White sequin/latex/spandex tail

[Ilonka]

That's awful D: Try calling them! If contacting them doesn't work out, dispute the claim with your bank, or your credit card company- tell them you did NOT approve that amount and were over charged. If you need to print out the receipt and send it to them as proof.

Im gonna do that then because they replied to me with an email saying that they dont control their shipping costs, WTF they have to know how much shipping is being charged to their customers and notify them too! And they told me that it has to do with the weight, i only bought 3 yards of lycra not a full bearskin, and i dont live in china either! And to top it all off, they said they cant refund the $70.00 because it was for shipping not the fabric, i only spent $23.00 on the fabric...
Im SOOOOOO pissed! I need a beer before i stab someone.

[Ilonka]

A positive turn of events! My sequins arrived in the mail today!
I bought four kinds, orchid, deep blue sea, clear, and white, all are iris shell sequins. They arrived super fast too so I might buy more.
I have about 2,500 sequins give or take.
The tail won't be fully covered in sequins, I'm doing it patchwork style like Hannah's first tail and orange one. Still haven't drawn up the official designs, but its going to be mostly white with blue and purple accents on the sides and ankles



I also got a full refund from spandex world.com and a decent apology. I also found a store downtown that specializes in lycra! So I will go check it out on Friday or Saturday, I'm so relieved and il be able to start my tail faster than first anticipated.

[Ilonka]

So I went to a local store that specializes in spandex and other uncommon fabrics and I bought 1 1/2 yards of white jumbo spandex , which was their heaviest and 1 yard of the most beautiful fabric I have ever seen. It's translucent lame' and I'm going to use it for my fluke trim , dorsal fin and ankle fins. I loved it cuz it has tiny grooves that make it look like a fish fin!
Here is the tail's cut out and a close up of the fluke


The entire tail will be covered in special fx latex to protect the fabric and also give it a nice shiny finish..I bought a different kind of latex this time, this one is not as thick as monstermaker's but its clear latex which makes tinting it easier. It also dries glossy which is super cool! My other latex would dry bland and grey so I think I prefer this one for my tails now.
I got it on ebay for $55.00 and its one gallon, shipped fast too.

[Winged Mermaid]

Beautiful fabric! Glad you could find what you needed!
You know, I'd never heard of clear latex before before you posted about it! Do you think it could be used to cast a fluke? The translucent fluke issue has been.. well, an issue for a long time. Usually translucent flukes would mean casted silicone and either no monofin (just a foot pocket) or a custom made lexan one. But even then the silicone discolors over time to a a brown color. I'm wondering if the clear latex will do the same thing. Only time can tell, sometimes years. What do you think?

[Ilonka]

Beautiful fabric! Glad you could find what you needed!
You know, I'd never heard of clear latex before before you posted about it! Do you think it could be used to cast a fluke? The translucent fluke issue has been.. well, an issue for a long time. Usually translucent flukes would mean casted silicone and either no monofin (just a foot pocket) or a custom made lexan one. But even then the silicone discolors over time to a a brown color. I'm wondering if the clear latex will do the same thing. Only time can tell, sometimes years. What do you think?

"clear" latex isent really crystal clear like clear silicon, it has a yellowish color to it but when used in very thin layers it can pass as clear. Usually clear latex is used for prosthetics cuz it almost matches human skin color so its very easy to blend. What I recommend is using it to cover a transparent fabric like I'm going to do with mine. It will protect the fabric and give it the rubbery texture, but it has to be applied very thin. So yes it can be used for a full latex fluke but it has to be half regular latex and half clear for a . About the discoloration, I don't really know, but we will find out eventually.

[Ilonka]

Soooo I need some help, I can't decide which of these shapes I should choose for my ankle fins, suggestions ?

[Ilonka]

Finally started attaching the sequins, I was going to stick them together with latex but it wasn't working very well so instead I'm using e 6000 glue which is waterproof, clear, and it stretches. The glue is really good and the scales are hard o rip off once dry.
I.won't be covering the whole.thing in sequins, instead I'm going to do stripes and patches like Hannah's orange tail.

With flash:

Without flash:

[Mermaid Arianna]

that looks........AWESOME!! cant wait to see your progress!

[Ilonka]

Thanks, glad you like it :3

[Winged Mermaid]

Looking good! A glue that stretches? That sounds awesome, and just what a mermaids needs! By the way I vote for the 2nd fin shape.

[Azurin Luna]

Looking very cool!

I vote also for the second fin shape, looks more elegant

[Mahi Mermaid]

Hey I also secured my sequins on a tail with latex, and an additional layer of latex over top and although it looked AMAZING. it didn't stretch, so when I put it on, it pulled apart (mostly just on the sides) so I would be cautious with it! I thought it was a good shortcut to hand-sewing but I never thought about it not being able to stretch after...grrr..

[Ilonka]

I decided not to use latex with it because the wouldn't stay on very well so I'm using e 6000 glue which is really strong and it stretches.

[Ilonka]

Progress! Haven't worked on the tail for two days because I was working on my latex tail, but here is what I have done so far.
I added another triangle, and I just noticed that its a bit misaligned so I need to fix that, but its getting there.
Im replacing the purple sequins at the top with peach colored onces that I just sent for, and the purple will be used on the sides along with the blue/green.

[Spindrift]

Looking great! How are you going to replace the already glued down sequins? Will you just rip it off, or will you use something like paint thinner?

[Ilonka]

I'm probably gonna use paint thinner because the glue tears the sequins and damages them pretty bad. Although its only a few purple ones, not a whole lot so I won't be losing much if I tear a few of them. I dunno, il mess with that tomorrow cuz I ran out of glue anyways.
As for the sides, I'm gonna have to sew those cuz the seam rolls inwards and doesn't allow the glue to stick properly, oh joy.

[Ilonka]

Whew, half way done, now I have to do the other side! I'm gonna check my mailbox tonight for the rest of the sequins I ordered so I can add the peach colored ones at the top. Haven't tried the tail on yet with the sequins, might take a pic of that tonight too. I'm gonna cover the fluke in liquid latex and then paint it pearly white and add more sequins to the borders.
I'm really exited !

[Mermaid Saphira]

wow!!! great job!

[Ilonka]

Thanks! I just want it done already, glue on sequins one by one gets annoying sometimes, i cant imagine sewing them! I would never finish a sewn one sincerily.
I also cant wait till its done cuz im already planning a 3rd one, will also be sequin and spandex but its gonna be for a little mermaid cosplay

[Mermaid Jewel]

Oh wow, E6000 glue works? I tested it out and it came off it so easily for some reason! Wow, I have some E6000 so I might try that, cause sewing is taking forever!