Travel Bags...

[Mermaid Saphira]

If this post isn't in the right place, please feel free to move it :)

I am planning to take my tail to alot of beaches (and possibly FL!)
I wanted to know if anyone has ever created a travel bag for their
mermaid tail. If you did, do you have a tutorial or tips please? Oh, and pictures please!

Thanx <3

[MermanMatty]

What I did was took fish net and laid the tail down on the fish net and made a giant sack with the tail and all my mer stuff thrown in with the tail and just threw it over my shoulder, then again it's kind of the only thing I can do since I have a silicone tail, but with a latex or fabric should be much lighter if you do the same thing :)

[Mermaid Saphira]

I kinda what to make a bag that hides the tail a little better. Maybe a certain material thats waterproof would work but I don't know...

[Spindrift]

Gearmax has some awesome bags but you have to make sure it will fit your monofin. You can also use a monofin bag/backpack- I can post links to a list of sites later since I'm posting from my phone and not my computer right now. I also did a post on traveling with monofins but I dont think it answers your question. You can also look into making your own bag using water proof materials like a sail fabric.

[Mermaid Saphira]

Thank you spindrift! I am planning to make my own bag so I can make sure it fits and so i can personalize it

[taom]

I haven't made one, but in theory it should be fairly straight forward. If I were to make one, this is what I would do:

Lay fluke down on a piece on paper and trace around it. When you get to the part when it attaches to the rest of the tail, fold the tail over, on top of the fluke, and draw a line there. (Don't worry about being too exact. If your fluke in concave - which is mostly likely is - draw a line that connects the two tips in stead of tracing the curve. If the widest part of your fluke is not at the very end, you will have to draw lines from the place where the fluke is widest straight up until level with the tip of the fluke then connect the two lines with another line. It's going to look more boxy but if you don't do this, you tail wont fit in it.)

Cut out pattern.

Next, choose a nice, heavy fabric. I would recommend canvas (neoprene works if you want waterproof, but it is much harder to sew).

Lay pattern on fabric and trace. (Tip: You can go out and buy things like tailor's chalk and pencils specifically made for this, but I just use crayons or washable markers. They work just fine.)

Cut it out leaving a about a three inch seam allowance all the way around. (Tip: Cut out one side then use it as the patter for the other.)

(Here is where you can get a bit fancy. You can choose when we call a "fashion fabric", that is to say one that is pretty as opposed to canvas, and cut out the same shape as you did the canvas. Tip: Just use the canvas as the patter for the fabric.) Don't go for anything too delicate, like chiffon of silk. Acetate satin, the costume satin stuff, will do ok but upholstery fabric will do the best. You could also get some nylon or plastic sheeting, even, and sew that in between the canvas and the fashion fabric as a water barrier.)

After cutting out any/all that^, stack them all on top of each other in the order you want them to go (i.e. canvas on bottom, nylon laver, and then satin on top). Next, sew a seam all the way around that is about a half a presser foot in width. This means when you put the fabric under the foot to sew, just keep the edge of the fabric even with the edge of the foot. When you get to the top, you are going to have to either fold the fabrics down, over the canvas side, or in towards each other so that edge will be hidden when you do the next step. Use a zig zag stitch to assure it is all held down properly.

Next, you need to put in the zipper. The zipper is going to go in the top, where the end of the fluke will be. What you do:
Leaving zipper zipped, lay one side of the fabric right up against the teeth. Put in the seam. Do the same for the other side

This is where you have to decide about handles/straps. Probably the easiest to do would be a messenger handle. The absolutes simplest way to make this is to make a tube of fabric, inside it out, iron it flat, hem the ends, and sew it on, on end on one side of the bag, the other on the other. If you want it to be adjustable, you are going to have to make the tube much longer, get one of those slider things (you can get then at places like Jo-ans and really big Hobby Lobbys) as well as a big-ish ring or other type of metal plastic hoop. You attach that to the bag, thread the strap through, add the slider and then sew the other end to the other side of the bag. It sounds complicated, but if you look at the strap on a messenger bag, you should be able to figure it out. (This is just one type of handle. If you prefer a different one, just tell me and I'll tell you how to make it.)

After adding you handle, it's time to seam the rest of it together.

Fold the fabric sides together so that the strap and fashion fabrics are on the inside and the canvas in on the outside.

Starting at one end of the zipper, seam all the way around with a half presser foot seam allowance. I would recommend doing this twice.

Inside it out and voila, you've made yourself a tail carrying bag!

There are a couple of things you can do to mix up your bag. When sewing the seam, you could add pipping, or you could sew the seam inside out and bind it with bias tape (which is what you do when making corsets). After sewing all the layers of fabric together, you could stitch crazy patterns all over the fabric. You could also put another layer of canvas on the outside, instead of a fashion fabric, and paint it. There is so much you could do with this project!

I am a seamstress and would be happy to make one of these bad boys for anyone. All you would have to do is send me the paper pattern of your fluke. (The cost would change depending on type of fabric, number of layers of fabric, strap type, and any other extras you may want. I will give you a quote before you decide if you want one made.)


