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WarmSummerSun β€” Yarn Tail Tutorial (Feline)

Published: 2012-08-16 06:02:54 +0000 UTC; Views: 196133; Favourites: 2136; Downloads: 743
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Description Yarn tails are becoming really popular, I'm seeing them everywhere now! I found the perfect yarn at my local craft store, so I had to try it out. Here's a tutorial showing exactly how I made my cat tail. Let me know if you have any questions!

Using the fur brush pulls out a lot of extra fluff. This is totally normal, and you can always save it to use as stuffing for plushies or what have you. It helps to have a plastic bag handy to stuff it all in.

EDIT: After a lot of wearing and brushing, I realized that despite how tight my knots were, the floofs can start to slide on the base. I went through and stitched them on by laying the tail flat and separating the floofs, revealing all the big knots. Then just go through with a long threaded needle and tack them to the base. Alternatively, tie your fluffs INTO the weave of the braid instead of AROUND it to stop them from sliding down!

EDIT Apr 2014: I recently made a great fluffy tail with "Loops & Threads" brand "Cozy Wool". It is 50% wool, 50% acrylic super bulky wool that I didn't straighten. I used longer strands to make a floofier tail (Instead of wrapping around your hand, wrap around a piece of cardboard or something that is wider than the span of your fingers) and only tied 4 strands together at a time. The tail has a cute wavy look as the fibres have not been straightened, just brushed out. I highly recommend this yarn!

Here's some great tips from friends and fellow users:

1. Try a really soft, chunky wool - you might not even have to straighten it and you need to use less wool!
2. Tie your fluffs into the braid instead of around it to stop them from sliding down the base!
3. Try separating the wool strands before brushing to prevent knots.

Total time: ~5 hours+ depending on length
Related content
Comments: 383

Sk3tchie [2014-07-15 16:15:32 +0000 UTC]

ahhhhh yay! now i can make a meulin tail!

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kittylover911 In reply to ??? [2014-06-19 00:49:38 +0000 UTC]

This is a really great tutorial! I'm in the process of making a yarn tail right now, actually, and it's coming out great because of this guideline. (Though I don't have a straightener, it still looks pretty good)

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NekoFeatherstar In reply to ??? [2014-06-15 17:45:28 +0000 UTC]

That's gorgeous. I'm just wondering about a tabby tail. My OC, Featherstar, has gray fur with three dark gray bands around her tail and a pale whitish-grey tip. Do you know how to do that?

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WarmSummerSun In reply to NekoFeatherstar [2014-07-18 19:47:33 +0000 UTC]

Hello!! You will need to buy skeins of yarn for each fur colour you need. Then there are two ways to go about this. You can make the whole tail out of gray first (with white tip), then tie/sew the dark gray bands in later. Or you can try to tie them in as you go. It takes a little bit of planning and it's hard to tell exactly how thick to make the "layers" without experimenting. Good luck!

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AwkwardChiId In reply to NekoFeatherstar [2014-07-09 03:15:18 +0000 UTC]

Im doing one of these for my warrior cat JadePaw, I'm confused to, mine is a dark brown tabby, but in the middle of the tail, the brown lightens, so your not alone in wondering how to do that >u<

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MoonlightDalia In reply to AwkwardChiId [2014-07-16 00:12:52 +0000 UTC]

i m not sur but maybe if you alternete dark and light colors it might doo the trick...i never tried but it might work

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AwkwardChiId In reply to MoonlightDalia [2014-07-16 00:40:21 +0000 UTC]

thanks! ill try that!

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MoonlightDalia In reply to AwkwardChiId [2014-07-17 01:52:41 +0000 UTC]

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Ask-TatsuoStriut [2014-04-29 23:24:09 +0000 UTC]

im gonna use this for nepeta tail

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agitha-and-neytiri-f In reply to ??? [2014-04-02 11:39:49 +0000 UTC]

How can you make it thicker for a wolf or Fox? Do you just put the knots closer together?Β 

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WarmSummerSun In reply to agitha-and-neytiri-f [2014-07-18 19:48:38 +0000 UTC]

Very late reply, sorry! Along with a thicker base, longer floofs will also make a tail thicker like a wolf's would be. Good luck!

