# Attaching extra hair to a tail... how to do it?



## Arsenic Cherries (Sep 19, 2008)

I have ideas of how to actually *attach* the hair, or at least, thread it through the fur. But the problem comes in making it *stay* Gluing it down to the inside via flexible foam sheets, plastic mesh, or directly to the fur is likely to make it too stiff to bend into the right shape to follow the "tube" shape. Knotting the hair would take forever, and tying it with thread would be almost as much of an issue. This is the effect I'm attempting, here:






Does anyone have any suggestions on how to go about it? (I probably could use fabric glue, as it's supposed to be flexible, but I'm curious to know what other ideas are possible.) Thanks in advance!


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## Lillie Charllotte (Sep 20, 2008)

Well, All I can say is buy synthetic hair (such as hair extensions) You can get blonde and dye it any color and use fabric glue. 
All I can help you with.


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## Arsenic Cherries (Sep 20, 2008)

Lillie Charllotte said:


> Well, All I can say is buy synthetic hair (such as hair extensions) You can get blonde and dye it any color and use fabric glue.
> All I can help you with.



 I do already have sythetic hair in the colors I need, I just need to know how to attach it. Thank you though! Fabric glue might work. ^_^


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## Lightstep (Sep 20, 2008)

Looks very similar to how I'll be doing my tail. Mine will be one of those lofty horse tails. You know, when a horse is running and it's happy and it's tail is lifted up? So it's actually very similar in structure to yours (only shorter). I haven't tried this method yet, but out of all the others I've experimented with, this one seems to have a better result.

I'm guessing the hair you will be using is loose, which works best (No wig scraps. Ugh. Terrible stuff). Lay your hair out lengthwise. It should be double the finished length, since we'll be folding it at the middle. Twist tie the center firmly, and use a soft brush to detangle the ends. Remove twist tie and divid the hair into 2-3 managable portions. Twist tie all but the one you are working on currently. Brush out again if it gets ruffled. 

Now, you are going to start seperating your main piece into much smaller bunchs. I use hair clips to hold it together, or bobby pins. This prevents the hair from getting ruffled and pulling. (Always seperate knots with your fingers without pulling). You want strands with roughly 20-40 hairs, depending on how thick it is. When you pull a strand out, knot it in the middle and set it aside. Do this for all the hair. (I do it while watching T.V. so it doesn't take very long).

Once they are all knotted in the middle, pull out a ribbon about 0.5"-1" in width. Get out your gluegun. I find this works best if I can tack the ribbon down on something (board, wall, whatever works). Run a managable line of glue, and start attaching your hair. Put it so the knot hangs over the top edge, so the glue is holding the hairs, not the knot. Repeat, spacing however you see fit (thicker, more sparse, etc).

Once you are done your length, run another line of glue and attach another layer of ribbon, 'sandwiching' the hairs. There, now you have a line of hairs that is secure, and still flexible. If you used a fair amount of glue, you can even trim down the ribbon to remove the knots (some hairs may come out, but it'll remove some bulk). Now you can attach these into your tail under the fur, they will follow the line, you can layer them up to make the tail thicker or thinner and it's not as time consuming as hand threading them.


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## Arsenic Cherries (Sep 20, 2008)

Lightstep said:


> Looks very similar to how I'll be doing my tail. Mine will be one of those lofty horse tails. You know, when a horse is running and it's happy and it's tail is lifted up? So it's actually very similar in structure to yours (only shorter). I haven't tried this method yet, but out of all the others I've experimented with, this one seems to have a better result.
> 
> I'm guessing the hair you will be using is loose, which works best (No wig scraps. Ugh. Terrible stuff). Lay your hair out lengthwise. It should be double the finished length, since we'll be folding it at the middle. Twist tie the center firmly, and use a soft brush to detangle the ends. Remove twist tie and divid the hair into 2-3 managable portions. Twist tie all but the one you are working on currently. Brush out again if it gets ruffled.
> 
> ...



Oh my thank you SO much..... that's incredibly helpful.... I think you just saved me a LOT of work. wow. Again, thank you very much. I'll get a picture of it when it's done to show you! Very _very _much appreciated.


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## Lightstep (Sep 21, 2008)

Arsenic Cherries said:


> Oh my thank you SO much..... that's incredibly helpful.... I think you just saved me a LOT of work. wow. Again, thank you very much. I'll get a picture of it when it's done to show you! Very _very _much appreciated.



Hey no problem! I'm all for time saving. Definately toss some pictures this way once you're done. Looks like it's going to be one snazzy lookin' tail!


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