POTC OST tail with Neoprene base

[DepthWitch]

the design reminds me of Mermaid Forest. Such a great anime.

[Mermaid Dottie]

Dottie, I can see the page as It's us-only

Oh, I'm sorry Love. They're by Hallmark, if that helps.

Looks really nice, but aren't you afraid it might tear at the v-shape? Cause the monofin looks like it has a sharp v point and any material under stress will tear there (The joys of mechanical stresses) If I were you I would round it there to avoid tearing, the fabric over it will still make it show as if it was a sharp v

I'm not too worried because the cut is so close to the rubber knot, and also because of how covered in duct tape it is. Plus, I'm betting I can fix it if it starts to tear. Which I'm 70% positive that it won't because of it's proximity to the rubber knot.

the design reminds me of Mermaid Forest. Such a great anime.

Oh, I love anime. I'll have to check that out. ^_^

[Mermaid Dottie]

I have a confession;
I'm a little terrified to start my tail. I'm afraid I'm going to kill my serger or sewing machine trying to stitch thru this (albeit thin, at 1.5mm) neoprene.
I'm also worried about taking it in later, as I know I will have to, at some point.

What I wanted to do was have the seams on the outside so that I could make the scales crawl onto the side fins... but now I'm not sure. Could I accomplish this using aquaseal?
And I'm worried about trying to put it on later, with the beige fabric being on the outside, and the black rubber on the inside...

[Mermaid Momo]

Don't worry about killing your machine, I was terrified of killing mine (with 2mm neoprene) and I was using Lube to line my needle but the machine would go really slow! So when I was sewing my side seam with the vinyl between the 2 sheets, I didn't use lube and it went through the machine like butter! It was amazing! I still went slowly because I dust want to break my needle or anything but I didn't even have to worry.

[Mermaid Dottie]

what kind of machine have you got, Dagger?

[Mermaid Momo]

I'll have to check when I get home, but I believe it's a brother, not 100% sure though because I can be confusing my old machine with my new one. It does handle up to 6mm thickness for sure though.

[Mermaid Dottie]

Ah. Mine, too. Plus a Baby Lock Serger. Old, but good.

Okay, I'm gonna go for it, while the baby is down for his nap, I'm gonna cut it out.
I'm so nervous. I have belly-worm-wiggles....

[DepthWitch]

@Mermaid Dottie: Mermaid Forest is very good but very hard to find. It is based on the Japanese legend that if a man eats the flesh of a mermaid he will become immortal and if he is not pure of heart he will become a monster. The main story is about a man that was tricked into eating a mermaid's flesh and becomes immortal and spends hundreds of years searching for another mermaid so he can eat her flesh and finally die and the side stories deal with other parts of the legend such as if a mermaid eats the flesh of a young woman she will take on her appearance. It is a wonderful classic anime but like I said it is very hard to find.

[Mermaid Dottie]

oOoOoOo...

[Mermaid Momo]

Ok, so my machine is a brother sc6600, also, if you're looking for mermaid forest, try youtube, they have almost every episode there. Try ningyo no mori for the title

[Mermaid Dottie]

ah, nice.
I tried to stitch 2 pieces of scrap together, and basically, my machine tried to choke on it. so it looks like I'll be hand-stitching it, then sealing the seams with aquaseal.
Anyone have any tips for hand-stitching 1.5mm neoprene?

[Azurin Luna]

Get a leather needle for handsewing, it has 3 sides on the needle tip instead of a rounded one, this makes it easier to punch through the neoprene. Also get a rubber cap or something like that to protect your thumb, else you will have a sore thumb in no time.

Good luck with the hand sewing.

[Mermaid Dottie]

Thanks, Luna.

[Mermaid Dottie]

Photo Update:

One side stitched...

[MerMarla]

ah, nice.
I tried to stitch 2 pieces of scrap together, and basically, my machine tried to choke on it. so it looks like I'll be hand-stitching it, then sealing the seams with aquaseal.
Anyone have any tips for hand-stitching 1.5mm neoprene?

Mermaid Dottie,
Did you try using leather needle in your sewing machine? I believe Singer still packages them in two/pack maybe singles. Use the 100/16 for heavy weight. I punched and sewed leather with these needles. So it should go thru neoprene. Also, a trick for stitching sticky fabric, is to use wax paper between your feeder feet under the neoprene and use a teflon presser foot on top, or another layer of wax paper. You can sorta see thru the wax paper and it feeds great, then just tear it off like toilet paper!

Good Luck!
Mermaid Marla

[Mermaid Dottie]

Thanks Marla! I found some brown fabric in my stash that worked great to slide the rubber through.

This is the inside.
When I flipped it right side out, I found that I had a little bit of bunching on my side fins but I thought it made them look ruffle-y.


And Then I inserted the monofin. It makes the tail SO LONG.



Also I would just like to remark that, even though this stretches, I was kind of really excited when I had to take it about 1.5 inches.

[Mermaid Allie]

AWESOME PROGRESS! I love it!!

[Mermaid Dottie]

I can't wait to start painting it. I just have to decide on a stencil...

[Mermaid Dottie]

Here are a couple of ideas....




Anyone have any others?

[Mermaid Allie]

LOVE the second one. Perfect for this tail!