Cathead

Fair point, but in practice it depends on just how precise the modeler is trying to be. And for those of us who don't like being around the smell of things like varnish and CA more than we can help it, a threader is a far more benign and time-efficient method. I've also found that carefully placing just the smallest tip of rope into the threader makes it easier to thread holes that are closer in diameter to the rope, rather than trying to pull a full 2x diameter length through.

Thanks for catching that! It does look like ME stopped selling the basic ones, and a lighted one seems rather wasteful. I updated that post to include a link to an equivalent product from Joann Fabrics:
 

 
I've definitely used these with blocks to great success.

Part III: Adding reef points
 
Reef points add a lot of visual interest to sails, and they're easy to add in the paper-sail method.
 

The reef bands were glued on in Part I. Where to place the reef points is something of an uncertain topic; I found references for a variety of options, including one point on each seam, one point within each panel, and two points within each panel. I chose to use the first approach. Because the paper layers were extra thick here, due to the seam and reef bands, I used a small drill bit to open up a hole rather than trying to drive a needle through.
 
For the reef points, I cut a series of rigging rope a bit longer than I needed. I wanted my reef points 2 scale feet long, so I cut the rope 5' long to allow for trimming, then used a deadeye/block threader to run each line through the sail. The threader creates a strong crimp in the line, so I tried to center each line in the threader before pulling it back through; the crimp then becomes a natural reference point holding the line in place where it passes through the sail.
 

When all the lines for a given band were threaded, I clamped a piece of wood across the sail 2 scale feet below the reef band as a reference marker. You can get the length right here in two ways: either trim each line to the right length relative to the crimp, or don't worry about the crimp and pull each one back through the sail until only 2' are left on the side you're working on. I then used a fine brush to gently apply a bit of glue to a line, then pressed it into place on the sail with its tip against the wood. You only have to hold the line in place for maybe 10-15 seconds for the glue to take hold, before moving on to the next one. I like to get glue from the tip to about 2/3 to the sail, not all the way to the sail. This means the line naturally bows out a bit where it comes out of the sail, giving it some 3D texture. Don't overdo the glue or you'll get weird stains on the paper. Also, don't worry about trying to get each line perfectly straight; they're going to want to curve this way and that, and buckle a bit, and that's exactly what you want because that really makes them look like loose lines dangling down. You want just enough glue to hold them relatively flat so they look like gravity is working. If you glue them too flat or perfect, they'll look glued on and artificial.
 

Once one side is done, it looks something like the image above. Then you just turn the sail over, clamp the wood at 2' again, trim the remaining lines to length, and glue them in the same way.
 

If there is more than one reef band, do the upper one first, since you're overall working on the lower side. Above, you see the same process being repeated for a lower line of reef points.
 

And here are the two completed lines of reef points. They have a nice randomness that looks like loosely dangling lines. Note that, once again, I slightly messed up this demonstration by not cutting the upper line of reef points quite evenly (they're too short on the left). It figures that my demonstration sail would be the sloppiest of any I've made so far, but I hope the idea comes across. And, as above, this sort of things fades away when the sail is placed in the full context of a rigged model.
 
I'm quite happy with this method. I've now made all six of the sails for my topsail schooner this way and feel that they have a strong visual interest and a realistic (if not perfectly accurate) appearance. Moreover, the method uses cheap material that's easy to work with, and requires no special skills other than some patience and care when handling glued paper. It's easy to test on random scraps first before trying a full sail, and it's easy to customize. For example, you could skip the panels and just use a full sheet of paper, or skip the boltropes, and still use the rest of the approach to have a nice sail that holds it shape and can even be shaped to hold a curve. I hope others find some or all of this interesting and useful as a different way to produce interesting sails for nautical models. Thanks for reading.

Part II: Adding boltropes
 
My understanding is that boltropes are hard to get right in scale. The ropes themselves are pretty small at most common model scales, and the stitches that hold them on would be essentially invisible, certainly at this project's 1:64 scale. However, leaving them off removes clear visual interest and makes it difficult to attach lines to the sails properly. One approach in the paper-sail method would be to bury a fine line within the folded-over edging; this is the method I used on my longboat. Glue one side of the edging down, then spread glue on the rest, stretch a thin line along the seam, and fold the edging over. You now have a boltrope that's hidden from sight, but strengthens the sail and can be carefully looped at each corner to provide the proper attachment point (and it's easy to form cringles anywhere just by tugging it out slightly from the stitching). However, for my current project, I wanted to include the visual interest of stitched boltropes even if they were out of scale. I know my model isn't perfectly accurate, and I'd rather it be a visually interesting representation of a real ship. So here's how I added them.

