Evil Willy Posted January 3, 2006 Posted January 3, 2006 OK so I think some of you guys might have been waiting for this so here it is...How I make my sails. I will be making an Aft sail for my ship The Lotus which is in desprate need of one. And I am taking pictures step by step. ________________________________________________________________________________ ______ Step 1: So to start I will be making a medium that we can make stencils with. What I am doing is simply taking two peices of basic white print paper and glueing them together with an ordinary glue stick. As so And putting them together Now rub them nicely together... wait a minute or so and on to the next step. ________________________________________________________________________________ ______ Step 2: Now we need to take sails from our previously bought LEGO Pirate sets or what not and trace them onto our medium we made in Step 1. Take your time and also make sure you trace out the holes. Now cut out the outside and poke the holes out with anything sharp (Doesn't need to be perfect) Here is what i got..I am going to be making many little merchant ships from the imperial trading post so I need these and the other of course is my aft sail from the wonderful Armada Flagship. My holes on the stencils are rough as you can see but work just as well. ________________________________________________________________________________ ______ Step 3: Now run over to you grandma's and get some old cloth... Anything you like as long as it is not too thick. Now what we are going to do is trace the stencil we want unto the cloth. I like using a pencil because it is quite easily removed...and doesn't show as much as a black sharpie or a ballpoint pen. Anyways trace that on there along with the holes. Now cut out around the outline, roughly leaving 1 inch of space around the outside. Like this ________________________________________________________________________________ ______ Step 4: In this step we are going to be strengthening the cloth so that it does not shred when we cut it...To do this I use a 1:4, water:White glue solution which I brush around the edges of the cloth and on the area where you will be punching out holes. Like so This is the solution I use...Which I keep in a little ziploc container, so when I need it, it's there. Make sure you apply this to both sides, afterwards let it dry for and hour or so. ________________________________________________________________________________ ______ Step 5: Now that its nice and dry we need to cut out that sail of yours! Use sharp cloth scisors from you moms sewing kit and cut on the inside of the lines (So that you do not see them) The result of a nicely cutout sail ________________________________________________________________________________ ______ Step 6: Now! You have cut out you sails and made everything nice... We are now in great need of holes! To make these I use enscence...I find it is the best way because it burns through nicely, making a good hole the size that u need! Do this on every hole you need, take your time..Do a good job! Believe me its all worth it in the end :D Cool isn't it? You are now done your sails! Hook them on and yell out Arr! For you have done a great job, I hope you're proud ;) ________________________________________________________________________________ _____ Step 7(Optional): And for those of you who want a real old look to the sail(s) then brew up some coffee, enjoy it...And use what is left of it to dye your sail(s). Now what I do is poor it into a tray of some sort (I believe it is ment to make cakes) and soak you sail(s) in it... Hang them up somewhere and let them dry. (If they arn't dark enough for you then dye them again) Dyeing it Aft Sail Front Sails Sometimes you may need to repeat Step 4 after this because the coffee may or may not take away the glue solution. ________________________________________________________________________________ ______ I have now finished making the little merchant vessle's sails..Here it is! ________________________________________________________________________________ ______ Well I hope this has helped you on your quest to making sails for your huge fleet of ships! PM me if this was helpful to you, I always enjoy comments and post pictures of sails that you have made! Enjoy ;) Yours Truly, William Poulin (Evil Willy) Quote
xwingyoda Posted January 3, 2006 Posted January 3, 2006 Pretty nice tutorial Evil Willy ;) I do have a couple of questions to take this great subject a little bit further: 1) how do you make perfect holes in the sails ?? What is the best method ?? 2) You used here regular paper, but if you want a more "cloth" feel, what material would be best and easiest to work with ?? 3) I remember you were taking about dying the sails in coffee or tea. What quantity do you use ?? I would assume very little, to have just a slightly modified/aged white sail. I think I will try to do some sails just for fun, it looks fun to do and looks great !!! Tks for your help ;) *yoda* Quote
Evil Willy Posted January 3, 2006 Author Posted January 3, 2006 Pretty nice tutorial Evil Willy Quote
xwingyoda Posted January 4, 2006 Posted January 4, 2006 I was too quick to reply then :D :P Great tutorial Evil Willy :oD As a reward, I shall pin this so all our maties can do sail customs ;) *yoda* Quote
snefroe Posted January 4, 2006 Posted January 4, 2006 i think i would iron the sails to get a real smooth surface... would that work? Quote
Hobbes Posted January 4, 2006 Posted January 4, 2006 What I don't get is: why do you trace the sails on white paper first and then on the cloth? Why not trace it onto the cloth right away? Or am I missing something? Nice tutorial none the less :) Quote
Evil Willy Posted January 4, 2006 Author Posted January 4, 2006 What I don't get is: why do you trace the sails on white paper first and then on the cloth? Why not trace it onto the cloth right away? Or am I missing something? Nice tutorial none the less Quote
