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[RighteousKarma]

I'm doing a gijinka Mewtwo cosplay for Anime North this year, but I've run into a bit of a problem. The tail turned out a fair bit heavier than I would have liked, but there's no way to make it lighter without completely ruining the shape. The material of the jacket is a lot thinner than I thought it would be when I bought it - bought it online, and the fabric looked thicker in the picture; go figure - so the tail is doing some serious pulling. I tried reinforcing the material with thick fleece patches, but that was a no-go, as you can see in the linked picture below.

http://i470.photobucket.com/albums/r...pse343c660.jpg

(Yes, that is Madagascar 2 on my TV x3 I can't work without background noise, and I actually had never seen that movie before. Didn't end up getting to finish it, unfortunately.)

Clearly, what I'm doing isn't working. What I need is some sort of strong, unforgiving material that won't allow the tail to weigh the jacket down by that much, but I can't think of anything to try, and I'm hesitant to experiment too much, because I don't want to damage the jacket. It was kind of expensive, so ruining it is not in my best interests, as I absolutely cannot afford to replace it.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. I'm at a loss here, and I can't afford to let myself keep procrastinating, or before I know it, it'll be a week from the convention and I still won't have fixed this.

[Kesra]

Have you considered creating a belt to go underneath it? Secure it to where the tail is connected to the jacket and run it under the jacket around your waist. Then the weight of the tail will be on you rather than the jacket.

[RighteousKarma]

I'm not sure I quite understand what you mean...could you explain in a little more detail, please?

[Musouka_Ningyou]

A belt underneath is a great idea.

Maybe this explanation will make more sense:
The tail remains on the outside of the garment
On the inside of the garment, where the tail attaches to the outside, you sew a loop of fabric large enough to go around your waist
This fabric will either have to be stretchy (but sturdy enough to hold the tail, like that thick elastic they use as the waistband of skirts) or have a buckle of some type (I'd do a hook system in the front, like a bra closure, so it is flat)
This fabric goes around your waist, like a belt, underneath the garment, so it doesn't show
That way, the weight of the tail is being supported by the belt around your waist instead of by the fabric on the back of the garment

Does that make more sense? I can draw you a really bad diagram in Paint if you think it will help (I know that some people are more visual and can't figure out verbal directions like these very well)

[Ani_BEE]

I've made two tails with creating a back plast to them the loop around and under belt.

The first one the tail is both hot glued and sewn down to the plat for support.
This first one on wearing the tail belt over the kimono but under the Obi.
http://www.cosplay.com/photo/3296199/
You can see the plate here on this Rin tail.
http://www.cosplay.com/photo/3204898/

The loop hook around the belt you wear under your clothes.

[RighteousKarma]

I think I'm going to need that diagram, Musouka_Ningyou, I'm one of those visual people. I understand what the parts are for, it's figuring out how to make them and how it all goes together that's the tough part. I also don't quite understand how the belt thing helps when the bottom of the tail is so large, and what do I do about the top part? It's still going to cause problems even if I do figure out the belt thing for the bottom.

[RighteousKarma]

Gonna give this a quick bump up, still haven't quite figured out the belt, and I'm very interested to know about how it works.

[RighteousKarma]

Going to bump this up again...I seriously need help with this, guys. I still don't know how the belt works, and I can't come up with anything else.

[huskies4ever]

http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1364919883

I drew a crude thing of what I think some people mean. If your tail is already sewn onto your fabric, then what Musouka_Ningyou said was to glue the middle piece TO THE FABRIC that is sewn to the tail.

[RighteousKarma]

Thanks, but I actually decided to go back to my original idea for this costume and bought a straitjacket. >> Canvas material won't have any give to it, or at least not much, so it won't pull and give me the same trouble.