First, I punched holes for the stitching all the way around the sail, having measured and marked straight lines of evenly-spaced points. Then I laid out my boltrope and stitched it into place with a running stitch (I used basic white sewing thread). This can be done two ways: either with a needle (as shown above) or with a deadeye/block threader like this one from Model Expo (which I love) [edit as of 2022: these are no longer sold by Model Expo but here's an example of an equivalent product from Joann Fabrics]. The former is a lot faster, but the needle's eye tends to make wider holes. The threader takes long, but leaves smaller holes that aren't as visible. The sail in this demonstration used a needle throughout, as I wanted to try it. Another benefit of pastel coloring occurs here: a bit of pastel rubs off on all the lines, inherently coloring them to match the sail.
 

I stitched the boltrope on loosely all the way around, making extra stitches at each corner to create a proper loop. There will be two loose ends of the boltrope meeting at the first/final corner; we'll deal with that soon. Just leave a few inches extra when you start. Once the loose stitching is done, I used a fine tweezer to work along the stitch, pulling out all the slack. The boltrope sits naturally on one side of the sail; technically this is accurate, but rather out of scale. The true-scale boltrope would look like it was right along the sail's edge even if slightly to one side. However, once you get all the stitching really tight, you can actually use your fingers to massage the boltrope up almost to the edge of the sail, where it looks about as right as you can get. Once each corner's loop and stitching is tight and as I want it, I applied a small drop of CA glue to the stitching binding the loop in place, ensuring that it's not going anywhere.

Now for the final corner. When the boltrope is stretched tight in all directions, cut it short at both ends and weave each end back into the stitching, overlapping itself a little. Then you can nip it off carefully near the corner, allowing for one final loop, and pull the stitching tight to hold it in place. Another small application of CA glue holds this in place.
 

This is actually a very sloppy final corner; the worse one I've done so far. I cut the upward-running rope too short, so that my joint falls down the side of the sail. I meant it to fit right in under the loop, where the extra stitching hides it. Still, it's barely noticeable from more than a few inches away.
 
This approach gives you out-of-scale, but functional and very interesting, boltropes. Personally I think they look really nice in the context of the model overall (see any of the overview photos). They demonstrate to any viewer how this part of the ship would work, and they give the sail extra texture. Again, I like that this approach demonstrates the reality of the sail rather than perfectly simulating it. Your approach, and priorities, may vary.
 
In the next post, I'll attach reef points and show the completed sail.

I gave the stove a few more coats of black paint but with the stove on its side so I could get underneath the doors and inside the openings at the ends.
 

 

 
Here are the components I am working on at this time, including the drip pan (under the weight), the lifting bolts, condenser with all trim added, and the stove itself.
 

 
The next step will be to make the support arms for the spit, which I will make from sheet brass. I am also still working on the design for the spit rotating mechanism. I just received this thinner chain (on the left) that I may use instead of the thicker drive chain (on the right). The thinner chain will fit into pulley wheels better which I think is more authentic than the gears.
 

I gave the stove a couple of coats of black acrylic paint. I am using a Badger spray gun set that I bought a few years ago but never used it. It is provided with hardware to hook up to an aerosol can of air, but I put an adapter on it so I can use it with a small air brush compressor. It really worked well, much better than trying to use an air brush with a needle for this job. No clogs and easy clean up too.
 

 

 
While that was drying I started making the drip pan. I also blackened large eye bolts and added rings to them for the lifting rings. I then turned the handle for the condenser on the lathe, from a solid piece of brass. I was going to turn the top and use some brass rod for the bottom but it was easier to turn it as one piece and I think it looks better too. I drilled a hole in the condenser and, since it was a tight fit, I glued the handle in with CA.
 

 
I need to spray the stove from underneath tomorrow. I was worried that the acrylic paint would raise the grain a lot but with the gesso primer there was little if any grain raised. I am still give the whole stove a light sanding between coats but the surfaces are looking smooth already.
 

