The mermaid costume is finally complete-now I can concentrate on making ACEOs, figuring out the kind of makeup to use for this costume and studying for my exams (NB, this list was not made in order of priority. No, really!). 
The scaling process took a very long time. I had the skirt stretched out with cardboard inside it which made things a little easier. I think I should have used fabric paint rather than acrylic paint, because machine washes actually seem top remove acrylic paint. Remember the purple-sweater dress? Almost all the black stripes were removed and some are totally gone. Neil Buchanan got it wrong, or washing powder has really advanced since the Nineties. I'll have to hand wash anyone due to the fins and tail.
I printed the scales on with a piece of foam stuck on to cardboard. After that was done and dry, I made the tail pieces. I need the costume to be easy to move around in, so the tail is not going to cover my feet. Instead I cut out fin-shaped pieces of cloth from the material that I was originally going to use to make the skirt and sewed them around the hem. This was inspired by the method used for the Tatterskirt.
The scaling process took a very long time. I had the skirt stretched out with cardboard inside it which made things a little easier. I think I should have used fabric paint rather than acrylic paint, because machine washes actually seem top remove acrylic paint. Remember the purple-sweater dress? Almost all the black stripes were removed and some are totally gone. Neil Buchanan got it wrong, or washing powder has really advanced since the Nineties. I'll have to hand wash anyone due to the fins and tail.
I printed the scales on with a piece of foam stuck on to cardboard. After that was done and dry, I made the tail pieces. I need the costume to be easy to move around in, so the tail is not going to cover my feet. Instead I cut out fin-shaped pieces of cloth from the material that I was originally going to use to make the skirt and sewed them around the hem. This was inspired by the method used for the Tatterskirt.
The fins were actually made from one strips of cloth: the same piece of old sheet used for the fins. I pinched the middle of the cloth to form a little knot, which I hand-sewed into place. I think sewed the strip of cloth to the waistband, folding and sewing the bottom hem to make it more like Ariel's fins are in the film. I was lazy and didn't sew all the way around the edges, but it would probably be worth the extras effort to secure the fins properly.
I also purchased a red wig for 8 Euro to complete the look. It's lovely: the hair doesn't look to fake and the wig is very comfy. The biggest challenge will be tucking my hair under the wig, which will require a lot of hairpins, gel and brute force.
Here's the finished skirt.
I'll be wearing this on the 5th June at the Earth Garden festival.
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