***Starting a Sequin Tail***

I have been deciphering the idea of making a sequin tail I need something to do all winter right? LOL... It will take me quite a while but I think i just might take a swing at it! I'll use this thread to post my progress and to disscuss with other mers about tips, ideas, designs, and if I come up with a tip i"ll post it here to lend a helping had to the mers who want to make a sequin tail themselves.
Here a couple questions I have about getting started...

1) I've never made a tail properly (with the right material/fit) what kind of spandex do I use?

2) How do I go about attaching the sequins to the tail (sewing, glue)?

3) Will the tail be heavy or harder to swim in because of the sequins?

4) Have any other mers attemped at making a sequin tail?

Thank you...still deciphering, will probably do a semi sequined tail : )

Though I have not tried making a sequin tail before, I've had many costuming buddies who have worked with crazy amounts of sequins for one piece (Like Columbia's corset in Rocky Horror).
I know Hannah uses neoprene for her tails - I think spandex might not be strong enough to hold onto the sequins, sewn or glued (Just because spandex is so thin). Maybe try finding neoprin, I know spandexworld sells it.
And I would try a mixture of sewing and gluing - You can't be too careful, ya know? At least that's what I would do.
And I have no idea what the weight will be like on a sequin tail. But good luck!

Thanx so much for your help! My tail will not be entirely covered with the sequins but partially...It will have a thick lot of sequins around the waist and it will slowly spread out, minimizing the amount of the sequins. Sadly, spandexworl.com doesn't have the color i need (last time I checked anyway)

They have lots of colors now. If not, you could always paint it! :) I'm planning a sequin one too with the neoprin I got from spandexworld

I actually found what i neede! just plain white... I'm looking forward to seeing your tail as well Mermaid Jewel!

If you're using spandex I would suggest sewing it, since it should be thin enough for that to not be too difficult. You could do both to the same sequin though, for extra support. As for weight, if you're swimming in deeper or open water extra weight might actually be a good thing, since its easiest to swim when you are neutrally buoyant. Also it should be near weightless in water anyway. I would be more worried about getting out of water, if anything.

Attachment 1135
Tail design : )
Let me know what ya think!

I really, really would not recommend using spandex to attach scales to. Even thick spandex will lose it's elasticity and you'll be left with saggy areas where you've attached the sequins to. Even if you were covering the whole tail, you'd soon have to be making modifications to the size of the tail as it would just start getting saggier and less form fitting, even before you swam in it.

If you're going to spend the time to individually add sequins to a costume, make sure you're using the right material first. In this case, I would strongly recommend neoprene (and, while the color selection may be horrible, JoAnn Fabrics is carrying neoprene right now, in the upholstery section. If you sign up for their newsletter, you can get their coupons and bring the price down significantly. It normally retails for 19.99 a yard).

As far as attaching goes, if you have the time to devote to it, I'd say stitch down the sequins. As much as I love me some e-6000 glue for projects like this, the stitching will be easier to replace if a sequin gets cracked or broken. Also, make sure you're using thread that is polyester based. Natural fibers break down over time in water.

Good advice thank u.. and I wrote spandex on the paper but I ment to write neoprene Tee Hee!
Sadly my Jo-anns is the WORST jo-anns in the WORLD! They shouldn't even call them selves a fabric store they should change it to Jo-anns CRAFTS! They carried spandex for all of 1 week and never got it again! I prefer the dover Jo-anns but never have time to go up there...they have a GREAT selection : (

There's links to several lower priced neoprene distributors in the Materials static page. Navigate: Home > Making Tails > Materials, then scroll down to neoprene for the links.

Keep in mind you will need to sew each sequin individually- meaning you'll need to knot off your thread for each sequin you sew on. This makes things very time consuming but better to make the sequins secure. You'll have to do repairs for broken, missing, and sequins that have separated from their color film. Individual knotting makes this easier, plus if sequins break off and the thread is exposed and you have it as one piece and it breaks there goes a crap ton of your work, ya know?

I wouldn't use glue. I don't think i'd hold, first off. There's also a chance that it would only hold onto the color membrane and when it separated from the sequin you'd just be stuck with that there. Also the chance that if it gets damaged any other way you have no way to remove the damaged sequin to replace it. If I were you I'd just go with some good old fashioned sewing.

I like the design idea! I know Hannah did something similar with her blue tail before she retired it. It was kind of funny, she started with a few sequins on it then kept adding more and more then she started making whole sequined tails. Kind of felt out the sequin tail waters then plunged in :P

Thanx for the advice...I'm planning on buying my material from spandexworld.com and yes I know the tail will be time consuming but we get snowed in alot so I'll just make it on snow days.. gives me something to do : )

im making a sequin tail as well i think! i cant wait to share with you! design looks great!

Why thank you! I can't wait to see how our tails turn out ; )

My tail has been put off for a little while as I need to earn some more money to purchase materials, but I will definatley be posting pics and stuff as soon as I get the money and materials! I'll start right away : )

Good luck! I'm planning on doing a sequins tail as well. I want to wait on creating mine for a while since my weight fluctuates like crazy right now. Plus extra $$$ for materials.

Can't wait to check out your tail Ivory! My tail probably won't cost that much, I'm not covering the entire tail : )

Aqua, I can't wait either! I'm still using my current tail (I need to post pictures of it online). It's beginning to be loose on me but it still stays on my bum until I swim really fast in it. My boyfriend likes to race with me. It's not painted but it's still a decent tail.

I would like to cover the tail up to the fluke. and paint the fluke. Kinda like one of Hannah's older tails. I like how those were not covered all the way with sequins but are still gorgeous and very mermaid like.

That sounds fin-tastic LOL : )
Best of luck to you

http://ivoryleopard.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d488mtl

This is the tail I am currently using. I was thinking of using sequins on this one but I want to do it in a different color.

OOOO pretty! You should try green...ummm purple? maybe a really shiny white or silver