Thanks for catching that! It does look like ME stopped selling the basic ones, and a lighted one seems rather wasteful. I updated that post to include a link to an equivalent product from Joann Fabrics:
 

 
I've definitely used these with blocks to great success.

Hi Keith,
Yes, getting the hull shape was the biggest hurdle. Adding the captain's cabin, and the quarterdeck should be straightforward. Otherwise, it's just build out the kit (maybe I'll see some places where I can augment or improve). For now it's a question of sanding down those first planks. Unaltered, the first planks and the finish planks together are 1/8" thick; too much for my eye, so lots of sanding.
Thanks to all of you who are following along and adding "likes". Most humbling!
Tom
 

You can also unravel the rope and pull a strand through for starters..

The interior of the bulwarks are now planked. The foreword piece with the notches was around 1-2mm short, so I had to trim the exterior planking slightly. I found the spirketting the most challenging part of this chapter, especially at the bow. I needed to use slivers of wood beneath the plank while the glue set so that the plank was oriented with the top of the port sills correctly. Here are some photos before I start painting:

Hi Werner,
 
Thank you for your kind words! By shells I mean the parts that contour around the sides of the quarter gallery that holds the lights in place (see the image below of these parts). No matter the orientation I try, they don't fit nicely so I'll need to make my own parts. I plan to carve out the drops with boxwood (it will be my first time ever trying miniature carvings like this). If my trials don't turn out nicely I'll be using the supplied castings since they will also look good once painted.
 
Harshil

 

We had this discussion already in another thread some time ago: If you can use such needle threaders on blocks this means that the holes in the blocks are too big for the 'rope' and/or that the 'rope' is too soft and can be squeezed too much. The holes should be about 10% wider than the nominal 'rope' diameter.
 
I would follow Mark's advice and stiffen the tip with varnish and then cut it to a point.

One suggestion I would offer is to make your panel lines much lighter. If you look at pictures of contemporary ships, you'll notice that sail seams are scarcely discernible, if at all. You can see how I did this by clicking here.

@lmagnaCool thanks! That first post/picture looks like the hammocks would fall right out 😂 but the gist is there. I have seen that person/company's sails before, they are very well done. I'd have to say as nice as they are made they aren't very time appropriate though. Back then the sails were made of either flax or hemp and would have been a sort of canvasy brown and rather opaque. I'm not so much into buying things as I prefer to make them, even if they aren't as good. I'm not a historical buff or anything, more of a casual hobbyist. But it's an excellent link to leave here as other people may not want to go through all that entails making your own. I, myself, prefer to make things as difficult for myself as possible...it's kind of my thing. Haha

Looks like you may have found an answer to how you want to make the sails for your Constitution, but you might want to look into these as well.
 
https://www.hismodel.com/articles-detail-135
 
HIS is a very reputable company. I know the cost of these sails can be a little eye watering, especially if you add the studding sails, but they bring a whole new level of grace to the model that would be almost impossible using other methods.
 
Your hammock crane issue could possibly have some ideas here 
I also think I have seen Photo etch cranes made by someone for the Revell Constitution., but I can't remember who or where. 
 
By the way, welcome to MSW. I spent a number of years living in Santa Cruz and Capitola as a child and in fact have a number of family members who still live there. I'm pretty certain it has changed considerably in the 50+ years since I was there.

What do you think, does it work? Hahahaha I had to....

Using Cathead's technique, I quickly tested it using the blackout fabric I prefer. I have to say I am seriously surprised it worked as well as it did with fabric as opposed to the bond paper he uses. When I say quickly I mean quickly,I just eyeballed my fabric and I did not do any measurements or use a ruler- the idea was to see how it would apply to fabric not to actually use the finished piece. 
BUT I think I will be using this for my model. Thank you!
 
