How to Make a Mermaid Tail: Easy Little Mermaid Craft!

I’ve been obsessed with The Little Mermaid since I was a child. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the film’s release – can you believe it?! So to celebrate the release of The Signature Edition of The Little Mermaid on Blu-ray, I got together with Jessie for a fun girl’s night where she taught me how to make a mermaid tail!

How to Make a Mermaid Tail: Easy Little Mermaid Craft

Supplies:

Fabric
Elastic
Thread
Kraft paper
Pen
Pins
Needle
Sewing machine
Measuring tape
Craft foam

Assembly:

To get started, you’ll want to measure your waist and buy enough fabric to wrap around yourself, plus some buffer for any mistakes; I bought two yards of fabric to make a tail for myself. You can choose any mermaid-y fabric that you like – I opted for a green crushed velvet fabric, which gave me 90s vibes that seemed fitting for a Little Mermaid costume!

Once you have your fabric, it’s time to get sewing! Roll out your kraft paper on the floor, sit down with your legs pointed, and have a friend trace a mermaid tail shape around you. We ran out of kraft paper, so we substituted kitty cat wrapping paper, which worked just as well!

Once you have your tail shape, cut it out and pin it to your fabric. To do this, you’ll want to take your entire length of fabric and fold it in half once. This way, when you pin the pattern on and cut through the fabric, you’ll end up with both sides of the tail cut out and pinned together. Make sure that you fold the fabric inside out – for example, if one side of your fabric has a pattern and the other side is blank, fold it in half so that the blank side is facing up when you pin the pattern to it. That way, once the tail is sewn and turned inside out, the pattern side of the fabric will be on the outside of the tail.

Once the pattern is pinned on, cut the tail out.

Once you have your tail cut out, remove the paper by taking out each pin and pinning it back underneath to just the fabric.

Run the sides of the tail through the sewing machine, leaving the bottom open for your feet, then turn the tail inside out. Measure a length of elastic around your waist, cut it to size, then take the top of your mermaid tail and fold it down over the elastic. Run it through the sewing machine to sew it shut and create an elastic waistband.

Next, cut out your fin out of the remaining fabric. We just did this freehand, leaving sample room for my feet. Turn the fin inside out and run it through the sewing machine, leaving an opening at the top so that you can affix it to the tail and fit your feet through it.

Place your fin on a piece of craft foam and trace around it. Cut the shape out of the foam, then cut it down to be smaller than the fin, so that you can place it inside the fabric to help the fin keep its shape. Then, turn your fin inside out, slip the foam inside it, and sew it on to the tail. We did one side of this on the sewing machine and then finished the other side by hand.

And hey presto! Your tail is done!

When the tail is finished, you can stick your feet through the fins and pull it up to your waist, a little like putting on a giant onesie. Moving in it feels like wearing a very tight pencil skirt with very high heels – you can waddle in it if you’re extremely careful, but remember that this is meant as a fun costume to lounge and take photos in rather than walk around in. It is a mermaid tail, after all! 😉

The sky is the limit as far as fabric is concerned – Jessie picked out this amazing sparkly fabric for her mermaid tail, which she used as the template to help me make mine from. Ariel may want to be a part of our world, but we clearly want to be a part of hers with our fun mermaid tails!

Pin It For Later!

The Signature Edition of “The Little Mermaid” showcases its award-winning musical score and iconic songs such as “Under the Sea” and “Part of Your World” with a sing-along mode allowing you to accompany this beloved cast of characters on their journey. Never-before-seen bonus features bring legendary composer Alan Menken and some of Disney’s most recognizable leading ladies together around a piano to reminisce, sing and celebrate “The Little Mermaid.” The latest installment of “Stories from Walt’s Office” compares Walt and Ariel’s love of collecting treasures. Viewers will also receive an inside look at the “The Little Mermaid” cast in their original recording sessions, explore hidden treasures and fun facts from the film, and enjoy a special performance of “Part of Your World” by a cappella singing sensation DCapella. Plus, fans will have access to hours of additional classic bonus features!

Based on Hans Christian Andersen’s classic fairy tale about a beautiful mermaid princess who dreams of becoming human, “The Little Mermaid” was directed by John Musker and Ron Clements (“Aladdin”). It features the voice talents of Jodi Benson (“Toy Story 2,” “Toy Story 3”) as Ariel, Pat Carroll (“Laverne & Shirley”) as Ursula, Samuel E. Wright (Broadway’s “The Lion King”) as Sebastian, Christopher Daniel Barnes (“The Brady Bunch Movie”) as Eric, Kenneth Mars (“Young Frankenstein”) as Triton, Buddy Hackett (“The Music Man”) as Scuttle, Jason Marin (“Back to the Future”) as Flounder and René Auberjonois (“The Patriot”) as Chef Louis. The film was originally released in theaters on Nov. 15, 1989 and is the 28th film from Walt Disney Animation Studios, and the first in what many described as a new Disney animation renaissance.

BLU-RAY & DIGITAL

• Sing-Along Mode – Sing along to the movie in this sing-along version of the film.

 

• Alan Menken & the Leading Ladies Song – From the voice of a mermaid to the tunes of a muse, the music of Alan Menken has scored the soundtrack for some of Disney’s most iconic leading ladies. Join Alan, Jodi Benson (Ariel), Paige O’Hara (Belle), Judy Kuhn (Pocahontas Singing Voice), Lillias White (Calliope) and Donna Murphy (Mother Gothel)as we celebrate the music of their films in honor of the one that started it all … “The Little Mermaid.”  In this discussion, the ladies will share their memories of musically creating their characters with Alan, discuss what it means to be part of the Disney Princess/leading lady legacy and create new memories as they sing with Alan around a baby grand piano.

 

• “What I Want From You…Is YOUR VOICE” – Enter the recording studio and get an inside look at the cast of “The Little Mermaid” in their original recording sessions.

 

• Stories From Walt’s Office – Gadgets & Gizmos – Like Ariel, Walt Disney was a collector of many different things from miniatures to early mechanical characters that inspired the invention of audio-animatronics. We take a look at some the collections that Walt kept in his office in the third episode of this series.

 

• #TreasuresUntold – Join Ruby Rose Turner and Olivia Sanabia from the Disney Channel Original Series “Coop and Cami Ask the World” as they take a deep dive to explore some hidden treasures and fun facts about Disney’s “The Little Mermaid.”

 

• DCapella “Part of Your World” Music Video

 

• Classic Bonus Features – revisit four exciting bonus features from previous releases including:
  • Deleted Character: Harold The Merman
  • Under The Scene: The Art Of Live Action Reference
  • Howard’s Lecture
  • Audio Commentary With Ron Clements, John Musker and Alan Menken

 

DIGITAL EXCLUSIVES

• “Part of Your World” – A 30-Year Retrospective – Songwriter Alan Menken and Jodi Benson, the acting and singing voice of Ariel, sing the epitome of Disney “I Want” songs “Part of Your World” and discuss its impact since it was first heard 30 years ago.

 

• Classic Bonus Features – Over 3 additional hours of previously released classic bonus features including Deleted Scenes, Easter Eggs, Music Videos and more!

 

 

*Bonus features may vary by retailer