I hope that helps you, Aqua!

[Mermaid Saphira]

Thank you so much taom! I will totally be making one of these this summer for when I take my tail to the beach!
Thanx Again :)

[Spindrift]

Easy way out! :P

https://www.google.com/search?gcx=c&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=monofin+bags

[Mermaid Saphira]

LOL! I'm more of a DIY kinda gal

[taom]

Same here! plus, if you have a sculpted fluke, those would be too small. Btw Aqua, I would love to see your finished product!!

[Mermaid Saphira]

It will probably be soon! Gotta rack up some x-mas money ;)

[Joy&RaptorsUnrestrained!]

I can't believe I'm the first person to bring this up... unless it came up on meryuku and I missed it... but what about a bag deliberately designed to resemble a "mermaid purse"?

[Mermaid Saphira]

^ Hmmm...that sounds interesting. Maybe someone will try that one days! I'm just planning on doing a simple tail bag emboridered with "mermaid aqua" :D

[sunrise]

You know what I think would be awesome? make a drawstring pouch with the canvas and plastic, big enough to hold the monofin. For the drawstring you could use a good length of cord so that you could loop it through the bag, then the two ends of the cord would be tied tightly, and if possible, hand stitched for reinforcement. The cord could be long enough to go cross body, or over the shoulder, or you could make it into a drawstring backpack (if you do the backpack you will need something to use to hold the cord in place to keep it closed) If you leave it as a bag, you could make a tie in the cord to keep the bag closed, then untie it to open it (like gym shorts) If you want to get really fancy and sneaky, you could decorate one side with netting, fake plants, etc, and the other side could be decorated with flowers, your name, however you want. Then, you could store your tail with netting facing in, so that the bag looks like an average bag, then you get to the water, take your tail out, flip the bag, and voila, you have a bag for any treasures you spot under water. :)

[taom]

Oooo thats a good idea!

[StaySea]

Sinch tail sack/backpack - I created this bag a couple of years ago. I made it really quickly out of this bark cloth fabric that I had. I already had some straps made from the same fabric that were for another costume bag I made many years ago. It is real simple construction, I needed to make one in a hurry, hoping to hop on a plane with it! I ended up chickening out and checked it, luckily my tail made it through unscathed! I posted a pic on fb w/ the sack over my shoulder and Raina showed interest in it, asking if I might be interested in making one for her. Unfortunately I don't have a sewing machine or much in the way of real sewing skills at this point in time. I thought I would post some pictures of it for those that want to make their own. I posted them in an albumn in my profile if you want to check it out. Hopefully it is self explanatory, but if anyone needs more direction on how it was constructed, let me know and I will try to explain. I think it could be made out of some canvas material with rope for shoulder and closure straps...happy travels!

[Mermaid Saphira]

Thats really neat! :D

[Mermaid Saphira]

Okay, so I know it has been awhile since anything was updated on this thread but I am most definately going to be making one this year after Christmas. I haven't found any fabric yet but I'm headed to jo-anns to look 2morrow! I'll keep ya updated ;)

[Mermaid Fenicia]

I've made my out of fake leather that as still lying around with all my other fabrics, straps from an old backpack and a very long metal zipper. As the shop where I've bought my large monofin only sells bags for smaller monofins and duo-fins, I had to make mine. It saved me more than 60 euro by making my own monofinbag :)

[AniaR]

for my tail, no bag that's already created works. I have searched and searched and can't find anything that is the right dimensions. Monofin bags dont work - they aren't thick enough and there isn't enough space for the silicone. Drawstring options have been nearly impossible because my tail wont fit in them all the way and they dont distribute weight in a way that allows me to carry it easily. My silicone tail is on the lighter end of silicones, but it's still very awkward because the fluke is so big.

[Morticia Mermaid]

:) Thats why I am in the works of making a tail bag for you to test out for me Raina. It's the awkwardness I really want to test, not so much the weight. I've got one bag design up on my facebook page, but I will have more than just the one available. When I start making bags, they will be custom fit to your tail specifications :)

[Morticia Mermaid]

My current design idea I am working on for Raina's Raven Tail
6747

Not going to give any specifics, but it will be entirely safe on the tail and should make carrying it SO much easier... Also, I'm trusting you guys >.> So please don't steal my design

[New York Mermaid]

I was looking at this one considering they do have a 70cm monofin so they should have a big enough bag for it,
http://www.fins4u.com/accessories_bags_and_socks/monofin_bag_P587.html

[AniaR]

and I am so excited to test it out :D been lugging this thing around in the most weird ways. I should make a photo thread lol

[AniaR]

Also, I'm trusting you guys >.> So please don't steal my design
not us you gotta worry about- just a certain tail maker. :(

[Morticia Mermaid]

Well, even if someone does, they have NO specifications of what I planned to do with it. I've actually altered the design just a bit. So they could try and copy it, but they would fail horribly ;)

[Mermaid Fenicia]

It makes it easier to carry if there are handles/straps on the top of the bag. ;) I also did that with mine ;)