How to hand stitch a kite repair?

[flybykite]

Ummmm.... Crazy glue? Bad idea! Crazy glue makes fabric and thread brittle and weak. I wouldn't touch that stuff to my kite ever. You can hand stitch no problem. Use nylon thread or dental floss was a good suggestion. Just do it well and there will be no problems. Happy riding.

[Flight Time]

Ummmm.... Crazy glue? Bad idea! Crazy glue makes fabric and thread brittle and weak. I wouldn't touch that stuff to my kite ever. You can hand stitch no problem. Use nylon thread or dental floss was a good suggestion. Just do it well and there will be no problems. Happy riding.

Couldn't agree more. Super glue and crazy glue are brittle when they dry, and will weaken the material and stitching.

[tr3v]

Many thanks everyone (yes, even the guy who suggested I send my kite to Texas).

It took me an hour, but I am all ready for a session tomorrow. The key things I learned were:-

• - Thimbles are awesome! I never knew what they were for until now.
  - I never want to make my own kite.
  - I didn't need to use glue, I just tied the ends of thread off.
  - Finding any existing holes makes threading much easier and also better for your kite.

[PanTau]

Hi,
you can find some pics about "machine sewing" without sewing machine on my site:
http://www.wingworks.de/kite-reparatur/ ... nd-tricks/
It is written in german but the pics and google should help u.

PanTau

[William Munney]

Hi,
you can find some pics about "machine sewing" without sewing machine on my site:
http://www.wingworks.de/kite-reparatur/ ... nd-tricks/
It is written in german but the pics and google should help u.

PanTau

Thanks for the tip, I just bought a sewing awl and stitched a few inches of my leading edge where the first row of stitches was starting to get loose. The awl will definitely be a part of my repair kit from now on.

[sarc]

+1 for dental floss. There are 2 types: one is plasticky rubbery and no good for sewing. Another is nylon and very good - I've been using it for years.

For glue, laminating epoxy resin (not finishing resin) is very good. Most A-B types of resin glue you buy in hardware stores will work fine. It sticks well to canopy (must clean with alcohol first) and remains flexible.

[RedSky]

Hand stitching is the only way to be sure of a permanent fix and anyone can do it. Here I simply cut out a patch from an old slingshot bag and stitched it onto my crossbow. The only downside is that the slingshot kite and xbow now share the same bag.
The repair lasted a good six months, although admittedly I only used it once in six months.
Give it a go.

[Kamikuza]

What about fishing line? Theres some stuff here called "PE something" that near as I can tell, is the same stuff amsteel is made out of...

[bay surfer]

Never use superglue! or Epoxy both are inflexable and will cause cracks and rips when you flex the material.
But you can use Aquaseal, with patch on a leading edge, will last the life of the kite. Its Flexible.
But for SEAMS nothing better than Real mint flavored dental floss, double stitch around.