I love mermaids! They present such wonderful opportunities that I can’t seem to stop making them. It is a toss up as to whether or not the creation of the tail fabric or the actual figure is the best part for me. Working layer upon layer of chiffons, laces, and other bits and pieces is such fun that I can get carried away. If the base fabric I create for my mermaid gets too worked on, it is harder to sew it together. It also leaves little room for me to add to after the figure is made. Not to mention it can be difficult to do any hand sewing if the needle can’t get through the layers!

The bonus of texturizing the fabric a bit before sewing the figure is that I end up with lots of leftovers that become my smaller mermaids (also fabulous for making pin dolls).

I find mermaids ideal for using leftovers from other projects. The shape is perfect for me as I don’t need to fiddle with feet. Skin colour tends to be a bit off the wall – blues and greens are my favourites – I figure that any self-respecting mermaid would have some built in camouflage. I do try not to get “cute” with the figures as most stories about mermaids are not exactly about nice characters.

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