28 replies to this topic

[Lamanda2]

So, within the past couple weeks, I've dipped into making LEGO sails.. And by "dipped in" I really mean just that - To date, I've only printed three sails (Two of which are identical)! I had been avoiding them because of the amount of fabric and ink I knew they would take up, but oh well.. The first one I made, which got me started with this, was a request from a customer of mine. He thought $20 was a good price for one, but I dunno'.. I Sold it to him for $15 instead, which still feels high to me, but do to the resources they consume, I don't know what to do about it currently.

He requested this Crownie design:


And the second is printed with the Black Falcon emblem:


Yes, I suppose these aren't directly pirate-related. But, I was wondering if anybody here might have some suggestions of other designs to put on them. I'd love to hear you feedback.  

Thanks!
~Amanda

[frontbeast]

black and white striped without pirate skulls

[Lamanda2]

"black and white striped without pirate skulls"

Like this?:


I also did up these different versions while I was at it:
- Red Stripes
- Blue Stripes
- Black Stripes (With Skull)
- Red Stripes (With Skull)
- Blue Stripes (With Skull)
- Black & Red Stripes (With Skull)

~Amanda  

[Hound Knight]

Oooh... those are very nice Lamanda!  

Maybe next you could try some of the other shapes:

[Rick]

Really nice designs. How do you transfer them to/print them on cloth? What kind of cloth do you use?

[Ryan_T]

Those Black and Red Stripes on the sail look very good.   where are you getting these paterns from?

[RichardAM]

These look great Amanda, and if they're anything like the flags/capes i'm sure they'll be awesome. Are they in production/for sale at all yet? The other thing I was wondering was if they were semi-transparent like the capes?

Following Hound's suggestion of the different shapes, i'm sure ragged/ripped and holey (no, not holy!) sails would look pretty good too.  :)

[Paul cantu]

The red and black striped one with the skull is amazing. How do you print onto the cloth?

[Lamanda2]

Wow, thanks for the response everybody!  

"Maybe next you could try some of the other shapes"
Yes, I would like to get some templates made for the other official sail shapes out there, but some of the Bricklink images just won't cut it if I want to make them accurate, but I don't own any sails myself - does anyone here know where I could find scans of them?

"Really nice designs. How do you transfer them to/print them on cloth? What kind of cloth do you use?"
I print the designs directly onto the fabric (cotton popplin), but I have heard of others using iron-on transfers to make fabric items as well.

"Those Black and Red Stripes on the sail look very good. where are you getting these paterns from?"
Thanks! I was really happy with the way that one looked, myself! As for the patterns, I drew them up on my computer based on the official design.

"These look great Amanda, and if they're anything like the flags/capes i'm sure they'll be awesome. Are they in production/for sale at all yet? The other thing I was wondering was if they were semi-transparent like the capes?"
Thank you! They are printed the same way, and on the same type of fabric as my capes and flags, so they would also be semi-transparent I imagine (Do you mean that you can see through them when you hold them to light, or the fact that the design shows to the other side? Either way, the answer would be yes).
Currently I just have the two Black Falcon sails for sail in my shop, but if anybody wants any of the ones I posted, I can make them for you. I've recently been pondering the idea of making my own site to sell my stuff, that way I can make them "on demand", and I won't have to worry about stuff not selling or whatall (Like printing sails, since they use up so much stuff).

"Following Hound's suggestion of the different shapes, i'm sure ragged/ripped and holey (no, not holy!) sails would look pretty good too."
That does sound pretty cool! I love making tattered things, it's fun!

"The red and black striped one with the skull is amazing. How do you print onto the cloth?"
The cloth has a paper-backing, which allows it to be fed through a printer.

~Amanda

[SlyOwl]

These look great! I was following the progress on Flickr absorbedly!

I think the pricing is about right - I would expect to pay $5 - $20 for classic sails, depending on their rarity. You could probably make quite a mint making and selling replicas on Bricklink, in particular the Imperial Flagship and Trading Post sails. Is the cloth porous enough to allow for staining with a teabag?

Lamanda2, on Sep 4 2009, 11:19 PM, said:

"Maybe next you could try some of the other shapes"
Yes, I would like to get some templates made for the other official sail shapes out there, but some of the Bricklink images just won't cut it if I want to make them accurate, but I don't own any sails myself - does anyone here know where I could find scans of them?

Sure thing! I'm guessing you did these current ones by tolerance filling the SES sail scan (to get uniform colours), and then changing the colours/removing the jolly roger? It shouldn't be too difficult with these.

[Lamanda2]

"Is the cloth porous enough to allow for staining with a teabag?"
Hmmm.. Should be. When I first started making these, I remember doing a test to see if soaking them in water would ruin the colors, and it faded them. but then after I changed my method, I tried another test and they were fine. I'll see if I can't do a "tea test" for you later on a test-worthy cape (I have a few that turned out badly here).

"Sure thing! I'm guessing you did these current ones by tolerance filling the SES sail scan (to get uniform colours), and then changing the colours/removing the jolly roger? It shouldn't be too difficult with these."
Thank you so much for that link! This is EXACTLY what I need!! Oh boy!

