From: Gothic Teddybear
Subject: Re: F-COST: horsetails

The way I was taught (working at the Tuxedo Park, NY Ren Faire) was that you make a 1“ long “tube” or ring of strong leather the diameter of all the hairs you have (cut a strip of leather 1” wide by however long you need to go around the bundle and sew the ends together). With end of the hairs in the ring, soak it in water overnight and then let it dry in the sun. The leather band will shrink fit around the hairs, and it'll compress it all. Cut one end of the hairs about 1/8“ inside the ring, so it's inset on one side and the long strands are sticking out the other end. At this point, tug the hairs a little to see if any fall out, and, if they do, drip some epoxy or some other glue into the short end. Sew it flush with a leather belt, stitch it in, and you're all set.

 ____     |--,
|    |    |  E-.
|____|    |__E-.\
     '    \\\
          |||  

If you want a tail that doesn't stick straight out from your waist but, rather, points downward, make the ring 2” long and then, once it's shrunk, cut it at an angle. The final shape, unstitched, would look like this:

  /\      |\
 /  \     | \
|    |    |  \. 
|____|    |\ /\
            v\\\
              \\\
               |\\
               |||