Evil Willy Posted January 8, 2006 Author Posted January 8, 2006 Im quite disapointed that no one seems to care about this...I put a lot of effort in finding the best amnners to do this and yet I seem to get no review. Not a great feeling at all. Double post..Ooo no spaming the forums! ;D Quote
Morten Posted January 8, 2006 Posted January 8, 2006 Looking good with the sails, i might try to make some for my pirate ships. I am sorry that i can Quote
Governor Mister Phes Posted January 9, 2006 Governor Posted January 9, 2006 Im quite disapointed that no one seems to care about this...I put a lot of effort in finding the best amnners to do this and yet I seem to get no review. Not a great feeling at all.Double post..Ooo no spaming the forums! ;D Strange thing is Willy, when something is pinned I tend to forget about it. I think maybe our problem is we have too many pinned threads at the moment and perhaps some of the threads that haven't been responded in for over a month could be unpinned. As for your tutorial... Its brilliant! Its obvious you've gone to a lot of trouble to produce this tutorial and it should provide a very useful resource for anyone who wants to create their own custom sails. This thread should be the envy of all other LEGO websites! But fear not, for those in high places are also quite impressed with your tutorial and are contemplating creatnig a special tutorial forum so EuroBricks can build a collection of tutorials. And guess what! You're the one that gave them this idea! So everyone stand up and give Willy a standing ovation! Quote
Evil Willy Posted January 9, 2006 Author Posted January 9, 2006 Oo wow... I really felt awsome after reading that! I would love to hear more about this!!! I got this really awsome feeling when I read your responce mr phes..Thank you all for this. I now know people do enjoy my tutorial! wow wowowow :D Edit: the envy to all other LEGO websites!!! Yeh yeh..Lets get this to other sites too. Maybe i would be famous haha!!! Double edit (Oo now): remember I wasnt in it for the fame at first! My intentions were good I swear :D Quote
Governor Mister Phes Posted January 9, 2006 Governor Posted January 9, 2006 Ok Willy try these... My scanner is old and crappy, and I'm not sure how to scan images in so they're 100% of their original size but here's the first attempt: Quote
Evil Willy Posted January 9, 2006 Author Posted January 9, 2006 Im trying it out right now..but I would also need the sail up at the front please Thank you again! Quote
KimT Posted January 9, 2006 Posted January 9, 2006 This is a great idea - scan your sails everyone and we can all find them here in this thread when making sails of our own the "Evil Willy""-way :oD Now where did I put the scanner that can hold the entire Viking Longboat Sail? ;) KimT Quote
Evil Willy Posted January 9, 2006 Author Posted January 9, 2006 Yah that would great!! Good idea I would like the viking... Quote
Evil Willy Posted January 21, 2006 Author Posted January 21, 2006 Ooo sorry I had put the wrong pic of the sails at the end....Look again ok and here Those were my old sails that were on..I had made those before even having the stencils..So look these are better right? Quote
Evil Willy Posted February 7, 2006 Author Posted February 7, 2006 Did anyone use this method? I would like feedback on it, seeing pictures would be nice! Quote
SkaForHire Posted July 22, 2006 Posted July 22, 2006 Did anyone use this method? I would like feedback on it, seeing pictures would be nice! I have used this method of sail reproduction in the past, up to the point about glue on the sides and coffee stains, pretty awesome ideas right there! I tend to try to use material that glue is not needed, but my latest batch of cloth is in dire need of glue, i tend to use your method in the near future to use up the rest of this cloth i dont like! As for coffee stains, thats pretty slick, but i prefer the cleaner looking sails. I generally use canvas like cloth from fabric stores, usually printed in stripes to match the color of my ship's theme, so i tend to want to keep them cleaner looking. Quote
El Bucanero Posted July 27, 2006 Posted July 27, 2006 Did anyone use this method? I would like feedback on it, seeing pictures would be nice! I'm out of cloth and don't know where to buy it at all *wacko* but I will use your tutorial for my frigate. Arrr Mr Tiber Quote
Evil Willy Posted July 27, 2006 Author Posted July 27, 2006 Ahh finally! Some people who finally use my tutorial. I can't wait to see your MOCS, cloth can be prchased at any sewingstore I guess, even like Wal-Mart. Quote
JINZONINGEN73 Posted August 18, 2006 Posted August 18, 2006 (edited) enscence Incense. ; ) Would it be better to dip it in coffee first, then apply the glue? You know, to lock it in to the fibers better in cases of humidity / wetness? So like anything they're resting up against when unbuilt doesn't get stained? Cool idea by the way. I never think about the pirate lines much, but when I see them built, it gets me inspired. EDIT: Ah, just thought. Instead of burning the cloth, are there any hole-punchers at Walmart (or anywhere?) that match the Lego-sized holes? On a newer looking sail, the edge burn would be more evident. (Also, the gluing step would come after the holepunching step, to secure the threads on the rim of the hole). Edited August 18, 2006 by JINZONINGEN 73 Quote
Evil Willy Posted August 19, 2006 Author Posted August 19, 2006 Those are all good ideas that I have not tried, the way I do it works perfect for me because burning makes it look old...Which is what my sails look like... And yes there are definentley hole punchers somewhere but they are hard to use... Quote
babyjawa Posted August 19, 2006 Posted August 19, 2006 That is a great Tutorial you got there Willy! I'd definately use it if I had any lego sails. :'-( Either way, thanks for making it. I hope to use it once I get some sails. Quote
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