Making a New Fabric Tail (purple and teal)!

[Mermaid Ankhali]

Over the weekend, I went to Maryland for my cousin's graduation. As it turns out, she lives in an area that contains a Walmart, a Michael's, AND a Jo-Ann's all within a few miles of each other. Needless to say, I spent about 6 hours shopping, and I got some beautiful fabric from which I will make...wait for it...A NEW TAIL! I'm so excited as my old reliable tail baby is getting a little worn and I've wanted a tail with this color scheme for a while. Since I'm planning this tail out much more than my others, I thought I'd start a thread to document my process and get some input from my fellow mers. Here are some pictures of what I have so far;




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[MermaidJaiden]

That fluke is just absolutely gorgeous!

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[Rinoa Opaltide]

Ooh those are going to look absolutely gorgeous together! I actually have some of the blue metallic swirly fabric to make a tail myself Can't wait to see how yours turns out - good luck!

[Mermaid Aria]

Those colors are so pretty! Love the fluke design! 😍

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[Hydra1337]

I can't wait to see how this will turn out.

[Mermaid Ankhali]

Thanks! I'm really excited to use the knowledge I've gained in the past to make something new and beautiful. I've actually just about finished the fluke design. I've been working on it for the past hour.
I'm going to be using the mottled fabric for the fluke. This is the paint job that I'm going to be doing over that fabric. The white parts that are outlined in bold will be painted white, the rest will have the fabric showing through.


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[Mermaid Ankhali]

I took off the fringe because I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do it.


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[Hydra1337]

I'm personally not a fringe person so I think the updated fluke looks much better.

[Mermaid Ankhali]

I think fringe looks nice on Hannah's tails, but they're neoprene and sequin and I don't know if I'm going to be able to pull of the same look.


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[Hydra1337]

Either way this tail is going to look sick AF.

[Mermaid Ankhali]

Either way this tail is going to look sick AF.

Thanks! I hope so, too. *fingers crossed*


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[Aurelian]

It looks like a great design! I love the fabrics!

[Mermaid Wesley]

Looks super cool!! Keep us posted!


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[Mermaid Ankhali]

There's something I just can't quite figure out, though. See, when I make my tails, I have a process that I think is a bit different than most people's. I don't meticulously take my measurements from waist to floor and around each joint and curve. Instead, I roughly measure a section of fabric that wraps around my waist (like a waistband for a pair of jeans) plus a little bit of seam allowance. Then I cut the fabric in a line from that measurement so that I end up with one piece of fabric that is basically a rectangular wrap. I then begin to sew from the "waistband" down, slanting the line inward as i go so that it hugs my body. Every so often, i try it on to make sure that it fits tightly. If it is too loose, then I take it in some more. When I'm done, it ends up being a sort of body sleeve. I make the fluke the normal way, by drawing out the shape on two pieces of fabric, then sewing them together and painting them. Then, I attach the fluke and body by sewing the ends of them together. This method is based off of the OG Fin Fun tails construction, except that you end up with only one seam on the back instead of two seams on the sides. This way, you look a little bit more realistic, and it offers an easy place to put a dorsal fin (just stick some fabric in the seam while sewing!).

Whew. That was a lot. Okay, so here's what I can't figure out:

I love the look of mermaid tails that have a little v-shaped section of scales that dips down into to the fluke (like most silicone tails). It looks lovelier and a lot more realistic than the Fin Fun style (a sharp horizontal seam), which is also what my method generally yields. Can anyone think of a way to create a fabric tail using the method above that results in a single seam in the back, rather than two seams at the sides, as well as the v-shaped overhang?

[Mermaid Ankhali]

vs

[Mermaid Lieke]

Wow, I love your fabrics!

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[Hydra1337]

Maybe you can lay it flat (with the single seam in the back), trace where the triangle would be as if it had side seams, and then cut it.

[Mermaid Ankhali]

So like, sew the body sleeve, then cut the triangle from the excess fabric and see them together?


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[Hydra1337]

Sew the triangles to the fluke but yeah. Just place everything together before you sew or cut to make sure everything will fit properly.

[Mermaid Ankhali]

Hmm..yeah, that could work! I'd have to think something up for hiding the seam though...sequins maybe? Not the fancy kind, just the normal circular kind. I have a bunch of those at home and was thinking about using some...


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