Notes: For best results as Cathead intended-
•Use a brand new razor and a metal guide or ruler instead of scissors unless you have a seamstress's precision. Fabric is not so forgiving and has a tendency to bunch. You can pull the fabric if it's misbehaving but you must pull very straight or you end up with a curve.
•Fabric can be tricky when cutting because it likes to follow the weave, it's wise to use a self-healing mat so that you get a clean line. I use OLFA (from $4.00 to a lot more) but any will do.
•Your measurements for the strips should be just slightly larger than what you want the scale to be, as they overlap, but too large will make the back a mess. •As in the tutorial overshoot your model outline and cut it out after you have glued your strips. This will enable you to lay straight lines and offers forgiveness for strips that may not be exact.
• Should be obvious but I forgot haha so Lay your reef lines before your reinforcement seams.
•I used Fiebings leathercraft cement because I have it and it works quick and well, white wood glue would also work but avoid tinted glues and fabric glues (which suck). Super glue will obviously stiffen the fabric to a rock hard state which mayyyy be beneficial to get the shape you want depending on fabric but probably not. Also I didn't tint it, so I don't know how it would turn out but it may be wise to dye your fabric before cutting and gluing as glue can resist pigment.  
•Lastly if you fabric is not wonderfully moldable like mine 😎 You can gently pull the edge seam into a slight curve as it's being glued (in this case the foot or luff) to create a billowing effect. (As the stretch in the weave relaxed it will pull the fabric with it.) 

This next batch of fabric trials are my top picks for use on this specific model. I am also doing my own trials on lines/seams acceptability of mediums- so please ignore how terrible they may look in this experimenting stage and focus on the temperament of the fabric lol. 
(I am testing the use of archival pen, aquarelle water color pencil, and plain acrylic for this. When I've exhausted my ideas and formed a decision I will be posting my steps. I also am now going to include @Cathead's technique to see if that will work and can be altered for fabric) I'm not going to bother documenting that process as he already has it very succinct- only adjustment I may make.So....
Edit: That little dark thing in some of the pictures is one of the constitution boats I put under the fabric to show sheerness. FYI 
 
BATISTE: A woven cotton or linen that is fine, silky smooth, and mostly sheer. It is often confused with LAWN which will be next. I found the weave agreeable and the elastic stretch of the fine weave enables you to shape it as it dries. Thin enough to furl but may be too sheer for realistic raised sails.
LAWN: a cotton fine woven shirting material, that's not quite as fine a weave as batiste, but comes in many variations of sheer and opaqueness. I don't think the weave is fine enough for this purpose and it doesn't have the malleable characteristics batiste has-but as a fairly stiff (for weight) fabric may be really good for reinforcement areas.
BLACKOUT FABRIC: as the name suggests is a light blocking opaque material in varying thicknesses, it is made by layering foam on one side of fabric or in higher quality-sandwiching black fabric between white fabric and foam backing. This was my favorite for open sails. The weave is hardly discernible on the fabric side and nonexistent on the foam side, the fabric I have is very lightweight (similar to lawn) and is extremely good at shaping and holding shape. As you can see from my color testing the fabric side absorbs pigment very well and the foam side not as much. I think this would create a good effect of weather worn-ness with correct even application. I especially like that the edges don't fray and it shapes really well! The downside is that the weight is probably too heavy for furled sails- that being said if you halved your material I think it would definitely look more realistic as it is just really malleable. I have two tones and I chose to experiment on the white one, but I'll probably use the off-white. I'm really leaning towards it.

RIPSTOP: A plain weave of primarily nylon but sometimes polyester or other fibers with thick reinforcement threads woven into the fabric in a crosshatch pattern that resists, you guessed it- rips. It is most commonly recognized as tarp, tent, and modern sail material which is why it gets somewhat confusing. Nylon was originally manufactured to replace silk and DuPont advertised their new "ripstop" weaving technique for use in the fashion industry- it didn't take, but outdoor enthusiasts and military loved it due to its light weight, resistance to sunlight and exposure, and of course durability. Modern sails use nylon ripstop for spinnakers and yacht sails and the ripstop weave is used for almost all sails of different materials. History lesson over let's get back to it. I love the texture because it kind of mimics the seam lines of large sails...kind of. I fear if dyed though it would extenuate both the horizontal as well as vertical lines making it look silly, it's also very sheer and resistant to molding so it's a no go for me- but may be useful for modern yacht models? 

I still think it looks ok un-dyed and the problem of shape was solved by layering it over batiste...but I was just playing at this point. All in the name of research! Haha

Now for the long haul of actually making the sails. I have to print the patterns off the USS Constitution museums website found here and then add all the details, so yeah... a lot ahead, but I had to take a break from rigging. I thought I was almost finished but nay, barely even half 😑😂 Do you ever stop and say "What the hell did I get myself into?!" I do, and then I say "Whelp, finish what you start lady." 
 

