How to Make a Mermaid Tail With Pajama Pants

Mermaids sport a tail instead of legs.

Mermaids are gorgeous water creatures that are half human and half fish. Although mermaids live solely in the fantasy realm, anyone can create a fabric tail. Transforming into a mermaid works well for Halloween, costume parties or for fun photo shoots. It's relatively easy to change a pair of pajama pants into a mermaid tail. The benefit of a do-it-yourself mermaid tale is being able to design something with a custom fit that will flatter the wearer.

Things You'll Need

• Pajama pants
• Seam ripper
• Scissors
• Pins
• Iron
• Sewing machine
• Thread
• Cloth tape measure
• Cotton fabric
• Fabric marking pen
• Metallic or transparent fabric
• Paint marker
• Needle and thread

Instructions

1. Turn the pajama pants inside out. Starting from the left cuff of the leg, rip seams loose with a seam ripper. Continue ripping until all the seams are gone from both pant legs.

2. Place the pants on a flat surface and pin together the two open seams of the front pant legs. Flip the pants over, revealing a large open area between the two rear pant panels, similar to an upside-down V.

3. Place a section of cotton fabric in the open area and secure it by folding the pant seam in 1/4 inch and pinning it together. Iron down the new seam. This creates the form-fitting mermaid body.

4. Stitch the entire length of the new seam using a basic stitch on the sewing machine while staying close to the edge. Hem the bottom of the skirt closed. Turn the pajama skirt right-side out.

5. Draw the outline of the caudal fin -- the tail fin of the mermaid -- with the fabric marking pen on metallic or transparent fabric. Cut out the fin and draw the detail of fin lines with a paint marker. Allow to dry.

6. Lay the pajama skirt flat with the back side facing up. Hand-stitch the fin onto the very bottom of the skirt or use the sewing machine to attach it.

7. Draw large circles with a metallic paint marker on transparent fabric to represent scales. Cut the circles out and pin them to the tail. Attach them by hand-stitching each scale with needle and thread. Stitch the entire circumference of each scale.

Tips & Warnings

• Choose a metallic or transparent fabric for the mermaid's tail fin and scales.

References

• Mermaid Fantasy: Mermaid Costume
• not martha: to make: making a skirt out of a pair of jeans