Crssa's Den

Making a Tail (Chain Spine)

I've had some people ask me how I made a tail with a chain in the spine. A lot of people like to use this method for making tails, because it gives the tail "swing." Using a chain as the "spine" of your tail will make it bounce around more naturally. This works especially well for cat tails, and swaying back and forth can give you the "tail lashing" look, too.

I used a chain in the spine of a tail I made for Zephyr Panthur. Here's how I did it...

(All images are thumbnails of full-sized pictures. Click on them to enlarge!)

Note: My apologies for not having more photos for this tutorial. I did not take production-stage photos, but if I make this type of tail again, I will do so and add those photos here later on. The stills you see are from a video I took with my digital camera, which I will also link to so you can see how chain-tails swing.

Also please note that this tutorial was written more for people that have had prior experience with sewing and/or making tails. The most important thing to remember when making fursuit pieces is to improvise! You don't have to follow these directions completely; feel free to do something new or substitute something you think might work better. This is just how I did it! ;)

Step One: Choose your chain.
Choose a length of chain for your tail. You can get chains from most hardware stores. Some Wal-Marts even carry chain in their hardware departments. They will custom cut any length of chain for you. Measure the length you will need - from just shy of where your tail will be attached, to just short of where it will end. Remember, your tail will end up with a little bit of padding, so don't get too long a chain.

Step Two: Choose your padding.
Choose some kind of padding for your tail. I like to use pipe insulation when I make a tail with a chain. Depending on the thickness of the tail (I once used a chain in a regular fox tail) you can use polyfil, or scraps of fur. You can also use quilt batting (it's like a sheet of polyfil) to pad your tail; however, this might hinder the swing a little, especially if you wrap it too tightly.

Here is a "plan" for making Zephyr's tail that I drew up.

Step Three: Prepare the "guts" of your tail.
This is where pipe insulation makes things easy. Most types of pipe insulation can be bought at Wal-Mart. You can get a four-pack for about $3. Pipe insulation will usually have a slit length-wise so you can fit it around a pipe; you can also use that slit to position your chain inside. ;)

Put your chain inside the pipe insulation. Position the length-wise slit at what would be the continuation of your spine - NOT the side that would be against your butt while you wear the tail. Then hot-glue the slit in the foam so it is shut. (Some pipe insulation will come with adhesive already in place; it is usually not strong enough, so it is a good idea to hot-glue it anyway.)

See in the photograph above, how there is a "seam" of hot glue running down my back, as if it were a continuation of the spine? This keeps the tail from bending backward too much, offering some "natural" resistance that you would find if you were to try to bend a cat's tail in that direction. (And no, I don't recommend you actually TRY that on a real cat.) ;)

Step Four: Vertebrae!
The next step will give your tail that natural curl when it bends. Use scissors, or (my preference) an exacto blade to cut segments of "vertebrae" into the pipe insulation. Space them about one to two inches apart, and cut almost all the way around, leaving a small space between the slit and the part where you hot-glued the seam. Here is what I mean:

You can see here how I've cut the tail, and left some near the hot glue, to keep all the segments attached to one another. Please note: I did NOT cut notches in the pipe insulation, I cut slits. You don't need to remove any of the insulation; it is flexible enough that you don't need to cut notches.

Your tail spine is now ready to go. Attach a carabiner clip to the top link of the chain, and clip it on to your belt to give it a trial run. You should get excellent swing.

To see an example of the spine in action, click here for a 28-second video. (.AVI, 412k)

Step Five: Fur It!
The most important part, unless you want to be a skeletal kitty, of course. ;) Measure the diameter of your tail spine, and cut your fabric to be a little bit longer, and a little bit wider than the spine. (You need to remember seam allowances, plus you need a little extra wiggle room to be able to slip your spine down into the fabric.) Use whatever type of fur you would like; when I gave this tail a "test run" I used a velvet cat tail that hadn't been stuffed yet as a covering, and wore that out in public. It worked beautifully, and the short hairs of the velvet looked just fine. It helped that it was leopard-patterned, too; the tail looked so WILD! ;)

Gently work your tail spine down into the tube of fur. You may need to use a yardstick to help you get it all the way inside; just remember to take your time, the end result is well worth it.

You can use the carabiner clip as the sole means of attaching the tail to your pants, or you can add on elastic belt loops to loop around a belt for additional support. (This is what I did with Zephyr's tail, and it works very well.) Regardless, keeping the carabiner clip in place at all times is usually a good idea, as it will help to stabalize the chain and transfer your own motions down into the chain.

I hope this has helped you in making your own chain-based tail; they're a lot of fun and get great reactions out of people when you walk by!

