Savvy's first REAL fabric tail!

**savvyandstuff** · 06-21-2015, 11:49 PM

Alright, so after a lifetime of deep love for mermaids and some cheap fabric tails I made when I was 10 and barely knew how to use a sewing machine, I'm finally working on my first real, well-crafted tail. I'm going to post pictures here of the process from start to finish, because I always love going through those types of threads and seeing ideas come to be reality

To begin with, I looked for plenty of inspiration on color scheme and looks, because that would determine everything from how much time my tail would take me to what materials to buy to what monofin I end up purchasing. I was being really indecisive, and all I knew was I wanted a "freshwater mermaid" look. After a night of unsuccessful sketching and doodling, I texted some friends at random for "three colors that you think look good together". My boyfriend said red, white, and black, and what's more perfect for that than a koi fish?

After some consideration, I settled on the Mahina/Oceanika monofin, mostly because it's much more in my price range but also seems to be of a great quality. It might not be perfect for the koi tail but I'm sure I'll use it for tails in the future. I also decided on doing a painted fabric tail, since I really don't have that much time on my hands(or money /: ) for latex or silicone or neoprene. It took some work, but here's my first real tail sketch(I borrowed Raven's template since it has the Mahina fluke, also sorry about the colors showing up weird, my phone camera sucks):
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I know the fins aren't quite so true to a koi fish, but I think that's what makes me really love the design. I'm still not completely sure about what I want to do in terms of material for the fins, but I definitely have time since my monofin won't be here for a week or so.

To paint the tail, I'm pretty sure I want to put the red and black on first and then airbrush a scale pattern over the top and detail the fluke and fins. Does anyone have paint recommendations, especially for things that'll work well in my airbrush? Also, a scale pattern template tutorial or something would be awesome.

**Keiris** · 06-22-2015, 01:06 AM

Sounds like a fun project, Saavy. You can thin most any paint to go through an airbrush. Createx makes all different kinds of airbrush paints as well. You may have to use a sealer over it to make it fully waterproof. Acrylic is waterproof, but to airbrush it you definitely need to water it down a bit and probably layer the colors for intensity. Do not use enamel in your airbrush.

I thought I saw a scale stencil at one of the craft stores in the past.

Good luck!

**Mermaid Cascada** · 06-22-2015, 11:31 AM

Wow! Very pretty design! For your scale pattern, you could buy one from a craft store or even make one yourself depending on what kind of scales you want. You could make one by using a long strip of sturdy construction paper. Draw your pattern on the top of the paper and cut it out. Discard the top piece and use the paper as a stencil. There was a video of someone using this technique, I'll see if I can find it.
Edit: Here's the link! https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VJJTUDG_1LM
and another that's slightly different, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MZxvp-7CHcc

**ShyMer** · 06-22-2015, 12:03 PM

Plastic sheets specifically for making stencils are available at craft stores sometimes, though you'd have to use a cricut machine or be handy with an exacto blade to get good results with it. Good luck! I love well designed fabric tails <3

**savvyandstuff** · 06-22-2015, 04:23 PM

Originally Posted by Keiris

Acrylic is waterproof, but to airbrush it you definitely need to water it down a bit and probably layer the colors for intensity. Do not use enamel in your airbrush.

What sort of sealant should I use over the acrylic? Or will it hold up alright on its own?

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**ShyMer** · 06-22-2015, 06:49 PM

You can buy fabric paint medium to mix with acrylic paint so it can withstand washing. I've used it for screen printing and it sets fine if you follow the directions. I can't tell you how it works when airbrushed on to fabric, though.
I have one from Martha Stuart that I bought several years ago that works just fine for me. I think I paid less than ten dollars for it.

Just keep in mind that acrylic doesn't stretch, so it can crack. If you don't want that look, you might need to figure a way around that or use a different material.

In any case, I'd do some tests on scraps before starting on your tail. You definitely don't want to put a ton of work into something that melts as soon as it hits water.

**savvyandstuff** · 06-22-2015, 07:23 PM

Originally Posted by ShyMer

You can buy fabric paint medium to mix with acrylic paint so it can withstand washing. I've used it for screen printing and it sets fine if you follow the directions. I can't tell you how it works when airbrushed on to fabric, though.
I have one from Martha Stuart that I bought several years ago that works just fine for me. I think I paid less than ten dollars for it.

Just keep in mind that acrylic doesn't stretch, so it can crack. If you don't want that look, you might need to figure a way around that or use a different material.

In any case, I'd do some tests on scraps before starting on your tail. You definitely don't want to put a ton of work into something that melts as soon as it hits water.

What do you think would happen if I tried to paint with fabric screenprinting ink...? Not necessarily through my airbrush, just with a brush. And then maybe I could screenprint a scale pattern over the top?

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**savvyandstuff** · 06-22-2015, 09:49 PM

Also... Does anyone have some real experience with sequins? I know they're much more time consuming, but I might use them as an accent just so the tail has more texture.

**Keiris** · 06-23-2015, 01:17 AM

Originally Posted by savvyandstuff

Also... Does anyone have some real experience with sequins? I know they're much more time consuming, but I might use them as an accent just so the tail has more texture.

Sequins are fabulous accents for tails! Look at Hannah Fraser's tails. She hand sews thousands of them on neoprene and completely covers and overlaps them like scales. Easy to do just extremely tedious and time consuming.

**savvyandstuff** · 06-23-2015, 11:07 AM

Originally Posted by Keiris

Sequins are fabulous accents for tails! Look at Hannah Fraser's tails. She hand sews thousands of them on neoprene and completely covers and overlaps them like scales. Easy to do just extremely tedious and time consuming.

I think I saw Ilonka say somewhere that she used E6000 to just glue the sequins to her tails. Has anyone else tried that and been lucky?

**ShyMer** · 06-23-2015, 05:34 PM

I think the thing about using glue is that it doesn't stretch with the fabric, so it can cause problems with fit for one thing. Illonka made that tail for a photo shoot, and I don't know if she ever used it again or how well it aged.
You could try out out and see how it goes! Sequins look gorgeous on a tail <3

**Mermaid Wesley** · 06-23-2015, 08:56 PM

The glue will mean more repairs, sewing will mean it takes longer initially but lasts better. E6000 is great but the sequins are very slick and no glue is perfect

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**Keiris** · 06-23-2015, 11:02 PM

Yes, the glue will inhibit the stretch. There are several threads about sequin tails under the "Tailmaking" compilation that Iona made. You should check it out. TONS of info there.

**savvyandstuff** · 07-22-2015, 11:25 AM

Hey! Update time!

So I finished sewing the main body of the tail today, and luckily didn't run into too many snags. It needs to be taken in at the top(And maybe have some added elastic or something? A belt like Hannah Fraser's tails? Not entirely sure) and some around the ankles, and I still need to close off the bottom of the tail, but other than that I'm really happy with it!
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I decided to go ahead and use neoprene for the fins just because I want them to have a little structure out of the water and not just flop down when they're wet, and also because I don't think my sewing machine would have a good time handling vinyl matting /: But everything will look a little better with paint. The drag isn't too terrible right now(first test swim was last night) but I'm a little worried about what the dorsal will do... I guess we'll just wait and see.

After I finish the little fixes, I'm going to sew on a dorsal to hide the zipper and then I can get to painting and sewing on sequins. (: