Making a second tail!

[Mermaid Saoirse]

So now that I have my Mahina Merfin trimmed and ready, I'm going to be making a temporary lycra skin to wear until I can afford my neoprene. It's all leftover from having bought it when I was about 11, so luckily I didn't have to sink any money into material.
I made the pattern a few nights ago out of four pieces of poster board. The fluke can be removed from the body pattern which means less patterns I have to make in the future.
I plan on giving this tail heel fins and a small dorsal fin. Those will be added after the main body is made.

This is the material I'm using:
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So far I've begun pinning the pattern and hope to cut it out tonight. Since my mom's sewing machine can't handle zig-zag stitching this fabric I'll be hand sewing it.

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The fluke isn't exactly the shape that I'll be using when I tackle a neoprene tail in the future, but it's definitely close.

[Mermaid Ellowyn]

Looking good already! I like how shiny that fabric is.

[Lostariel Telrunya]

That's so cool! I love all the stuff people do with the Mahinas!

[Raayvhen]

I love the way you cut your fluke but you should really make the middle more rounded so it doesn't crack.

[Mermaid Saoirse]

Thanks to everyone who's looked so far! I'm not usually one to document my adventures, but I really do enjoy sharing things with people. The fabric's really pretty but I wouldn't recommend this particular type to anyone unless they're looking to cut costs. It's thin and the silver comes off extremely easy. There are holes on the first tail's fluke after only a few swims. If there's a thicker version I would say it could last a while, but I've only taken my first tail to swim about five times.


I love the way you cut your fluke but you should really make the middle more rounded so it doesn't crack.

Thanks a lot for the feedback! :) The fluke is unmodified and still rounded in the center, it's just the fabric that will form the points. I read up a lot on shaping monofins beforehand. Thank you for the concern. It's always good to see mers helping other mers out with designs :)


Update: I finished pinning the tail a few minutes ago. Going to start cutting it out and hopefully I'll be sewing it while I watch Shark week!

[Raayvhen]

Gotcha. I only said something because I would hate for you (or anyone) to lose money.

Seriously though, your tail is going to be super pretty. Even though the fabric. Isn't going to hold up terribly well, drafting and making a fabric tail is excellent practice for neoprene.

[Mermaid Saoirse]

Sorry about the lack of updates! I've been pretty busy, but I finished the base of the tail! I decided to not put on a dorsal and just add heel fins (which aren't in the pictures D: )
It fits really nicely and isn't too tight! The fluke looks great and I'm really proud of it~
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This tail is actually a little longer than I am tall! It's insane!

[Raayvhen]

It's so lovely!

[Mary Marine]

Silver is one of my favorite tail colors, but so few mers choose it since there are so many color options. I think it makes a mer look more like a freshwater fish instead of a tropical ocean one, you know?

Quick question about your tail: where did you sew around the Merfin? Did you leave an opening for removing it or for drainage? I'm about to sew my own spandex tail using my Merfin and I've been looking to see what other people have done with theirs.