It’s the same fabric as the Green Merman but this time the fabric is over-dyed blue.
A glass fish bead on his belt.
Blue Merman with Octopus(es)
Tag Archives: merman
Green Merman
More African wax print fabric for his tail. His beard fabric looks bubbly to me.
It might not be obvious but the side fins are a dark red-purple.
Dark Merman, Skeleton tattoos
I am really excited about working with this African wax print fabric. I need to learn more about it. This piece (which was gifted to me) has a slightly shiny surface, even after washing. I will be keeping my eye out for other patterns that would work with my designs.
I REALLY struggled with his hair. I tried out 3 other colors/patterns before settling on this orange-peachy color. And when I say tried, I mean I cut out the hair and beard, sewed up the beard, pinned it all on his head… then decided I didn’t like it! And his hair style-
I wanted to do something with 2 “braids” but it took a lot of fiddling. Of course that is always the way when figuring out something new.
Merman 2
This merman fellow is more blue-green than his friend yesterday. He has stormy sea green eyes.
More ships and a button that looks like sea glass. A port scene on his back and an embroidered rick rack belt.
Blue Merman 3
Are you tired of these mermen yet? I have one more left to finish before I am on to the next thing. But honestly, these have been really fun!
Yep, purple beard and hair.
And how do you like that topknot/man bun.
And here he is, hanging out at his birthplace.
Blond Merman
When I was dyeing up the fabric pieces for these mermen, I had the idea that I wanted to make a golden one. When I searched through the colors, I choose one that was labeled caramel. And I did get caramel. But I was still thinking about golden: hence the blond hair. He ended up completely different from what I’d been aiming for at the start but I love who he became. It is always a surprise.
Picking out a button is always a very big decision!
Very big, Big Merman
Yes, he is a very big fellow. This is a link to another big man merman that I made a while back. You may notice that this new merman has a longer tail. When I cut out the tail pieces, I adjusted the proportions of the tail to match the slimmer guys, not really thinking about how his torso is longer. So he’s ended up about 2 inches longer than any of the other mermen. Oh well!
Also, he is made of linen which is a little stretchier when stuffed so that helped him grow.
I have listed 2 of the other mermen into my etsy shop today but I’m going to hold off on this one. I need to figure out if I’ve got a box that he would fit into for shipping!
Merman + Vintage Laura Ashley
I have a seemingly endless store of fabric, spanning so many years of collecting. This merman tail is made of vintage Laura Ashley fabric, circa 1970’s. My sister lived in Montreal in the 70’s and could buy bags of off-cuts which she gifted to me- thanks Tina! I still have some of it in my stash and it shows up every once in a while.
More hair styling-
The button looks like sea glass.
Merman with Blue Tail
This fellows looks like he is from the colder part of the ocean, not the tropics. He is more into the camouflage and limited colors versus the bright tropical colors.
I thought he was looking a little too plain so I sewed these antique star beads onto his beard.
He also has a fish bead-
The little fins are the same pattern as his hair but in a different colorway.
Blue Merman 2
Another blue man, this one with an octopus on his chest…. and arms, and back.
That is an antique shell button. My collection of buttons is endless. And a close-up of the embroidery on the rick rack.
