Step 1: Cut all the parts. Some basics to follow when cutting the parts: All fabric, including ripstop nylon, is woven on a loom. There are Warp threads which are relatively straight and strong. There are Weft threads that are relatively, roughly, sometimes, sort of, perpendicular to the Warp threads. Because these Weft threads are neither perfectly perpendicular or perfectly straight, they tend to stretch more than Warp threads. It is helpful to pay attention to the Warp and Weft of the fabric and to put the Warp threads along the edge of the Part that takes the most stress. It is less about 'right and wrong' than it is about consistency. If you align a certain part for a cut a certain way, cut them all that way.

LABEL THE PARTS! As each part is cut it should be labelled. Masking tape is ideal for this purpose. If you are familiar with your build sequence, you can label your parts, "Rib 1", "Rib 2". If you do not have a favorite build sequence yet, label the parts, "Outside Rib", "Inside Rib", etc.

PARTS LIST:

• Top panel. Cut 2 (mirror image)

• Top Panel Wedge. Cut 2 (mirror image)

• Bottom panel. Cut 2 (mirror image)

• Outside Rib. Cut 2 (mirror image)

• Outside Keel. Cut 2 (mirror image)

• Inside Rib. Cut 3.

• Inside Keel. Cut 1.

• Tab Stock. 1" strip of ripstop as long as you have. It will be folded in thirds, sewn zig-zag, and used as tabs for Bridle and Tail attachments.

I am cheap and I am lazy. I am always looking for the easiest way to do something. I make what I call "Tab Stock" out of scraps of ripstop because I have a lot of scraps of ripstop. It is easier and cheaper than stocking half-inch webbing to use as edge binding and tabs. What is Tab Stock? Cut a strip of ripstop an inch wide. Fold it in thirds. Run it thru the sewing machine. WARNING: This version of Tab Stock is too narrow for the feeds of some sewing machines. Some people may need to off-set their needle to allow the tab stock to feed thru the machine.

Fold in one side of the strip so that it is halfway across the remaining strip. Fold the other side on top of the first to meet the fold. Then run it through the sewing machine. The Sutton Four uses three 4-inch pieces for the bridle, and two 3-inch pieces for the tail(s).

The Sutton Four uses three 4-inch pieces for the bridle, and two 3-inch pieces for the tail(s).

My habit is to use half-inch hems and the edge of my Presser Foot for seams. Those are the allowances built in to the parts templates that I use. A Quilter's Ruler is a handy tool for marking hems.

The leading edges of all the Ribs get hemmed. Notice that the Rib pictured to the left is labelled Rib 1. It is the outside left rib of the kite of viewed from the front of the kite. It gets marked for the hem as shown and the hem is folded inwards, towards the middle of the kite. Rib 5 will get the opposite treatment, so that its hem is inside the kite.

The 3 Inside Ribs are hemmed on both the leading edge and the trailing edge.

Anal people like me try to face half of the Rib Hems in one direction, and half in the other.

The major mistake to avoid is hemming the wrong part of the Keel. Been there, done that.

An easy way to remember is to hem the longest edge of the keel first.

It is important to remember that the Right Angle, the 90-degree angle, is at the Kite Front of the keel. In the picture to the left, the Bottom Edge, the edge with the ruler on it in the picture, gets hemmed first.

Take a piece of 4" Tab Stock and fold it in half. Place it inside the hem. Shown at left I used an Olfa Mat and a ruler to place the Tabs at a consistent length. I used Seamstick, 1/4" double-side tape to hold everything in place.

Notice in the pic at left that the hem was sewn along the edge, and then two stitches were sewn towards the center of the Tab, and then sewn along the length of the Tab. It ain't going nowhere.

The Top Panels get a special treatment to their trailing edge seam. Traditional Suttons have a curve at their trailing edge. Curves are hard to hem and I avoid using edge binding. So I opted to mimic the curve by using two straight edges. Hence the wedges. Notice in the pic at left the good (out) side of the Top Panel is marked, and the hem is folded down (in). Notice on the wedge, its trailing edge is folded down and in. Sew that first.

The Wedge has been sewn and trimmed. It is already marked on its reverse side for a half-inch hem. Crease that line, folding the hem UP. It will fit inside the hem of the Top Panel.

On my first efforts, I only sewed on row of stitches. Two rows gives it a more finished look. Trim off the point at your leisure. Do the same thing to the other Top Panel.

. . . with any luck, your Top Panels look something like the pic at left. The good news is that the Bottom Panels do not need this treatment.

Notice in the pic at left that the very back of each Top Panel has not been hemmed yet. There are two schools of thought about that. One says that if you are on optimist, and you are pretty sure of your sewing and how accurately you can sew a curve, go ahead and hem the trailing edges of the Top & Bottom Panels.

I follow the school of leaving room for error. I wait until I see what I have to work with before I do anything to the trailing edges that I might regret later. That is why they are not sewn in the pic.

Having said and written that, the rear edges of the Top Panels and the Bottom Panels matched perfectly when the kite was done and I wished that I had sewn the hems at this point.

What is that cardboard strip pictured at left? If you said a Seam Allowance, go to the head of the class. Yes, that is a strip that is the same width as the distance from the needle to the edge of the Presser Foot on my sewing machine. It is very useful for marking the placement of panels, as you will soon see.

Take each panel and fold it lengthwise, good (out) sides together. The goal is to find the middle line of the panel and put a pinch mark, or a crease. At left, see the crease at the corner of the ruler. On the INSIDE of each panel we will place the ruler on the crease at the leading edge and the crease near the back.

In the pic to the left, note that the ruler is on the crease (see the tiny mark at right on the leading edge) and a line that marks the seam allowance has been drawn. We want the stitches to be in the center of the panel. We offset the Rib to be sewn by the distance of the Seam Allowance. Marking these lines now makes it much easier later.

The first seam is joining the curved top of the Rib to the straight edge of the Top Panel. It is not as bad as it looks. Breathe. It is okay. People do it all the time.

Take the time to get it right. When sewn, we want the leading edge of the Rib to match the leading edge of the Top Panel.

The first thing to notice is my impeccably clean work area. Your work area does not need to look like this.

I cheat and use a magnet against the edge of the Presser Foot. The Top Panel is on the bottom and the Rib is on the top. Back-stitch and sew, gradually bring the top curve of the Rib over to the edge of the Top Panel. The good news is that the steepest part of the curve is at the front of the Rib. It gets easier as you go, if you live through the first few inches.