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Becoming a Mercreature: Blending Tail and Human Half

This time we're going over design considerations for blending the tail into your human half. This can be part of the overall design of the "human" part of your costume or incorporated into the tail. 
The methods I suggest are: 
  • Waistline Shape
  • Trimming on Waistline
  • Blending Belt 
  • Obvious Belt
  • Leotard/One Piece top
  • Swim dress
  • Body Paint


Waist Not, Want Not

Now the waistline top of the tail can be patterned out before sewing to offer a bit of interest or blending to the tail. By default, most tail patterns will be like a pair of leggings with just a straight edge going all the way around. However, you can create the waistline to have the v-shape dip like Disney mermaids. Or perhaps a softer U-shape dip. Even creating a waistline higher in the back than the front creates a more dynamic line than the straight cut. 

All the Trimmings 

To me, this is what I consider the Disney mermaid method. The fin that goes around the waistline of the tail. Adding any kind of trim like this does break up the "transition" from tail to skin. You can use any method of edge trimming that you'd like. Ruffles, Fringe, Lace or any number of trim methods will add a nice finishing touch to the tail. 

Blended Belt

The idea of the Blended belt works in a couple ways depending on if you are creating a scaley tail or a skin tail. The idea is the same though. You create a cincher belt out of nylon that closely matches your skin color. For silicone scales, you can attach scales to it with some random scale placement to give the idea that the scales are turning into human skin. 

For fabric tails, you can take scraps of your tail fabric and cut them in such a way that would cause an uneven-looking edge and sew it to the nylon. You could also use fabric paints or dyes on the nylon to create a gradient. Then, you wear the cincher belt under your fabric tail and see the pattern blend up into your skin. 

Just a Belt

The obvious way to hide the edge of the tail around your waist is a belt over it. It can be the trim or its own piece. What the belt looks like depends on your character design. Some suggestions might be a sarong, seaweed or kelp, a row of shells or you may just have a fashion belt. Although the belt should be made out of waterproof material. 

One Piece 

The human half of the costume can do something like an figure skater's outfit with flesh tone parts and fabric to give the illusion that your body matches the tail. I've even seen a few folks sell one piece swimsuits with airbrushed abs and mermaid scales to match their tails. 

By the by, you don't want to make your mermaid tail a ONE PIECE swimsuit. Although that blends well, it's actually dangerous to swim in. The purpose of the tail being a "bottom" half only is to quickly slip out of it if you are in trouble and need to use your legs. 

Dressed For Success

A swim dress or a long top can also cover the seam between you and the tail. Again, I would caution against making the skirt too long because it could make it difficult to quickly get out of your tail in emergencies. 

Paint it on


The final suggestion would be to use a waterproof body paint that matches your tail. This allows you plenty of freedom in making a pattern and wash it off later. I'll get more into makeup and body paint in another post. I still need to do a bit more research on it. But I know it exists. 

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