Allan,
 
Check the first post; I used bond paper, which is a high-quality durable paper originally used for government bonds and now commonly used for archival papers or theses. It's expected to be a long-lasting paper because of its intended uses. It also has a nice rough texture that really simulates cloth well at small scales (as compared to printer or photo paper, which is too smooth and shiny).
 
You raise a good point, depending on the intended life of the model. I don't imagine that any of my models will outlast me or have any interest beyond my lifespan (I'll be shocked if they're still of interest to anyone in even 20-30 years), so I'm not real worried. But I could definitely see how a more professionally-minded modeller might have concerns about the long-term durability. I suspect that coloring the paper with pastels doesn't hurt, as it's just a surface treatment. I don't know whether any kind of fixative spray would affect the lifespan one way or another. Finally, I don't know for sure what the glue will do; I know most modellers swear by basic wood glue as a very stable and long-lasting fixative, and assumed that it would behave the same way with paper, but can't say for sure.
 
Thanks to everyone for checking in; please let me know if you try it because I'd love to hear about other people's experiences (better yet, post here so we can collect more experiences and advice).

Part III: Adding reef points
 
Reef points add a lot of visual interest to sails, and they're easy to add in the paper-sail method.
 

The reef bands were glued on in Part I. Where to place the reef points is something of an uncertain topic; I found references for a variety of options, including one point on each seam, one point within each panel, and two points within each panel. I chose to use the first approach. Because the paper layers were extra thick here, due to the seam and reef bands, I used a small drill bit to open up a hole rather than trying to drive a needle through.
 
For the reef points, I cut a series of rigging rope a bit longer than I needed. I wanted my reef points 2 scale feet long, so I cut the rope 5' long to allow for trimming, then used a deadeye/block threader to run each line through the sail. The threader creates a strong crimp in the line, so I tried to center each line in the threader before pulling it back through; the crimp then becomes a natural reference point holding the line in place where it passes through the sail.
 

When all the lines for a given band were threaded, I clamped a piece of wood across the sail 2 scale feet below the reef band as a reference marker. You can get the length right here in two ways: either trim each line to the right length relative to the crimp, or don't worry about the crimp and pull each one back through the sail until only 2' are left on the side you're working on. I then used a fine brush to gently apply a bit of glue to a line, then pressed it into place on the sail with its tip against the wood. You only have to hold the line in place for maybe 10-15 seconds for the glue to take hold, before moving on to the next one. I like to get glue from the tip to about 2/3 to the sail, not all the way to the sail. This means the line naturally bows out a bit where it comes out of the sail, giving it some 3D texture. Don't overdo the glue or you'll get weird stains on the paper. Also, don't worry about trying to get each line perfectly straight; they're going to want to curve this way and that, and buckle a bit, and that's exactly what you want because that really makes them look like loose lines dangling down. You want just enough glue to hold them relatively flat so they look like gravity is working. If you glue them too flat or perfect, they'll look glued on and artificial.
 

Once one side is done, it looks something like the image above. Then you just turn the sail over, clamp the wood at 2' again, trim the remaining lines to length, and glue them in the same way.
 

If there is more than one reef band, do the upper one first, since you're overall working on the lower side. Above, you see the same process being repeated for a lower line of reef points.
 

And here are the two completed lines of reef points. They have a nice randomness that looks like loosely dangling lines. Note that, once again, I slightly messed up this demonstration by not cutting the upper line of reef points quite evenly (they're too short on the left). It figures that my demonstration sail would be the sloppiest of any I've made so far, but I hope the idea comes across. And, as above, this sort of things fades away when the sail is placed in the full context of a rigged model.
 
I'm quite happy with this method. I've now made all six of the sails for my topsail schooner this way and feel that they have a strong visual interest and a realistic (if not perfectly accurate) appearance. Moreover, the method uses cheap material that's easy to work with, and requires no special skills other than some patience and care when handling glued paper. It's easy to test on random scraps first before trying a full sail, and it's easy to customize. For example, you could skip the panels and just use a full sheet of paper, or skip the boltropes, and still use the rest of the approach to have a nice sail that holds it shape and can even be shaped to hold a curve. I hope others find some or all of this interesting and useful as a different way to produce interesting sails for nautical models. Thanks for reading.

