A tale of a tail. (a tutorial written by Erika Leigh Rosengarten a.k.a. Chilly Mouse)

(abridged version)

You will need:

-a low pile or 1/8th pile light tan-yellow fur (also known as honey-beige at JoAnn Fabrics)

-about 6 to 10 new laundry markers (can be found pretty much anywhere)

-scissors

-long ruler (that can measure to at least 2 feet)

-hair spray

-bleach (optional)

-a well ventilated room

-thread and needle

-sewing machine (optional)

Steps taken for laying out the fur:

-Layout the fur flat, and measure out a rectangular 2’ 8” x 4 ?”.

-Cut out the pattern as such.

-On the back, lightly trace out a pattern for the tail. Cheetahs have 4 to 6 rings from the bottom and up, and spots fading off from that.

Steps taken for dying spots and stripes on the fur:

-Trace on the back of the fur the strips and spots on how you would like the trail to look. Make sure it’s dark enough to see through the fur. DON’T color it in yet!

-On the fur side, trace on the fabric holding the fur the pattern design. It’s okay if it’s not perfect. Color that in when you are done.

-Once you do that, color with the sharpie on top of the fur. Slide the marker in the direction of the fur as much as possible. The patterns do not fade into the fur. Try to make them look as solid as possible. The idea of the fabric being solid under the fur is so that the spots and strips don’t look like they have bald spots.

-When that is all done, color in the shapes on the back. You will notice that some of the sharpie may have been colored outside the lines of the fabric that was dyed on the fur-side.

-Recommend letting each 1 or 2 spots dry for 5 minutes before coloring in another one so you won’t smudge them.

-Rubbing alcohol or nail polish remover can get it off your hands.

-Although it makes the fur a bit spiked, you want to cover ALL the black areas with hair spray twice. Do it once when it’s dry, brush out areas very little that are sticking down enough, and spray it again. I made the mistake of not spraying it before I sewed a small part of it near the stripes. I went back and did that.

-If you smudge a little bit, nail polish remover works okay. Bleach is an option.

Cleaning the fur with bleach (option):

-If you chose to work with bleach make sure the fur won’t turn white if you do by testing it on a piece of scrap fur

-Pour the bleach into the cap, and over the smudged area. Then with a soft cloth of paper towel (I used paper towel), rub the area. The fur doesn’t need to be soaked, just wet.

-When you are done, let it sit out for a few hours. A window if a great idea.

-If you touch bleach, YOU WILL SMELL LIKE BLEACH! Wash your hands afterwards with a scented soap, or even shampoo.

Sewing the fur:

-When you are ready to and the fur is ALL dry (it must be, or the dyed areas may smudge), sew the fur how ever you would normally. Hand sew or machine.

Doesn’t matter.

-Cheetah tails may either end in a white or black tip. For a black tip, sew shut, but round the ends. For white, use a white pile material (1/4” is good), and sew a rounded end onto the cheetah fur.

-As you sew, turn the fur inside out little by little, until it is all done.

-The top 6 inches are curled over and sewn to create a belt “hook up”. You slide a belt into this, and the tail hangs off your pants. I would hand sew this.

-When you are done, stuff the tail, or insert any item you wish to create a curl with. A bent coat hanger works fine. Just slide it into the end.

-The belt hook up tail will bounce off your legs as you walk.

-When you are done, well, have fun!

I think since July of 1999 I got into doing costume designing of animal creations. I noticed on the web there aren’t too many resources on how to construct tails. A friend even called me “maker of tails” once. ::scritches Lincoln::

Well, by accident, I came up with how to create a cheetah tail after an idea and talking to a few friends online and in person. This all started because I needed a low pile white fur for a pair of gloves. I found something a little different.

When I visited Jo-Ann’s back in March of 2000, a friend and I went over to the fur section. Bryan’s not a fur, but liked my sewing creations. With the loan of a dollar plus mine (the total was $1.84 I believe), I picked out a very low pile lightened-tan yellow fur. I believe the pile’s about 1/8th inch. I asked the lady at the counter to cut a 4th of a yard for me. Later on that day I noticed the color reminded me of a cheetah, and in the past have failed to find printed fur as such. I decided to give myself the challenge to create a tail.

I did a little research. Cheetahs don’t have very thick tails. In fact, the tail I made is about 1 ? inches in diameter. Some cheetahs have white tipped tails, some don’t. they also have 4 to 6 black rings that surround the tail, and spots that form rings but separate into spots higher up the tail. The tails also usually have a curl to the bottom. Normally cheetahs usually have this, unless they are hunting.

Late at night as I am nocturnal and often bored at school, I measured of a strip of fur. The strip was measured at 2’ 8” x 4 ?”. When sewn shut as mentioned, the diameter is about 1 ?”.

Looking at many photos of the beautiful animals, I created a pattern for it. The pattern was then dyed into the fur with laundry markers. Any permanent black marker will do. Don’t use Prisma markers. They’re not very good. Sharpies are the best, and when dying the top of the fur, they wear out easy. This is a step by step on how I dyed in the fur:

-Trace on the back of the fur the strips and spots on how you would like the trail to look. Make sure it’s dark enough to see through the fur. DON’T color it in yet!

-On the fur side, trace on the fabric holding the fur the pattern design. It’s okay if it’s not perfect. Color that in when you are done.

-Once you do that, color with the sharpie on top of the fur. Slide the marker in the direction of the fur as much as possible. The patterns do not fade into the fur. Try to make them look as solid as possible. The idea of the fabric being solid under the fur is so that the spots and strips don’t look like they have bald spots.

-When that is all done, color in the shapes on the back. You will notice that some of the sharpie may have been colored outside the lines of the fabric that was dyed on the fur-side.

I recommend letting each 1 or 2 spots dry for 5 minutes before coloring in another one so you won’t smudge them. I was covered in sharpies doing this, but rubbing alcohol or nail polish remover can get it off your hands.

Very important. Although it makes the fur a bit spiked, you want to cover ALL the black areas with hair spray twice. Do it once when it’s dry, brush out areas very little that are sticking down enough, and spray it again. I made the mistake of not spraying it before I sewed a small part of it near the stripes. I went back and did that.

I had a small accident of smudging. In my case, the fur would not lose its color in bleach. If you touch bleach, YOU WILL SMELL LIKE BLEACH! I stress that extremely. This is not something you want to breath, eat, or on your clothes. I cleaned the smudged areas of bleach before and after I sprayed it down with hair spray. Doesn’t matter the order. I was also in a small room with both the windows and door open. Never work with bleach in an unventilated room! It will make you sick and possibly dizzy. When you are done with the bleach, wash your hands right afterwards with a scented soap or ever shampoo.

To work with bleach (make sure the fur won’t turn white if you do by testing it on a piece of scrap fur), pour the bleach into the cap, and over the smudged area. Then with a soft cloth of paper towel (I used paper towel), rub the area. The fur doesn’t need to be soaked, just wet. When you are done, let it sit out for a few hours. A window if a great idea.

Now, like a mentioned, some cheetahs have white and some have black tipped tails. I tipped mine with a fluffy white. It’s an option. They look fine without a round fluffy white tip.

When you are done, sew up the tube how ever you normally sew. You can use a machine, but I normally hand sew everything. The top 6 inches are curled over and sewn to create a belt “hook up”. You slide a belt into this, and the tail hangs off your pants. I would hand sew this. When you are done, stuff the tail, or insert any item you wish to create a curl with. A bent coat hanger works fine. Just slide it into the end. The belt hook up tail will bounce off your legs as you walk.

When you are done, well, have fun!