My shop is clearing out our backstock of fabrics before we move. There is a large
selection of cotton, linen, and silk fabrics in 1/2 to 2+ yard lengths, mainly in the tones
of off white & beige, but a decent smattering of darker earth tones and actual colors.
I will drop them off tonight (I’ll post on the bulletin board in CA where they ended up)
and leave them around for the weekend. Anything left be mid next week will be thrown out.
Happy hunting!
Paul
I’m especially interested in the silk for making kites.
Has there ever been a kite making class at DMS?
Not that I know of. I make them for fun. (I’m not really interested in teaching a class though)
I usually make them from rip-stop nylon, or tyvek. Both are lightweight and durable. I occasionally make one from butcher paper or even little ones from tissue paper.
You can make them from almost any material, but some materials are better. Silk is one of the best and oldest. I use wood or carbon fiber for the frames.
You can spend a considerable sum of money on materials, so I love when you can acquire them for free or very low cost.
@Nick wants to get crazy with kites for the picnic FYI. Possibly he can entice you to teach a class.
hm.
Do you make your own carbon fibre bones, or is this something readily available out there?
Never thought of doing that, though it makes perfect sense…
I usually buy the carbon fiber rods at hobby shops or online at kite shops.
is any of the cotton 100% cotton?
Most of the fabrics are synthetic free. Cotton and linens 100% so. Not sure about mixing of cotton/linen.
If your not up for teaching a class, would you be up for just tutoring me on kite making? I’d love to learn.
I am very interested I have some projects that need a woven fabric base I hae fabric but mine is
buried in my out building (where there is no heat)
Nick, I’m in no way a kite making expert. I’m self taught by using books and youtube videos.
It is, however, very easy to make an eddy kite or what is traditionally seen as a kite shape. The next most common is the delta shape, which you’ve seen sold in Walmart and hobby shops.
Having said all of this, we could make Tyvek kits in the Eddy or several other shapes, use wood we cut in the woodshop for a frame and glue them up pretty easily. It wouldn’t take more than about 90 minutes or so. This is a very simple but functional kite. Even kids can make them easily.
Here’s a PDF describing some “garbage bag” type kites in several different configurations. You can use a multitude of other materials do build the same kind of kites. Box kites are easy to make, too.
mbk-simplest-dowel-kites.pdf (1.4 MB)
On the other hand if we wanted to tackle a more interesting kite we could 3-d print some of the connectors and sew up one from rip stop or maybe some of the silk mentioned in this thread (no pun intended). This would take much more time and effort. This one is called a Delta Coyne kite.
My problem is time. I have a lot of irons in the fire right now.
Yeah,
I know how you feel. I’ve managed to put both my ass and my irons in the fire. I would love to build a kite, but I don’t have the bandwidth to gather the material and figure out the process. I’d love to just come by DMS and help build one to learn the process even if I didn’t own the kite in the end. I think the box kites are beautiful, I’m also a fan of the multiple kites strung together.
Don’t let me twist your arm, thought I am trying. 
Will ripstop nylon work? I think I have some in my storage building—bright yello
Ripstop nylon is a preferred fabric for kites. It is lightweight and durable.
Could you please grab something in the mid-weight range, preferably cotton-ish, and preferably neutral colored and put it with the Babylock stuff? I’d like to have it for CA for demonstrating and testing the Babylock.
When I get into the building, I will aim for the ripstock
BTW I would love a kite making class
I’m not able to make it to DMS tonight. I’m sure the fabric will benefit someone though.
Yeah – I’ve got my fingers crossed for stuff left by the time I actually get there. I’ll make sure I save some for @John_Marlow. I see how much silk there is to see if I’m willing to share. This all may be moot – it’ll be past 10pm by the time I get there.
I guess I can expect nothing by tomorrow
