour I would toss them away and have an hysterical cry! are you planning to do the fluke in the same way?

[Sephina]

Lynsea: Each sequin is knotted separately yes. I feel doing it any other way would limit the stretchiness of the neoprene, and I definitely do not want to do that.

Alcyone: This is actually my second 'insanity' project, two years ago I hand embroidered a Marie Antoinette reproduction dress that has over 550 hours of embroidery into it. The fluke will also be done this way yes, and over time I plan to completely cover the tail from waist to fluke. I just can't afford to do it right now.

[Kumori Kitsune]

Aw looking good wish you luck

[MermaidBrandie]

odd, i'm starting a sequin tail and when my boyfriend did the math I only ended up needing about 7000ish....hmm. *shrug* good luck! i like the colors!

[Sephina]

Coyote it depends on how big the sequins are (I'm using 12mm), your personal measurements, and how much space you are covering. If you are covering the entire tail and using 12mm sequins then you definitely will need more then 7000 sequins.

[lynsea]

So you're not using Cartwright sequins?

[MermaidBrandie]

I'm using 12mm sequins, like I rounded up by a bit but I don't think I'm gonna break 10,000 by a long shot. But then, I'm not going to be covering my fluke at all (I don't like the way it looks so I'm painting it), and I'm only 5'5 and 115lbs. (Not to say that it's because you're bigger than me or anything, just that my tail measurements might be a factor.) Definitely let me know how many you do end up using! I'll do the same. :)

[Sephina]

Coyote the way to find out for sure is to measure the length (from ankle to waist) then measure half your hips in inches then times it by each other, that is your square inches. After that times it by how many sequins it takes to cover an inch (roughly 17), and that is roughly how many sequins it will take to cover one side, 10 000 sequins will cover 588 square inches, which isn't really a lot when you think of it.

[MermaidBrandie]

I guess we'll see. :) If I have to order more, no big deal. I'll just get more.

[Sephina]

I haven't been able to do much sewing due to taking muscle spasms in my shoulders and back the past few days. So instead I broke out the plastic shelf lining and did up my dorsal, pectoral, and heel fins.

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Half my dorsal done and cut into tatters.

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Pectoral fins

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Heel fins, there are actually four of these, but I only took a picture of two.

[Mermaid Wesley]

Looking good! I hope your body stops being mean soon

[Sephina]

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Here's my dorsal all attached. The pink sequins should be arriving tomorrow so I'm going to start working on the back since there isn't as much to do tomorrow.

[Sephina]

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So here are the three colors of sequins I'll be using, iridescent black, medium orchid and medium rose. The rose looks super bright and vivd when grouped together, but if it is grouped with the orchid it kind of all blends together and looks like one color. Which is disappointing because I was going to tip my fluke in a mix of the two.

[Mermaid Wesley]

It's gonna look fantastic! You should learn some hand stretches to keep you from getting Han cramps from all this sewing!


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[Sephina]

It's gonna look fantastic! You should learn some hand stretches to keep you from getting Han cramps from all this sewing!


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I do know some. I do a ridiculous amount of hand embroidery and cross stitching. The issue is usually my shoulderafter my last embroidery project I gave it a permanent injury so everything is slow going.

[Mermaid Wesley]

Ouch! Well the finished product will be worth it I'm sure!


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[Sephina]

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I've started adding the pink around the dorsal fin, mostly because I was tired of looking at purple for awhile. I think I've changed up how I'm going to do the back (Axe the mackerel stripes and just have a thick pink outline around the dorsal). The tail is kind of taking on a life of it's own. lol

[Mermaid_Kenzee]

Have you had any problems with the sequines colors scratching off because I got some hologram ones and the color on some of them are completely gone?

[AniaR]

You need to show them Marie for context ;)

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[Sephina]

Have you had any problems with the sequines colors scratching off because I got some hologram ones and the color on some of them are completely gone?
No I haven't. I had my eye on the iridescent to begin with, but the Cartwrights thread (http://mernetwork.com/index/showthread.php?7426-Cartwright-s-Sequins-colour-and-durability-reference) kind of sealed the deal since even when scratched it isn't noticeable.

[Sephina]

You need to show them Marie for context ;)

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And this is what Raina is talking about, I hand embroidered the entire thing (550+ hours) That is why this project isn't intimidating me. :P

[Sephina]

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Slow, but steady progress, I have pretty much from just below the heel, to just above the ankle done. I haven't had much time to work on this because I've been working pretty hard on some cosplay stuff. But the more the strip on the back gets filled in the more I fall in love with this tail.

[PearlieMae]

That's already looking pretty awesome! Good luck!

[MermaidxTalia]

Looks amazing. You have skills!

[Sephina]

Thanks guys! I just put in a huge order for about $40 worth of more sequins! I really want to get the majority of this one done before the summer!

[Sephina]

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So this is how much I have finished on the underbelly so far.

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And this is how much I have left to do on the underbelly. ;.; I feel like I won't get it done enough to swim in by summer, but fins crossed!

[PearlieMae]

Beautiful!!!

(I know how much work it is to sequin something!!! Good luck!)