Part II: Adding boltropes
 
My understanding is that boltropes are hard to get right in scale. The ropes themselves are pretty small at most common model scales, and the stitches that hold them on would be essentially invisible, certainly at this project's 1:64 scale. However, leaving them off removes clear visual interest and makes it difficult to attach lines to the sails properly. One approach in the paper-sail method would be to bury a fine line within the folded-over edging; this is the method I used on my longboat. Glue one side of the edging down, then spread glue on the rest, stretch a thin line along the seam, and fold the edging over. You now have a boltrope that's hidden from sight, but strengthens the sail and can be carefully looped at each corner to provide the proper attachment point (and it's easy to form cringles anywhere just by tugging it out slightly from the stitching). However, for my current project, I wanted to include the visual interest of stitched boltropes even if they were out of scale. I know my model isn't perfectly accurate, and I'd rather it be a visually interesting representation of a real ship. So here's how I added them.

First, I punched holes for the stitching all the way around the sail, having measured and marked straight lines of evenly-spaced points. Then I laid out my boltrope and stitched it into place with a running stitch (I used basic white sewing thread). This can be done two ways: either with a needle (as shown above) or with a deadeye/block threader like this one from Model Expo (which I love) [edit as of 2022: these are no longer sold by Model Expo but here's an example of an equivalent product from Joann Fabrics]. The former is a lot faster, but the needle's eye tends to make wider holes. The threader takes long, but leaves smaller holes that aren't as visible. The sail in this demonstration used a needle throughout, as I wanted to try it. Another benefit of pastel coloring occurs here: a bit of pastel rubs off on all the lines, inherently coloring them to match the sail.
 

I stitched the boltrope on loosely all the way around, making extra stitches at each corner to create a proper loop. There will be two loose ends of the boltrope meeting at the first/final corner; we'll deal with that soon. Just leave a few inches extra when you start. Once the loose stitching is done, I used a fine tweezer to work along the stitch, pulling out all the slack. The boltrope sits naturally on one side of the sail; technically this is accurate, but rather out of scale. The true-scale boltrope would look like it was right along the sail's edge even if slightly to one side. However, once you get all the stitching really tight, you can actually use your fingers to massage the boltrope up almost to the edge of the sail, where it looks about as right as you can get. Once each corner's loop and stitching is tight and as I want it, I applied a small drop of CA glue to the stitching binding the loop in place, ensuring that it's not going anywhere.

Now for the final corner. When the boltrope is stretched tight in all directions, cut it short at both ends and weave each end back into the stitching, overlapping itself a little. Then you can nip it off carefully near the corner, allowing for one final loop, and pull the stitching tight to hold it in place. Another small application of CA glue holds this in place.
 

This is actually a very sloppy final corner; the worse one I've done so far. I cut the upward-running rope too short, so that my joint falls down the side of the sail. I meant it to fit right in under the loop, where the extra stitching hides it. Still, it's barely noticeable from more than a few inches away.
 
This approach gives you out-of-scale, but functional and very interesting, boltropes. Personally I think they look really nice in the context of the model overall (see any of the overview photos). They demonstrate to any viewer how this part of the ship would work, and they give the sail extra texture. Again, I like that this approach demonstrates the reality of the sail rather than perfectly simulating it. Your approach, and priorities, may vary.
 
In the next post, I'll attach reef points and show the completed sail.

I've developed a method for making paneled sails from paper that works nicely to simulate the three-dimensional texture of a sail. It seems to offer a lot of visual interest, more so than a flat sail, and the procedure is pretty manageable. I like paper sails for several reasons: they hold their shape better than cloth sails (including a natural bellied curve), they have a nice texture (especially when colored by pastels), and there's no need for complicated or careful sewing. In this topic I'll walk through the method I worked out so far, starting with making the panels themselves. I haven't seen much else about paper sails on MSW, so hopefully this is of interest to some folks.
 