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agitha-and-neytiri-f In reply to WarmSummerSun [2014-07-19 06:24:06 +0000 UTC]

How can I make the fluffs longer?

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WarmSummerSun In reply to agitha-and-neytiri-f [2014-07-19 20:38:17 +0000 UTC]

Instead of wrapping the yarn around your hand, I used a piece of cardboard that was a bit longer and wrapped around that

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agitha-and-neytiri-f In reply to WarmSummerSun [2014-07-20 00:15:18 +0000 UTC]

Okay thank you very much! ^-^

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PicklesAndWaffles In reply to agitha-and-neytiri-f [2014-07-27 02:46:51 +0000 UTC]

On the flipside, how would you make it thinner? I want to make a tail that looks a bit like my kahjiit Inoashi, but my first yarn tail I made was with this tutorial, and it was at least a good 8 inches around (On my account the "Spirit Wolf Tail" is the one)! It turned out more like a wolf tail even though I used the same core (though I am kinda tiny I had wrapped the yarn around the cardboard the slicker brush came on)

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xRAINBOWxALICEx In reply to agitha-and-neytiri-f [2014-05-22 22:07:35 +0000 UTC]

You would want a bigger base (the braid in the middle) c:

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agitha-and-neytiri-f In reply to xRAINBOWxALICEx [2014-05-25 16:51:29 +0000 UTC]

Thank you

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xRAINBOWxALICEx In reply to agitha-and-neytiri-f [2014-05-25 17:04:05 +0000 UTC]

Yep c:

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Haji-lover In reply to ??? [2014-04-02 01:14:23 +0000 UTC]

Sooooo I figured I'd try this and bought some cheap wool in this really nice reddish brown color but its scratchy and just not soft at all, do you know a way to make it soft? I had already made the braid before I noticed just how scratchy it feels and I'd hate to wast the yarn.

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DreamEscapist In reply to Haji-lover [2014-04-18 20:01:51 +0000 UTC]

I straightened mine with a hair straightner and it turned pretty soft and gave it a nice shiny look. I also heard washing the yarn (not brushed out yet) with fabric softener works as well. :3Β 

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Haji-lover In reply to DreamEscapist [2014-04-18 21:01:23 +0000 UTC]

alright thanks, I'll try that

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DreamEscapist In reply to Haji-lover [2014-04-19 02:19:58 +0000 UTC]

Oh, also, if you're using the hair straighter, unplug it before you straighten the yarn, or keep it on low heat. Too hot and it'll turn all weird and rough or melt.Β 

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Haji-lover In reply to DreamEscapist [2014-04-19 03:55:26 +0000 UTC]

ok thanks for the pointers lol

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DreamEscapist In reply to Haji-lover [2014-04-19 06:16:42 +0000 UTC]

You're welcome. :3

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livyrose03 In reply to ??? [2014-03-09 01:56:21 +0000 UTC]

so this is gonna sound stupid but i am doing a chesire cat cosplay and need it to be fluffier. do i just add more or is there a certain way it needs to be done?

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WarmSummerSun In reply to livyrose03 [2014-03-13 05:28:15 +0000 UTC]

This is actually a great question and I'm going to making a huge snow leopard tail soon so I'll be playing around with different methods. So far my ideas are:

1) Use a thicker core by braiding lots of pieces of yarn together for the base
2) Use chunky yarn that is naturally thicker to begin with
3) Use longer strands because most of the thickness will be from the fur sticking out from the base, so a good length of the fluffs is vital

Let me know what you end up trying, I'm very curious myself!

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demonchild999 In reply to livyrose03 [2014-03-12 20:21:43 +0000 UTC]

You could either make the base bigger or not straiten it. I don't strsiten mine and they are really fluffy. Just make sure to brush it.

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livyrose03 In reply to demonchild999 [2014-03-12 23:53:09 +0000 UTC]

ok thanks

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Where-am-I-Gog In reply to ??? [2014-03-03 21:01:45 +0000 UTC]

This is a really dumb question but. What if I don't have a cat/dog brush?