Many thanks to Gushi for providing web space!

	Making a Tail (Chain Spine) I've had some people ask me how I made a tail with a chain in the spine. A lot of people like to use this method for making tails, because it gives the tail "swing." Using a chain as the "spine" of your tail will make it bounce around more naturally. This works especially well for cat tails, and swaying back and forth can give you the "tail lashing" look, too. I used a chain in the spine of a tail I made for Zephyr Panthur. Here's how I did it... (All images are thumbnails of full-sized pictures. Click on them to enlarge!)
	Note: My apologies for not having more photos for this tutorial. I did not take production-stage photos, but if I make this type of tail again, I will do so and add those photos here later on. The stills you see are from a video I took with my digital camera, which I will also link to so you can see how chain-tails swing.
	Also please note that this tutorial was written more for people that have had prior experience with sewing and/or making tails. The most important thing to remember when making fursuit pieces is to improvise! You don't have to follow these directions completely; feel free to do something new or substitute something you think might work better. This is just how I did it! ;)
	Step One: Choose your chain. Choose a length of chain for your tail. You can get chains from most hardware stores. Some Wal-Marts even carry chain in their hardware departments. They will custom cut any length of chain for you. Measure the length you will need - from just shy of where your tail will be attached, to just short of where it will end. Remember, your tail will end up with a little bit of padding, so don't get too long a chain.
	Step Two: Choose your padding. Choose some kind of padding for your tail. I like to use pipe insulation when I make a tail with a chain. Depending on the thickness of the tail (I once used a chain in a regular fox tail) you can use polyfil, or scraps of fur. You can also use quilt batting (it's like a sheet of polyfil) to pad your tail; however, this might hinder the swing a little, especially if you wrap it too tightly.
	Here is a "plan" for making Zephyr's tail that I drew up.
	Step Three: Prepare the "guts" of your tail. This is where pipe insulation makes things easy. Most types of pipe insulation can be bought at Wal-Mart. You can get a four-pack for about $3. Pipe insulation will usually have a slit length-wise so you can fit it around a pipe; you can also use that slit to position your chain inside. ;)
	Put your chain inside the pipe insulation. Position the length-wise slit at what would be the continuation of your spine - NOT the side that would be against your butt while you wear the tail. Then hot-glue the slit in the foam so it is shut. (Some pipe insulation will come with adhesive already in place; it is usually not strong enough, so it is a good idea to hot-glue it anyway.)

	See in the photograph above, how there is a "seam" of hot glue running down my back, as if it were a continuation of the spine? This keeps the tail from bending backward too much, offering some "natural" resistance that you would find if you were to try to bend a cat's tail in that direction. (And no, I don't recommend you actually TRY that on a real cat.) ;) Step Four: Vertebrae! The next step will give your tail that natural curl when it bends. Use scissors, or (my preference) an exacto blade to cut segments of "vertebrae" into the pipe insulation. Space them about one to two inches apart, and cut almost all the way around, leaving a small space between the slit and the part where you hot-glued the seam. Here is what I mean: You can see here how I've cut the tail, and left some near the hot glue, to keep all the segments attached to one another. Please note: I did NOT cut notches in the pipe insulation, I cut slits. You don't need to remove any of the insulation; it is flexible enough that you don't need to cut notches. Your tail spine is now ready to go. Attach a carabiner clip to the top link of the chain, and clip it on to your belt to give it a trial run. You should get excellent swing. To see an example of the spine in action, click here for a 28-second video. (.AVI, 412k) Step Five: Fur It! The most important part, unless you want to be a skeletal kitty, of course. ;) Measure the diameter of your tail spine, and cut your fabric to be a little bit longer, and a little bit wider than the spine. (You need to remember seam allowances, plus you need a little extra wiggle room to be able to slip your spine down into the fabric.) Use whatever type of fur you would like; when I gave this tail a "test run" I used a velvet cat tail that hadn't been stuffed yet as a covering, and wore that out in public. It worked beautifully, and the short hairs of the velvet looked just fine. It helped that it was leopard-patterned, too; the tail looked so WILD! ;) Gently work your tail spine down into the tube of fur. You may need to use a yardstick to help you get it all the way inside; just remember to take your time, the end result is well worth it. You can use the carabiner clip as the sole means of attaching the tail to your pants, or you can add on elastic belt loops to loop around a belt for additional support. (This is what I did with Zephyr's tail, and it works very well.) Regardless, keeping the carabiner clip in place at all times is usually a good idea, as it will help to stabalize the chain and transfer your own motions down into the chain. I hope this has helped you in making your own chain-based tail; they're a lot of fun and get great reactions out of people when you walk by!