YET ANOTHER MERMAID

The Mermaid I will be creating over the next few weeks is the third in a series of 18-24 inch bead embellished artistic figures.
The most difficult decision about this mermaid was how to create the sea turtle she will ride, without the turtle just looking like a stuffed animal.
Solution – A wire topiary armature under the fabric. I found the topiary structure in a garden store in Virginia Beach.

The first step, after the selection of the fabrics, was to mark the patterns for the turtle parts and the mermaid figure. All the pattern pieces are original drawings. It was a real challenge to create a mermaid in the correct proportions for the size of the turtle armature so she will look balanced.

I’ve cut fabric to cover and reshape the fins to look like a sea turtle. Each section of fabric will be backed with batting and sewn in a free motion technique. The finished section will be backed with fabric to create a sleeve. Then I can just slide the fins, tail and head into place over the wire. The shell will be covered with four sections of free motion quilted fabric.