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Things You'll Need
Instructions
Fabric Preparation
Lay out your sheet of kite material. If you have a pattern for the kite, trace that onto the nylon. Otherwise, you need to measure out four pieces. The nose piece 27 1/2-by-4 3/4-inches, the main body 27 1/2-by-50 1/2 inches and two wing panels, each being 55 1/4 inches along the back and 39 inches at the widest point.
Shape the wing panels into two triangular pieces. Point the narrow edge of a panel toward you. On the left side of a panel, 16 1/4 inches from the bottom of the square piece, or 39-inches from the top, draw a mark. Draw straight lines from that mark to the top and bottom right corners. The angle at the top should be 45 degrees. Draw a one inch seam around each piece.
Orient the wing panels in the same way you had them when you shaped them. Mark the top corner as the front, the angled edge as the outside and the straight edge as the inside.
Cut out the four pieces at the one inch seam.
Fold the leading edge of the nose piece in half an inch. Fold the piece in another half inch and sew these pieces down. Repeat with the other edges of this piece, and with the other pieces of the material.
Wing Assembly
Measure 4 3/4 inches from the front of the wing panel and down the angled outside and draw a mark. Measure one inch on either side of this and mark those points as well. Also mark 4 3/4-inches from the front of the wing on the inside.
Draw a line connecting the center mark on the outside to the mark on the inside. Repeat with the other two outer marks.
Fold the fabric along the center mark and sew the two outer marks together. This creates a flap at the top of the wing.
Tuck the flap under the kite wing and pull the front of the wing back up and forward. Sew the flap to the underside of the wing. This flap is called a dart, in this case a two inch dart. You will make several of these on the kite.
Cut a 2 1/2 inch length of ribbon. Fold it into a U-shape and place the open ends of it on the double sided tape. Cut the tape off the roll. Make five more of these units. Six in total.
Lay one loop on the outside edge of the wing at the corner. Stick it on the corner so that the loop points away from the front, and the tape is along the edge of the fabric. Make six marks at even intervals along the outer edge of the wing. Tape the remaining loops to all but the front-most mark.
Place the ripstop across the entire outer-front edge of this, covering all of the loops. Sew this ribbon onto the edge of the kite, about 1/4 inch from the edge of the ripstop.
Roll the loose edge of the ribbon over itself, and then roll again. Pull the loops forward and flatten the entire piece down. Sew the ribbon down to create a smooth edge.
Sew a second edge of ripstop on the back edge of the kite. Repeat the rolling and sewing process along the back of the kite wing.
Repeat in mirror on the other wing piece.
Main Body Assembly
Mark four 5 1/2 inch intervals along the leading edge of the nose panel. Make a 1 1/4 inch dart at each of these marks, with the flaps toward the center of the piece.
Cut four lengths of shoelace to 2 3/16 inch pieces. Sew these to the nose at the center of the dart flaps.
Sew a strip of ripstop over the front of the nose. Roll and fold the piece as you did with the loops on the wings.
Measure the length of the main body panel and divide that number by 13. Mark the edge of the kite with 13 even intervals using that number. Flip the panel over.
Fold the nose section so that the ties meet the tips of their respective darts. Lay the back edge of this piece on top of the narrow edge of the main body. Sew the pieces together. Flip the kite over and pull the nose forward.
Lay and sew a strip of ripstop across the seam of this piece. Double-roll it as you did before.
Make 22 more loops like those on the outer wings. Cut a 2 1/2-inch loop of ribbon, bend it into a U-shape and stick it on double-stick tape. These are the bridle points.
Measure the side of your kite and add 4 1/2 inches to that number. Cut two lengths of ripstop to that length.
Lay the left wing upside-down so that the long edge is on the left side. Line up the left edge of the body of the kite on top of this edge. Stick 11 loops onto the marks you placed earlier on the inside panel. The loops should point toward the inside of the kite. Lay the ripstop on top of this edge, with about two inches extending from either edge and sew everything together.
Double-roll this edge of ripstop and sew the piece down.
Hot cut the ends of the ripstop at the front to two inches. Repeat at the other end.
Fold the front edge of the ripstop back into a loop, and place a two inch piece of shoe lace between these edges. Sew the loop down.
Make another loop out of the back edge of the ripstop.
Repeat on the other side with the other wing.
Stringing
Cut two lengths of Dacron to 66 3/4 inches. Cut ten lengths of 67 5/16 inch Dacron (five pairs of ropes). Cut two lengths of line to 66 1/16 inch, two to 65 1/2 inches, two to 63 1/16 and two to 61 inches. Lay these pairs of lines out together in the order in which you cut them. These are the bridle lines for the main body.
Cut pairs of Dacron for the wing lines. Make two lengths at 64 1/16 inches, two at 62 3/4 inches, two at 60 5/16 inches, two at 57 13/16 inches, two at 52 3/4 inches and two at 47 5/16 inches. Lay these bridle lines out in pairs in the order you cut them.
Tie the first body bridle line, the 66 3/4 inch piece, to the front-most loop on the kite on the right side. Tie the next bridle line to the first loop on the inside line of the kite. Repeat with the other main body bridle lines on the right side.
Tie all of these tie lines to one of the metal rings.
Repeat tying the tie lines on the left side of the kite body to another metal ring. Repeat also with the wing bridle lines, tying them to separate metal rings on the left and right side.
Tie the left-hand metal rings together with a six inch length of 2 mm line. Tie a loop into the middle of this strip. Repeat on the right side. These are the two kite lines. Tie your control lines to these when flying your kite.