How to Sew a Bow Kite

A bow kite is a type of kite shaped like a crescent moon that is often used for extreme kiting sports, such as kite surfing and kite skiing. It has a lightweight frame and construction that allows it to fly high and move fast with the rider. The curved shape helps to catch more air to propel the rider faster. Such a kite can be assembled from common hardware supplies.

Things You'll Need

  • 2 pieces of lightweight PVC pipe, each 10 feet long and 1 inch in diameter
  • 14 PVC end caps, each 1 inch in diameter
  • 5 pound bag of sand
  • Dowel
  • Heat gun
  • 1 piece of lightweight PVC pipe, each 5 feet long and 1 inch in diameter
  • 2 pieces of lightweight PVC pipe, each 3 feet long and 1 inch in diameter
  • 2 pieces of lightweight PVC pipe, each 2 feet in length and one inch in diameter
  • Rubber cement
  • 2 pieces of patterned, lightweight nylon fabric, each 15 feet long and 7 feet wide
  • Scissors
  • Needle
  • Thread
  • Hammer
  • Nail
  • 4 pieces of kite string, each 40 feet long
  • Plastic kite handle
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Instructions

  1. Making the Kite Frame

    • 1

      Lay the two 10-foot PVC pipes horizontally on a flat surface, such as a long workbench or the ground so that they are parallel to each other. Place a cap on one end of each pipe. Then fill each pipe completely with sand, packing it in firmly with the dowel. Place a cap on the other end of each pipe.

    • 2

      Spread the two pipes about 5 feet apart. Then run the heat gun along all sides of each of the pipes until they are malleable. Then bend one of the pipes into a slight arc.

    • 3

      Move the other pipe to be above the slightly arced pipe and bend it into a sharp enough arc so that a straight 5-foot pipe could fit between the inside apex of this second arc and the outside apex of the first piece's arc. Allow these pipes to set for 24 hours, then remove the caps and remove the sand from the pipes.

    • 4

      Place each of the four smaller PVC pipe sections vertically in the space between the two parallel horizontal curved pipes from the previous steps. Have the pieces in the following order from left to right: one 2-foot piece, one 3-foot piece, the 5-foot piece, the other 3-foot piece and the other 2-foot piece.

    • 5

      Bend each of the smaller pieces of pipe your ordered in Step 4 into slight arcs, so that they fit flush with the space between larger arced pieces, depending on where they are placed relative to those larger pieces. Bend the smaller pieces using the same method you did to bend the larger pieces in Step 3.

    • 6

      Cement the PVC pipes together in the arrangement in which you had them in Step 5. The pipe ends should be flush with the pipe sides or pipe ends that they are touching. Allow the cement to set for 24 hours. You should now have two large, arced pieces of pipe connected to each other with five smaller, arced pieces touching both of the larger pipes, connecting them. This crescent moon shape is the skeleton of the kite.

    Sewing on the Kite

    • 7

      Move the skeleton you made in Section 1 off of the hard surface. Lay out one sheet of lightweight nylon fabric so that the unpatterned side is facing up.

    • 8

      Apply cement liberally to one side of the skeleton. Then place the skeleton in the center of the fabric piece to glue this side of the skeleton to its fabric outer body.

    • 9

      Cut the fabric underneath the skeleton so that it is in the shape of the skeleton but about 1 1/2 inches wider all the way around.

    • 10

      Curl the edges of the fabric piece about 1 inch over the outside of the skeleton, toward the center of the fabric piece. The curled edges should go all the way around the circumference of the pipes on the outside of the skeleton. Tape the fabric into place in this position.

    • 11

      Lay the second piece of lightweight nylon down on top of the skeleton body so that its patterned side is facing up. Then cut this top piece into the same shape as the skeleton but 1 1/2 inches wider all the way around.

    • 12

      Remove the top fabric piece and apply cement liberally to the side of the skeleton that is facing up. Then lay the sheet of nylon back down on top of the skeleton with its patterned side facing up.

    • 13

      Curl the edges of this top piece under the skeleton about 1 inch. Then sew together the fabric piece the overlapping top and bottom fabric pieces to bring together the halves your kite's body. You will have to hand-stitch these pieces together. You should now have a crescent moon-shaped kite stretched taut over a skeleton.

    • 14

      Punch two holes through both layers of fabric in each of ends of the crescent moon shape outside of the skeleton with the hammer and nails.

    • 15

      Thread one of the pieces of kite string through each of the holes, going into the top layer and out the bottom layer. The string should be arranged on each hole so that the part going into the hole is the same length as the part coming out. Then tie the ends of each string around the plastic kite handle.