First time tailmaking--Jade's attempt

[Jadestone]

Well, I'd say be sure to stuff your tail with old sheets/garbage bags before you paint it. That stretches it out to the size your body will be, so the paint doesn't crack when you put it on/it looks the same as when you painted it. I'd reccomend stuffing it to be just every so slightly smaller than your body though, so it's still tight when you put it on.

I found keeping a plastic bag layer just under the fabric also helped stop the paint from just soaking through the fabric and into the sheets beneath it. Saves paint!

How are you planning to paint it? Are you going to do just solid paint, or scales? If you're handpainting round scales like I know a lot of people do I sadly don't have much in the way of information, but you can see how I did the fishnet method earlier in this thread

Mermaid Jewel--Thank you so much!! And welcome back

[Sherl]

Your tail is so beautiful and you look very elegant in it Jade! I couldn't understand most of the material terms used, but it was enjoyable reading about each step you took to make it. I don't think I could ever accomplish making a tail :P Hope you're having plenty of fun swimming in your tail! (:

[Mer_Adella]

Well, I'd say be sure to stuff your tail with old sheets/garbage bags before you paint it. That stretches it out to the size your body will be, so the paint doesn't crack when you put it on/it looks the same as when you painted it. I'd reccomend stuffing it to be just every so slightly smaller than your body though, so it's still tight when you put it on.

I found keeping a plastic bag layer just under the fabric also helped stop the paint from just soaking through the fabric and into the sheets beneath it. Saves paint!

How are you planning to paint it? Are you going to do just solid paint, or scales? If you're handpainting round scales like I know a lot of people do I sadly don't have much in the way of information, but you can see how I did the fishnet method earlier in this thread

for right now i am just going to make my swim suit top and bottoms (make a bathing suit to wear on occasion but also to wear with my tail) i was thinking about doing fishnetting as a template. my boyfriend has millions of the kinds that go around the big liquor bottles and all different sizes too. so i could make small and big scales. eventually, if all goes well with it, i will get more fabric and do scales on a tail. or i may just remove the sequins from my tail now and paint onto that one. ( i have to fix the fluke anyways, i hate how min looks sooooooo big on me)

[starlite]

congrats it's a great job, your tail is great :-)

[Lois]

I think you could totally sell these if you worked out how to do it quick enough it looks awesome well done you should be very proud of yourself!

[Jadestone]

Miserere girl-- Thanks so much! And if you do have questions or want clarifications about the materials I used, feel free to ask

Mer Adella-- awesome! Can't wait to see how everything turns out

starlite-- thank you!

Lois-- aha, thanks! I'd really enjoy making/painting tails for people, but I might be too worried about getting it to fit someone right without having them there to try it on. Though, I probably spent more time than I needed to making mine fit perfectly.

[starlite]

I have a question about : will your monofin be in contact with water ? As you used duck tape does it come off with water ?

[Jadestone]

It will be in contact with the water when I swim, as the fabric lets water through it. Duct tape does surprisingly well in water--the stuff on the outside is stickking to itself and it will be a VERY long time before it comes unstuck this way as I've "sealed" the edges. The strips attaching the extension to the fin may loose their hold over time, but can easily be replaced with more tape! So far I've had no problems, although I haven't gotten out in it too many times

[Mer_Adella]

I think I am going to do some "test" painting tonight and start painting my top finally! lol thanks jade for the inspiration

[Mer_Adella]

Ok Jadestone. I love your fluke...especially because you didn't cut the monofin down you added to it. now my question is how big is your fulke from your heels to the end of your fluke? i feel that mine is too long and unporportionate to me...and i was wanting to see the length of yours because it looks both natural and amazing.

[starlite]

It will be in contact with the water when I swim, as the fabric lets water through it. Duct tape does surprisingly well in water--the stuff on the outside is stickking to itself and it will be a VERY long time before it comes unstuck this way as I've "sealed" the edges. The strips attaching the extension to the fin may loose their hold over time, but can easily be replaced with more tape! So far I've had no problems, although I haven't gotten out in it too many times

Ok thanks, i will keep in mind this tip ;-)

[Jadestone]

Ok Jadestone. I love your fluke...especially because you didn't cut the monofin down you added to it. now my question is how big is your fulke from your heels to the end of your fluke? i feel that mine is too long and unporportionate to me...and i was wanting to see the length of yours because it looks both natural and amazing.

I will measure it later when I get back to my room

[Merrow Fair Isle]

Thiss is wonderful. I am beginning my fabric tail and wanted to extend my my monofin. This thread has helped me soooooooo much. Thanks to ALL who contributed

[Mermaid Wesley]

OMG i saw this earlier and thought this was a silicone tail! jkashfgiquvhcbow I AM NOW INSPIRED!!!!!! IM GONNA COLOR NOW BYEE

[Jadestone]

Glad you like it! And yes, there are a lot of things you can do with a fabric tail to make it look nice!

If you're looking for scale-painting ideas, I'd also check out LittleOrca's tails--she uses a different technique than I did and they also look very nice!

[Mermaid Allie]

Hey i was just wondering mermaid jade, what kind of fishnet did you use and where did you buy it? Your scales are the PERFECT size!!!

[Mermaid Wesley]

Glad you like it! And yes, there are a lot of things you can do with a fabric tail to make it look nice!

If you're looking for scale-painting ideas, I'd also check out LittleOrca's tails--she uses a different technique than I did and they also look very nice!

I have seen her tails I am getting really excited and I would love to use your technique of using netting like a stencil... If I ever get the cash haha maybe Christmas....

[Odette]

great job! the way you did it and they way it came out is very clever <3

[Jadestone]

Thanks Odette

alliegator--the netting I used came from some bags we happened to just have around at our house (we won them many years ago). But I looked them up online, and this is basically what I used:


Except mine was pink! It's just a stretchy cotton netting. I cut off the handle/rim, and it spread out into a rectangle shape. I was able to cover my tail by placing/pinning it down and painting, then moving it. It took four steps to cover all of it, top front, top bottom, back top, back bottom. I painted by hand so I filled in each scale individually, but the material is thick enough that spray painting it would probably work fine.

you can see the bags here: http://www.ecobags.com/Natural-tote-handle#.ULehL45AGQs

They're like $7, which isn't so bad I suppose, but I encourage scouting around your house or thrift stores for other netting-type things if you're on a budget like I was

[Mermaid Allie]

Sounds great! I might just get one of those bags anyways.... so great for the farmers market!! then i can cut it apart lmao! I found like netting on a wine bottle, but its plastic and that would cause variation in scale sizes... I was just wondering, how is your fabric holding up? My first spandex tail is like a nightmare it ripped the first time I swam with it!!! I want to know whether to go with milliskin (which has a color i like more) or high performance spandex. Also, how is the monofin mod holding up? I think i'm gonna make that!! My friends and i are making tails sorta like this (different color and fluke shape but same method) , and the problem is that we have finis mermaid monofins (yuck i know but they won't buy waves) and they are SO HARD TO TAKE OUT. I might end up doing velcro at the bottom. Would that work? Plus i thought velcro might decrease the drag because water that got in would flow out.