Thread: One minor gripe: Tattoo sleeves and "one size fit's all"

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I've been doing this tribal setup for 6 halloweens now. And, one thing I've always wanted to add is some tatts.

Now, I'm not willing to go get ACTUAL tatts across my arms and face just for Halloween. I do have SOME limits. But, I have considered mendi (spelling?) or just painting them on with makeup in the past.

Last year, I started seeing Tattoo shirts, and as Halloween approached, I started looking into it. We came across tattoo sleeves at WalMart first, for like $2, so I bought a pair just to see. One size fits all.

Now, I'm a big guy, so I really didn't expect a whole lot, but to my surprise, they fit pretty darn good. Yes it was tight in the upper arm, but I'ld live with that for a night.

Now, the design wasn't "Right" for me, but Kyle sure enjoyed them for his school costume, even though they were a little big.



WalMart failed to have a decent design, but we found a suitable one at "Halloween Boutique". Again, "One size fits all". So, I bought 2 pairs of these, one for Kyle, one for myself.

Jen took the kids out to see Grandma at about 5 PM, and Kyle got his one by himself, I didn't get to see before they left. This left me to do my own facepaint and get set for ToT that starts around 6PM here.

I'm all done, open that package, and slip the sleeve on to discover...It's not long enough to get past my forearm. I can understand something not fitting width wise on me easily enough, but I'm only 6'1", LENGTH shouldn't be the issue for a sleeve.

In fact, you can see they are even short on my son. Where the pair above, we had to roll up because they were long, this pair if riding up his wrist, too short for a 9 year old! This REALLY irks me as the WalMart pair was $2 for a pair, these were $3 PER SLEEVE. (not that they're not getting used, Kyle thinks it's fun to still wear em to school)



Does anyone know of a good brand for these? I'll take either shirts OR sleeves, but I'm not shelling out the $100 some of the artists want for a shirt.

That looks cool. Ox, but think of how cool "Facial Tattoos" would look. The Maori people of New Zealand are famous for these. In Samoa, kids fool around with it by painting their faces up using Marking Pens. It looks real, and washes off easily with rubbing alcohol.

BTW, the word "tattoo" is derived from the Samoan term "Tatau", the name of the guy who does the skin art. In the 19th Century Samoa was a major whaling station. Sailors saw the tattoos on the natives and had pictures done of their ship, anchors, mermaids, WHY on their own skin. When they got back to the States, it caught on. Look at it today! And it all started down here!

Here my friend check these sleeves out!!!!! Tinsley Tat Sleeves

If you really want a proper fit try using ladies nylons. Cut the legs to fit your arm, fold the ends down and use fabric glue to glue them down. Then you can draw your own designs on them with permanent markers. Depending on the size of your arm you can use a small pool noodle to slip the sleeve on to draw your designs.

Originally Posted by Wolfman

That looks cool. Ox, but think of how cool "Facial Tattoos" would look. The Maori people of New Zealand are famous for these. In Samoa, kids fool around with it by painting their faces up using Marking Pens. It looks real, and washes off easily with rubbing alcohol.

BTW, the word "tattoo" is derived from the Samoan term "Tatau", the name of the guy who does the skin art. In the 19th Century Samoa was a major whaling station. Sailors saw the tattoos on the natives and had pictures done of their ship, anchors, mermaids, WHY on their own skin. When they got back to the States, it caught on. Look at it today! And it all started down here!

Yes, I SOOOOOO want to do a Maori tatt on my face. My problem is that I typically have to do my own makeup, and I'm frankly not good enough to get a good intricate design. Especially trying to do it to myself in the mirror.

There was a local Mendi parlor that would do it for $30, but they shut down a few weeks prior to Halloween. I haven't checked any other tattoo parlors to see if they do it and how much.

Little trivia: I grew up next door to a Samoan family, and learned many of their cultural traditions as a result. That has played a HUGE influence in my design. One of these years I'll have to do a fire dance out front on Halloween...once I figure out the safety issues of having hundreds of children walking around while I'm doing it, that is.

Originally Posted by Blood~Hound

Here my friend check these sleeves out!!!!! Tinsley Tat Sleeves

ooooooooooooo....NICE....

You can also look for temporary tattoos. They're like decals for skin. I place them on my face, heands and head [I shve my head so I have the space] in addition to filling in blank spots between my real tattoos on my arms. They're better looking than the sleeves and can go almost anywhere. they come off with rubbing alcohol. I've got a pair of the sleeves that your son Kyle is wearing and they're OK, but like you they fit tight on my bicep. I've also found that they make ood folds when I bend my arm. They also make it look like I've had bad coverup work on my real ink :-)

Maleficent has some great ideas there, and if you can't do the temp tattoos, definately look in this direction. I wouldn't use markers with out doing a test piece--they could bleed onto your arms if you sweat. Look at the dyes used for silks. Joann's might still carry them and I know that Dick Blick art supply stores do. Buy a tattoo magazine to get some good designs and basically trace the designs onto the nylon. If you get a really sheer nylon that looks invisible against your skin, you could probably use less expensive acrylic paints with a textile medium mixed in.

Google temporary tattoo and see if there's a place near you that carries them. I know you can get them online and sometimes they're really cheap that way, but watch for shipping costs. Let us know if you try making your own--send pictures.

Originally Posted by maleficent

If you really want a proper fit try using ladies nylons. Cut the legs to fit your arm, fold the ends down and use fabric glue to glue them down. Then you can draw your own designs on them with permanent markers. Depending on the size of your arm you can use a small pool noodle to slip the sleeve on to draw your designs.

Great idea, but again with the "I'm not that good" problem.

Now, if I could find a pattern to trace, we might be on to something...

Wonder how iron on/rub on transfers would work...

Originally Posted by ondeko

You can also look for temporary tattoos. They're like decals for skin. I place them on my face, heands and head [I shve my head so I have the space] in addition to filling in blank spots between my real tattoos on my arms. They're better looking than the sleeves and can go almost anywhere. they come off with rubbing alcohol. I've got a pair of the sleeves that your son Kyle is wearing and they're OK, but like you they fit tight on my bicep. I've also found that they make ood folds when I bend my arm. They also make it look like I've had bad coverup work on my real ink :-)

Ok. I haven't used a temp tattoo for a good 25 years or more (insert old man voice here). And, back then, they looked rather silly.

There are ones that look real these days? Where does one find such things? For How much? And I'm guessing I'ld have to shave the arms to get it to stick there?

I do have an airbrush these days as well. (well, I have to buy a few adapters to get it to hook to my compressor, but I do have one) I COULD possibly airbrush the designs on if I got a template...

Iron on transfers might melt the nylon. rub on transfers would probably be ok for very short perios, but might rub/flake off over the course of an evening. As for finding a pattern to trace--check tattoo magazines or even look at tattoo sites online. You can often print images off sites since choosing to get inked isn't to be taken lightly. I've got 6 hours of my life and $450 on my arms and I've just got 2.

My wife just emailed--she thinks she's been getting my temps from TattooJohnny.com. She knows the name of the company is Tattoo Johnny but she isn't sure of the website off the top of her head. They do nice stuff and i think they have a do-it-yourself transfer paper for people who want to 'test drive' a tattoo before committing to the needle. Definately look into that--it may suit your needs and allow the elusive facial tottoos that would complete your look.