I first tried paper sails on my 18th century longboat build and was quite happy with the result. In that case, I just used a flat sheet of paper and drew on the seams and stitches. It worked, but was too flat. For my current build of a US Revenue Cutter, I decided to try making sails the prototypical way, assembling them from long panels of material joined at the edges. I first asked for guidance in another sail-making thread, which produced a lot of good ideas and guidance. This guide to sail-making from the Historic Naval Ships Association was a particularly useful suggestion, as it's chock full of detailed diagrams for the arrangement of panels and the overall design of sails for different craft. Following these guides, I made a few sails and was very pleased, so I finally put in the time to document each step of the process for the foresail of my revenue cutter. Here's what these sails look like on that model:
 

 
Cutting & Assembling Panels

I used bond paper, which is heavier and more textured than regular printer paper. This is commonly used for printing theses; my supply came from leftovers of Mrs. Cathead's graduate thesis. Beware of watermarks in bond paper; you don't want your sail advertising a paper company when you shine a light on it! As shown above, I mark a sheet of bond paper in scale 2' strips, then cut the strips on a small paper-cutter. Using a dedicated fine brush, I run a narrow strip of basic wood glue along the edge of each strip, then lay it out on the edge of a neighbor strip. A glue stick might work too, but I've been fine using this method. Repeating this process produces a nice 3D-textured shape from which you can cut the final sail pattern. Make sure you pay attention to the direction in which you lay out the strips; I did one of my sails backward (so that the seams ran counter to the other sails) and had to start over because it looked funny. Above, you can already see how the overlapped panels create more visual interest than a plain, smooth sail.

Next, I cut and attach any corner reinforcement panels. Then I cut thinner strips for the edging of the sails, and fold them in half. Then I brush glue along the inner surface of each one, and carefully fold it in place along the sail's edges. There are several ways to do this: you can brush 1/2 of the strip, glue it on, then brush on the other 1/2 and fold it over; or you can brush the whole inner surface at once. Although the former approach sounds better in theory, I've found that the moisture in the glue causes the paper to buckle, so that if you do the 1/2 approach, the strip bends out of true and is really hard to align on the sail's edge. If you glue the whole thing, it stays straight and is easier to handle. Incidentally, the same buckling-when-wet property works to your advantage in the sail overall; as the moisture dries between the panels, the sail inevitably takes on a bit of a curve, which nearly perfectly mimics the gently belly of a sail with wind in it. I also cut any reef-point strips and attach these.

Once the sail is fully assembled, I color it with artist's pastels. You can use your finger or a cotton swab to gently rub on color; the paper takes up the color wonderfully, and it really brings out the texture of the bond paper. The 3D nature of the assembly helps, too, as the pastel powder naturally collects a bit along seams and highlights the structural elements of the sail. You can use a mix of colors to get just the appearance you want. One important warning: don't rub too hard, and hold the sail flat. A downside of paper vs. cloth is that paper creases; if you rub too hard or otherwise force the paper to bend or kink, you'll never get that feature out again. Some folks may want to use some kind of fixative on the color, but I've never bothered; the bond paper holds pastel really well on its own. Just be careful about handling the sail with fingers coated in pastel; you don't want to leave a dark fingerprint smudge somewhere.
 
That's the first stage. You could stop here for a basic version, but I went ahead and added boltropes and reef points, which I'll cover in the next few posts.
 
 
 

Probably the easiest way is instead of a threader that also may or may not distort the holes is just to put a drop of CA on the end of the thread.  When dry, trim at an angle so it's pointed.  Then rig the block.
 
I did try some needle threaders, etc. in the past but by the time you put the thread through the threader, you end up needed basically a hole twice the size of the thread and thus, out of scale or just looks strange.

@Valkyrja68 - thanks for commenting on this thread from five years ago.  It's nice to see these older articles showing up in my "New  Posts Since Last Visit."  And IMO this is a gem of a thread.  
 
@Cathead -  I add my 2-bytes worth to the comments.  A well, done tutorial.    Not a criticism since links change over time, however, the link to the deadeye/block threader is dead.  I did find an interesting alternative at Model Expo:  Illuminated Threader.  I thought it a good idea to update the link.
 
The other deadeye threader doesn't show up at Model Expo.  However, searching for 'needle threader' gets you sources for the tool and similar alternatives.  Amazon has them (as if that might shock you).     
 
I am doing some rigging on a shrimp boat and found that a big-eye beading needle works decently.  The ones I have are a bit long.  However, smaller sizes (lengths) are available.  The smallest diameter I have found are 0.35 mm.  Has any one used these on deadeyes and blocks? 
 
I have run into the needle snagging and fraying the line sometimes.  The thread gets snuggly stuck into the corner of the 'eye' and hard to pull free without a bit of fray.  However, since the fray is at the end of my thread, it's easily cut-off.  

Yessssss! That makes my little nerdy self happy haha!