Experimental hybrid fabric tail thing

[MermaidIndie]

So as I posted yesterday I've been thinking about possible opening a fabric and maybe neoprene mermaid tail business and one of the things I wanted to experiment with was extra fins ( pectoral, ankle, dorsal, etc) so I'm making a new fabric/ silicone? For the extra fins, I'll be posting pictures as I go if anyone's interested!

[Mermaid Galene]

Yes, please do!

[MermaidIndie]

This is the awesome blue fabric i found at Joann Fabrics yesterday 20843

[Kishiko]

One thing about that fabric, first it looks kinda scaley, so I don't know if it would work well for extra fins. Also, the metallic/hologram coating stuff will come off right away

[MermaidIndie]

The lady at joann fabrics when I asked her cause I was concerned about that said it was high performance fabric and it was made for swimwear so I'll have to do a water test in different types of water and see how it holds up

[Mermaid Galene]

That's really beautiful and realistic! You may want to swish a swatch of it in a chlorinated pool a few times and see what happens.

[MermaidIndie]

So i made a matching top for the tail 20866

[Kishiko]

The lady at joann fabrics when I asked her cause I was concerned about that said it was high performance fabric and it was made for swimwear so I'll have to do a water test in different types of water and see how it holds up

Yes it's made fir swimsuits, but tails generally go through more wear and tear especially around heels, knees, and at the edges of the fluke. Good luck though! It would look amazing

[MermanOliver]

My tail has a similar fabric. It lost some shine immediately after my first swim, but now the loss has slowed down, if not stopped (have had about five swims in pools). It still looks beautiful and shiny. In fact, I like it now better, because it doesn't look overkill anymore.
So, yes, you will see some loss of shine, but it still will look impressive, at least for some time.

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[MermaidIndie]

Thanks! That's good to know about the fabric, I'm actually taking it for a major swim test next weekend in the ocean and in a chlorine pool so I'll update pictures of what happened to the fabric

[MermaidIndie]

20875 I made some pectoral fins, they are currently undergoing water tests and sunlight. i have to attach them to the tail tonight

[SiaTheMermaid]

I Love those pectoral fins! I like how they're all see-through and shimmery like some fins of fish :)

[MermaidIndie]

Thanks!

[MermaidIndie]

21033

I added some extra detail to the pectoral fins

[MermaidIndie]

Here is the completed tail! 21034

[MermaidIndie]

Up close of the fluke 21035

[Mermaid Adriel]

GREAT! *3*

[Mardoll_Star]

I'm watching this project with interest, since I bought the same blue scaly-looking fabric at JoAnn's to make my tail also. I'm pretty sure I also got the same fabric you are using for your fins.
How are you keeping that metallic fabric for your fins from unraveling? Did you burn the edges to seal them? I can't see any seams so it doesn't look like you went that route. Can't wait to see how this progresses!

[MermaidIndie]

Mardoll_star once the fins were cut to shape I coated them in clear silicone, let that dry and then added the extra detail

[Mermaid Galene]

Beautiful! The fins turned out great.

[MerEmma]

The fins look really neat! Unlike most fabric tail fins.

[MermaidIndie]

Okay so tail swimming update, I was sadly unable to swim this weekend as I live in New England and the weather decided to be crappy and the water was really
Cold. Hopefully I find a pool soon that I can swim in

[MermaidIndie]

Update! Okay so I was finally able to use the tail in the water today and it was awesome! The fabric doesn't show any fading but this is the first time it's been used, hopefully I get to use it in salt water next weekend. I'll try and post pictures tomorrow!


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