# First Yarn Tail! ( WIP -- Long post! )



## Rainbowshaven (Jun 30, 2012)

*First Yarn Tail! ( WIP -- Updated 7/9/12  )*

A couple days ago I found out about Yarn Tails: Fluffy (and realistic looking!) tails made from... Well, yarn. Obviously. Intrigued, I looked up a few tutorials and decided to make one for myself. Although the tail is really time consuming to make, it's also very easy and if you're even a little crafty and are looking for a tail, go for it! This solved a lot of problems I've had when looking for a tail. 

I used this tutorial: http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/fox-tailout-of-yarn

I started out by cutting and braiding a ton (although perhaps not quite enough) of yarn into the tail's base. I cut the strings along the bottom and brushed them out. I'm not to pleased with that mess at the "top" yet--I haven't decided how to deal with it yet (cut it off, sew over it, brush it out, etc?). But that's for later!







I decided to start out by making 30 tufts of fur and sewing them on. Since it took about 6 tufts of fur to fill out a "row" on the tail, this was enough for the first 5 rows. :3






Each tuft of fur has to be cut/measured, tied in the middle, then brushed out. This is how the tufts look as they're being brushed out (the third photo is the final) and how much yarn comes out by the time all is said and done! I've filled up my bathroom-sized trashcan several times now. 






After the tufts are combed out they have to be straightened. This is the before/after. I used good quality yarn (Wal-mart didn't have any cheap light blue yarn D: ) so it wasn't TOO curly after I was done. I really think the straightening is just a matter of personal taste--if my boyfriend and I make his tail, we might try it without straightening for a slightly fluffier look. 






My one problem with that tutorial was that there was no real description of how to sew on the tufts. It literally just says: "Sew on the tufts." How do you sew a piece of fluff to a yarn braid?! I was really confused and had a hard time of it at first, ending up with this crazy mess. This was only for the first row, however. After this, I figured out that I could loop my thread around a few pieces of the yarn then take the thread through the bottom of the tuft-knot, across the top-middle, then back down to the bottom. After that, I carefully slid it beneath the base and repeated 3-4 times. This worked out a lot better and looked nicer! When I got all the tufts sew on in a row this way, I was able to fold the fur from the other half of the tuft down over the knot for a smoother, fluffier look that hides the knots. :3






That was what it looked like with the fur folded down!






And finally with the 30 tufts (5 rows) sew on! ( Please ignore the bottles D: A girl's gotta drink! ) One thing I would've liked was some better estimates on how much yarn it took and tufts it took... So I took a lot of pictures! From here on out I'll only post pictures like this though. :3 I hope this helps someone! I really like looking at things like this myself, so I figured someone else might like to see too.

The materials costed me about $15: $4 for the pet-fur comb and the rest was for 3 skeins of yarn (two blue and one white). I've done two more rows since yesterday, but they took 7 tufts instead of 6, since the braid is larger at the top. So right now I'm at 40 tufts and I'm a little under halfway up the tail. It's VERY soft and looks beautiful! It also has a good weight and is flexible; with a wire core, it could easily be posable.

I've seen people selling these (although I don't know how much they're going for) since they're so easy and can be pretty cheap to make (with cheaper yarn) I encourage people to try making their own! :3 I'll post some more pictures here as I get closer to finishing. I'll try to give estimates on how much yarn I used as I go along too.


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## Hinalle K. (Jun 30, 2012)

It's so fluffy!

And you have the same keyboard I do :T


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## Dokid (Jun 30, 2012)

It's looking pretty good! I suggest making them a bit longer maybe or putting different lengths so it's less choppy.


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## Shaloxeroligon (Jul 2, 2012)

I like how it looks.  Keep at it and it'll be ready to go in no time.


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## kytris (Jul 2, 2012)

looks awesome so far i would love to try this


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## ScaredToBreathe (Jul 8, 2012)

They aren't necessarily rocket science to make, just very time consuming.
Great job on yours!


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## Luckiione (Jul 9, 2012)

I decided to give this a try after finding out a friend of mine's fursuit commissioner was making his that way and I could not at all fathom WHY, since it's apparently extremely time consuming. Well, it's time consuming, but it's therapeutic and easy work. I used the no-sew method, where I just left out two strings from the bundles and tied it securely to the braid spine. I also hand dyed the tip of the tail brown with acrylic paint (key to that is to soak, blow dry, and do NOT rinse it after. The color will come right off.) I also will have to dye the rest of the tail this way too, since it's too light of a yellow to match my partial. But overall, I LOVE it. It's so soft and awesome and it moves so naturally!


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## Rainbowshaven (Jul 9, 2012)

Luckiione said:


> But overall, I LOVE it. It's so soft and awesome and it moves so naturally!



Looks great, Luckiione!  I love mine so far as well. It's not as long, but it's very fluffy and it certainly does move naturally! One of the other things I really like (although it may be specific to the sewing method) is that the knots along the inside form a very realistic "spine-esque" feeling. When you squeeze the tail it has a nice weight to it and feels just like a real tail! 

I spent a few days kind of busy, but since my convention is coming up this weekend, I had to get some more work done! My tail was at right about 40% before yesterday and here it is now...  Got five rows done with the help of my mate! And I took some nicer pictures, to boot. ( These photos are actually after 4 rows; I needed a break! )

"Full" tail  It's not super long, since my fursona has a semi-short tail. 





Closer shot of the knotting and the top... I'm going to be combing all but about 5 of those extra strands out and folding them down, to give a smooth look that hides the knot. 





Underside of the tail, showing the white (I know it's hard to see!)





Closeup on the white to show the contrast a bit more.





It still looks a bit choppy, but it does tend to look a lot better when it's all combed out. My boyfriend also offered to 'straighten' the pieces together using his hair straightener to help mix them up and smooth it out a bit. 

Right now I think I'm maybe... 3-4 rows away? I have a few other projects to get finished tonight ( including a gas mask, badges, and the far less interesting... Cleaning. D: ) so I might take a break for a day and finish it up tomorrow. I still have a few days, so we'll see!


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