ok ok as someone who's made yarn tails before here's some advice:
USE HIGH QUALITY YARN. Red heart works in a pinch but if you can get something slightly pricey-er I promise it pays for itself in the long run.
S T R A I G T E N IT!!! ESPECIALLY if you are using cheap yarn. It will mat and tangle way quicker if the yarn isn't straightened.
If you've already made your tail (using a tiktok tutorial where you tie strands onto the base), then run a straightener or iron over it a few times until it's smooth. Also adds a nice sheen to the fluff.
If you're using the wefts and base method then sew them on don't tie them.
Use a bead for the top attachment. Metal rings tend to slip open and lose strands and it is incredibly annoying. one of those clips with a solid ring works too in a pinch.
Use a slicker brush to brush the fibers, not a deshedding tool
this one I stole from tiktok: you can attach tails to a belt loop even without a clip. Safety pins can clip them on if they're light enough, you can use a paperclip if you slide the tail in on one end and slide it through your belt loop on the other (like a keychain ring). Rubber bands work too bc you can tie them on by folding it around the tail and then over the belt loop
You can make yarn tails in unnatural colors, and ones that aren't your theriotype. Tails are just for fun, as much as they are gear. My favorite yarn tail is rainbow after all and I love that thing to death.
Brush them after each use, especially at the base and ESPECIALLY if you've been sitting on them. detangle the tangles when they happen.
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A Therian that doesn’t want a taxidermy tail but still wants realistic look and feel? Or just need a quick tail for a costume and don’t want to spend money/get one of those ugly Walmart tails? This is a super easy tail tutorial, using scrap material and very basic sewing skills that I also direct how to do if needed. It can be completed within an hour if you already have basic sewing skills, and will only take 3 hours max even if you’ve never sewn before! The end result moves like a real tail and looks like a real tail if you use realistic fur.
I make a wolf tail, but this method can be used for almost any animal with fur.
Possible TW- Real taxidermy tails shown, and an up close picture of the leather in a tail for reference
The middle tail is the fake one I made in this tutorial, next to my tanned coyote tails.
YOU WILL NEED
Scissors
sewing needle and thread
a strip of fur (i’m using scrap fur from a coat hood and will show how to use that), twice as wide as you want the tail and as long as you want the tail, plus at least 5 inches for doubling it over if you’re making a coyote/wolf tail- for cat tails you won’t need this, for fox tails you will need it twice as long as you want the tail. Ex.- mine was a 5 inch wide, 26 inch fur strip. my tail ended up being 3 inches thick not including the length of the hair and 19 inches long.
optional- seam ripper, they can make it easier but you can just use scissors if you don’t have one
STEP ONE (if using a hood)
cut the fur off of the hood- make sure not to cut any of the actual fur! Leave some of the fabric from the hood on when making the first cut to make sure you don’t cut the fur fabric, or you won’t have enough fur for the tail. Cut close to the fur, but not the fur fabric. Then, cut about half an inch off each end of the fur, where the thick seams are- this is to separate the fur fabric from the hood fabric. now you will be able to remove the fabric of the hood- you can probably just pull them apart but you may have to cut the seams.
make sure not to cut the fur strands or you’ll have weird square cut fur on the tail!
STEP TWO
-skip to under picture if making a cat tail or one you don’t have to fold widthwise-
now that you have your fur, mark where you want the bottom of your tail to be- so if you want your tail to be 20 inches long completed and you have to fold the fur halfway up to be thicker at the end than the top (wolf and coyote tails are shaped like that) Then mark at 20 inches. this should leave 10 inches to be folded. Now, to make your tail pointed you will need to cut it into shape. To do this, draw two triangles like so-
And cut them off. when folded, the tip of the tail should look something like this-
If you’re making a cat tail, fold the fabric lengthwise and cut the corners off! you do not have to fold it horizontally, only vertically.