[MermaidBonnie]

Great job! I totally understand how it is making a sequined tail. Mine has 10k sequins on it. It's been about 3 years and I've taken it around the world (literally), it's gotten some rough beatings, but without having to replace any sequins it's doing amazingly well! You will have years of enjoyment from this tail and I'm looking forward to seeing it finished.

[Sephina]

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So I have a quick update, It doesn't look like much but nearly 100 more scales added to the front and back of the tail! Getting closer, but it seems like it's taking forever, especially since every second layer is more like a 'filler' layer and doesn't add a whole lot to the overall length of finished scales.

[Sephina]

Great job! I totally understand how it is making a sequined tail. Mine has 10k sequins on it. It's been about 3 years and I've taken it around the world (literally), it's gotten some rough beatings, but without having to replace any sequins it's doing amazingly well! You will have years of enjoyment from this tail and I'm looking forward to seeing it finished.
I'm not sure how I missed this! But then you so much for the compliments! I can't wait to have it finished. lol

[Sephina]

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My shoulder has been acting up, so not a whole lot of progress done. This was after 6 hours in a car, the top and bottom were level when a started so 6 hours of work covered an area 2 1/2 x 1 1/2 inches. That is almost depressing when you think about it.

[Sephina]

Today I am switching from hand sewing to doing it on my machine. They seem just as secure, but they do wiggle back and forth a tad more then hand sewing. But I should have a decent amount of progress to show you tonight!

[Seatan]

Sewing machines are a blessing from Neptune on projects like this! ;)

[Sephina]

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I've gotten six rows done in the time it would have taken me to do half to one full row by hand sewing. I'm quite pleased at the progress. There was a bit of a learning curve with the sewing machine, but so far so good!

[Blaze]

I'd love to see how you are sewing them on with the machine!

[Sephina]

I'd love to see how you are sewing them on with the machine!
Very carefully. lol
I have my sewing machine set to the lowest setting (0.0mm) for the stitch length, and the middle zigzag stitch. From there I have to line it up so the needle goes into the top hole, I zig zag one side, then carefully move everything over and repeat to the other. The tricky part is not actually going through the plastic sequin itself as that can cause it to break and fall off.

[Sephina]

Blaze here are some photos that might help.
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This is the needle directly in the top hole of the sequin, from here you zig zag to the left.
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This is the needle on the other side showing half a completed zig zag, and you can see where the thread is going through the hole alone. After this you just move the fabric over a smidge, line the needle up with the hole and repeat to the right.

[Mermaid Galene]

The 20mm and larger paillette (round) sequins are easy to sew on with a machine. You can just zigzag stitch through the plastic across a whole row at a time. It goes really fast!

[Sephina]

The 20mm and larger paillette (round) sequins are easy to sew on with a machine. You can just zigzag stitch through the plastic across a whole row at a time. It goes really fast!
I've seen that done before, and my main concern is knowing that essentially perforates them, making them potentially super easy to break, or rip where the needle pierces the plastic. This way it doesn't damage the plastic making that much less likely to happen.

[Sephina]

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So A quick update, I'm half way done one side of the back of the tail. I really haven't been working on it as much as I should. However I've discovered something that might help other people working on a sequin tail. If you have translucent sequins like I do, using the same color thread will make the color of the sequin pop (you can see it in the photo above). However you can completely see every stitch, as shown in the photo below. Using the same color as your neoprene will make the stitches pretty much invisible, but it dulls the color of the sequins a decent amount.
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[MermaidBonnie]

Your tail looks amazing


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[Mermaid Alea]

Interesting find. I think I like the stitching that matches the sequins because in the photo it just looks like a neat marking on each scale.

You can do it! I can't wait to see this tail finished. I was thinking that I might want a sequin tail after a while so this is great inspiration and help for when that day comes for me.

[Sephina]

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3 inches shy of 3/4ths done! This might actually be semi ready for my swim near the end of the month! After that it will be coating everything that is left black, in black sequins.

[Atlantisblue]

Looks cool so far!

[Spindrift]

Aww I love progress threads. This is awesome! :)

[Mermaid Isabel]

awesome job! I wish I had the patience to work on something like that!!! O.O

[Meilyn]

Wow! I think I'm going to try this one day. Keep us updated as you go please!

[Ashton]

Woah! that looks so good, I have always wanted a sequin tail, I just don't think I have the patience for it.

[Sephina]

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Update! The back and front are pretty much 3/4ths done. It's pretty exciting. :) I want to thank everyone for their kind comments and encouragement! I've been pretty busy trying to get it semi-together for a swim this friday. It's not going to be completely done, but I'm hoping that it will be enough to look decent.

[Sephina]

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So after an incredibly long time being ridiculously lazy I've started working on my tail again This time I've been putting the iridescent black sequins on. The top is just around my dorsal area, and the bottom image is me hiding the seams on my fluke. I still haven't decided if I want to fill my fluke in yet or not.

[Mermaid Alea]

I love those black sequins! :D Your tail is looking great! I would look at photos of fully sequined tails and photos of sequined tails that don't have the fluke sequined and then put the photos side by side to see what you like most. I would have a hard time deciding too!