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agitha-and-neytiri-f In reply to Where-am-I-Gog [2014-04-02 11:35:54 +0000 UTC]

I'm using that and mines turning out well

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WarmSummerSun In reply to Where-am-I-Gog [2014-03-04 01:23:38 +0000 UTC]

You can try using a regular hair brush, but the slicker brush helps a lot. Try a dollar store or pet store, they're very cheap. Good luck!

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Where-am-I-Gog In reply to WarmSummerSun [2014-03-04 20:58:25 +0000 UTC]

Thanks!

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dragonflame185 In reply to ??? [2014-02-26 00:47:54 +0000 UTC]

Hey I know this was posted a long time ago but I have a question if you wouldn't mind ^^ what do you mean by the two non-floofed yarn tails? like do you mean the ones that are at the end (where the loops are) or where your holding the fluffy part (in the 12th picture) thanks!~ :3 and well done tutorial as well ^^

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WarmSummerSun In reply to dragonflame185 [2014-02-26 05:18:53 +0000 UTC]

Hey there!! If you see picture 11, Once you've brushed and straightened the floofs out you leave 2 yarn strings (seen at the top of the knot) to tie them onto the core with. These are the "non-floofed" yarn strings. After I tied on each floof, I brushed and straightened these two tails so they just blend in with the rest. Hope that helps!

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dragonflame185 In reply to WarmSummerSun [2014-02-26 12:21:29 +0000 UTC]

Oh yes it does! I understand now ^^ thanks for helping!~

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flameheart10 In reply to ??? [2014-01-30 03:16:43 +0000 UTC]

Awesome!

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SirAlex0014 In reply to ??? [2014-01-28 06:21:04 +0000 UTC]

wow! thanks so much for putting this up!

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WarmSummerSun In reply to SirAlex0014 [2014-02-19 18:06:58 +0000 UTC]

No problem, I hope it helps you

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Medonii In reply to ??? [2014-01-15 11:13:33 +0000 UTC]

I use acrylic yarn and after I have used a hair strightener did it begins to tie up in mini strings

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haddyDrow In reply to ??? [2014-01-13 22:20:01 +0000 UTC]

Do I have to use a hair strightener? I don't have one...

Can I use an Iron instead?

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WarmSummerSun In reply to haddyDrow [2014-02-19 18:07:48 +0000 UTC]

An iron may work, just be careful it isn't TOO hot that it will melt the wool. You can also try using a very chunky wool and you may not have to straighten the fibres at all!

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haddyDrow In reply to WarmSummerSun [2014-06-02 09:09:39 +0000 UTC]

I used an iron, by the way! it came out lovely.Β 

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Kokushibyu In reply to ??? [2014-01-10 18:53:03 +0000 UTC]

Do you think it would work with Bernat Alpaca Natural Blends? It's 70% Acrylic and 30% Alpaca fluff. For the straight Β iron part, anyways? Β I don't expect it to melt. >-> I just don't want to ruin it in anyway.

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WarmSummerSun In reply to Kokushibyu [2014-02-19 18:08:19 +0000 UTC]

That's a very good question, and I'm not sure. Did you end up giving it a try? I'm interested to hear how it turned out!

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Seena-Cha In reply to ??? [2014-01-04 00:38:39 +0000 UTC]

huh.... interesting. i will keep this around ouo

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AVPMfreakify101 In reply to ??? [2014-01-03 05:37:38 +0000 UTC]

So using this! Thanks for sharing.

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bannylou In reply to ??? [2013-12-22 18:34:35 +0000 UTC]

Very nice tutorial, but is it normal after each brushing to have a big clump of yarn 'hair' to come out of your brush, because mine has been doing that.

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Savvlles In reply to bannylou [2014-01-19 07:30:34 +0000 UTC]

Yes it is!

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bannylou In reply to Savvlles [2014-01-19 17:55:22 +0000 UTC]

Ok. Also, when I try brushing, I always end up with this tiny little fuzz ball, instead of a big tail. XD

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WarmSummerSun In reply to bannylou [2014-02-19 18:09:20 +0000 UTC]

A *LOT* of the fuzz will come out when you brush your fluffs, it's inevitable. Starting at the bottom of the fluffs and working upwards will help, this will stop the yarn from knotting and you ripping out a huge knot as you brush. Hope that helps

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