STEP THREE- skip if making cat tail
Now you can start sewing! you will want the fur sides in, the fabric side out to sew. it doesn’t have to be sewn well, you won’t see it from the outside at all. Starting from the tip of the tail, use a basic straight stitch, which looks like this-
and is done just by sticking the needle through both layers from one side to the other in a pleated pattern and then pulling the thread through. the fabric should be flat after you pull it through, or you pulled the thread too tight. You can just pull the fabric flat usually, if you have enough thread to go through all the fabric. Make sure you leave about 1/8 inch of the edge of the fabric, or if it frays your sewing can come undone.
continue sewing until you get about 2 inches from the edge of the folded piece, here-
And cut the corners off, so it’s triangular. sew only the one side of the triangle to the side you’re sewing. Now end the stitch, by going through only the top layer of fabric with the needle, pulling the thread only halfway through, and then putting the needle through the thread loop. Then pull it tight. Do this two or three times, then cut the thread. Leave about half an inch of thread on the knot, so if it comes loose it doesn’t completely undo.
repeat on the other side, getting all the way to the end of the folded fabric. If you made a fox tail, then you’re done until Step five because the whole tail is folded like that, there is no skinny part..
STEP FOUR
For the skinny part of the tail, or for the whole tail if making a cat tail, fold the rest of the tail horizontally-
and sew up to the top. Make sure to leave an opening of about 2 inches to flip it right side out!
My cat decided to join me here, so he’s become part of the background XD
STEP FIVE
Flip right side out/ fur side out!
For realistic movement, you DO NOT want to stuff it with anything. Real tails just have a little piece of leather in the center, nothing else-
If you want it to be poseable, you can put wire in the middle. You’ll want to add a dab of hot glue to the ends of the wire so it stays put. The top of the tail will still be open, you will want to sew it closed by folding the very edge of the fabric in and sewing it like that, so you don’t see the edge of the fabric-
sew it shut using that method every stitch. Now you can sew any type of fastener or clip to it to attach it to you. And it’s done!
Here is a picture of the rough measurements I used for each type of tail; to cut the fur, place the fluffy side down and use a box cutter NOT SCISSORS! It will feel weird, but you will maintain the pile of the fur this way/there will not be any blunt obvious cuts. Be careful! Cut a rectangle shape first, then go back and do the tapered point. Be sure to leave a hole at the base of the tail where it will ‘attach’ to the body.
Fold in half will the fluffy side out and sew together using a whip stitch (look it up on YouTube if you aren’t sure what that looks like; it’s easy don’t worry)
If you are doing a fox or other type of ring tail, you will need multiple thread colors to switch between and you will need the join the separate colors together before folding it into a tail shape.
Sew a small loop of ribbon into the hole and then close it up. You are almost done!
Make a ‘belt’ with the elastic around your doll’s waist and thread your ribbon loop through the elastic, then tie a knot. Now you can take the tail off and on!
You’re done!
*for a more ‘natural’ look, try to match the fur to the dolls hair unless you plan on making matching ears
* if you end up making one, feel free to show me :) but I’d prefer that you didn’t make a bunch to sell individually to others unless it is part of a complete custom doll
The tail was made by sewing lots of scraps together to make a big rectangle. The tail pattern is a long thin isosceles triangle, folded in half and stuffed.
Stuffing the tail was difficult, because you can’t really poke the stuffing to the end of the tail. I ended up hand-sewing the tail shut for 10cm, then adding stuffing, then sewing, then adding more stuffing, until the whole thing was stuffed. I didn’t have Dacron or similar, so used scraps of satin and some wig fibres that I had (I massacred a blonde wig, and there were lumpy unusable wefts everywhere. Normal stuffing or even the beads used for bean bags would probably be a better choice-with the beans you might even be able to sew the tail all the way up, then pour the beads through the top).
Using watered down grey acrylic paint, I painted the tail light grey, then used a thicker paint mix to paint on the darker stripes. Lastly I added a ribbon to tie around my waist, sewing it on with needle and thread.
Good luck with your tail! Let me know if you have any more questions.
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For anyone interested here is how I made the tail spade for Nightcrawler and Azazel. You need: Template (hand drawn on paper is fine) Craft foam Glue (I'm using Kwik Grip contact adhesive) Something to act as the tail spine form; I've used Worbla scraps rolled into the correct shape Heat gun/hair dryer Cut two pieces out of craft foam. Apply adhesive to the edges of the each piece - just the edges! Allow to go tacky and adhere. Slot in your tail spine form. Apply some heat to each side of the foam (you don't need much). Mould the foam around the tail spine form gently, then remove the form. The reason I remove it is because I don't want added weight to the end of the tail, and it's not really necessary anyway. You'll slot in the tail into the base of the spade and glue in place, then seal and paint! Happy bamfing!