~Amanda

[steele]

Depending on price, I'd buy several sets.  Black and red (without skull) would look awesome on my BSB.  While my BSB still has its original sails and they're not frayed or yellowed, they still are not "crisp and white"---I'd like a backup/replacement set of red/white just in case something happens, and the black/red just to look cool.  Would also like a large set of blue/white (3 mast's worth) for a MOC, and maybe a black/white set "just to have".

And yes, you could sell a zillion on Bricklink---both as replacements, and for MOCs.  Start with the shapes needed for the BSB and SES---they're always highest in demand.  Even the re-release of the BSB didn't help, its sails (both original and re-release) still cost a mint.  

PS--how about black and blue?  I think there's one official set like that.

PPS---how about a more "realistic" skull shape?  Like this:  http://www.jolly-rog...om/j-rogers.gif

And just FYI, the BSB, SES, and Caribbean Clipper share most of their sails, differing only in color, with the SES having one additional unique sail.

Edited by steele, 05 September 2009 - 01:31 AM.

[Ryan_T]

so.. you use a normal printer or a special kind? and how do you get it aligned? do you print it on on the cloth and then cut it? xD I'm stupid.. thats probably what u do.. Idk why I asked it. xD

And to get the print on both sides clearly. try taking the pics. and flip it over. like:    |     \    make it /     |         and print it on the back of the existing one.

Edited by Davy_Blocks, 05 September 2009 - 02:03 AM.

[Lamanda2]

"Depending on price, I'd buy several sets."
Well, as I said in my original post, I sold a large one to that one guy for $15.00, and I think that is probably the largest sail type out there, so any of the other ones would probably be lower than that. I'm just going by the size of the things here really. But once I get a few of the other styles made, and I print some more out, I think I'll get a better understanding of just how much these take to make. That way, hopefully, I'll be able to knock a little off the price of the things.. I don't want to break peoples' budgets here!

That being said, if you (or anybody else, for that matter) do want to have something made, just shoot me an email (Amanda1oo1o1ATaolDOTcom) - That way I won't forget about your request!  

"PS--how about black and blue? I think there's one official set like that.
PPS---how about a more "realistic" skull shape?"
Black and blue would be cool - I'll have to do that!
Realistic Skull - I should be able to do that, too (It'll just take me longer).

"so.. you use a normal printer or a special kind? and how do you get it aligned? do you print it on on the cloth and then cut it? xD I'm stupid.. thats probably what u do.. Idk why I asked it."
It's a perfectly good question! I just use a normal printer myself.. I'm actually on my third printer right now (Had some really bad computer luck last year..), but this one is holding up really nice! And yes, I cut them out after printing a sheet full of them (Capes and flags that is.. I can't get more than one of these large sails on a sheet!).

"And to get the print on both sides clearly. try taking the pics. and flip it over. like: | \ make it / | and print it on the back of the existing one."
To date, I've tried many different ways to print both sides, including this suggestion, but no luck so far. The trouble is that the fabric need to have a paper backing to be fed through the printer, but when it comes time to flipping the fabric over, you have to peel off the backing, and it is difficult to attach it just right to the opposite side, so that when you print again it will line up perfectly to the other side.. It's a brain bender for sure!

~Amanda

[Ryan_T]

Lamanda2, on Sep 4 2009, 10:56 PM, said:

To date, I've tried many different ways to print both sides, including this suggestion, but no luck so far. The trouble is that the fabric need to have a paper backing to be fed through the printer, but when it comes time to flipping the fabric over, you have to peel off the backing, and it is difficult to attach it just right to the opposite side, so that when you print again it will line up perfectly to the other side.. It's a brain bender for sure!

hmm.. Interesting.. Hope you find out how! It'll look much better on both sides! :)

Where can I get this cloth? Theres a wal~mart and a Target close. I'm in Florida, so dont have alot of stores others do. xD where'd you get yours?

Edited by Davy_Blocks, 05 September 2009 - 10:46 PM.

[Commander Flash]

What kind of cloth should I use? I also live next to a Wal Mart, so would they have a suitable cloth? Also, how do you do an iron on?

[Ryan_T]

"Commander Flash: What kind of cloth should I use? I also live next to a Wal Mart, so would they have a suitable cloth? Also, how do you do an iron on?"

Here. :)

Click here to Learn how to print Iron On's with HP Printers!

Hope that helped you. :)

Edited by Davy_Blocks, 06 September 2009 - 06:46 AM.

[Admiral Croissant]

I always use unbleached cotton (I hope that's the correct name for it) for the sails. The colour is quite good. I also make lines on them with a pensil and after the whole thing I use varnish or glue to give it a nice shape and prevent unraveling. This is a pretty good method, but there could be better ones.

[Rick]

Admiral Croissant, on Sep 6 2009, 05:55 PM, said:

I always use unbleached cotton (I hope that's the correct name for it) for the sails. The colour is quite good. I also make lines on them with a pensil and after the whole thing I use varnish or glue to give it a nice shape and prevent unraveling. This is a pretty good method, but there could be better ones.

Where do you get the unbleached cotton (I don't know if it's the correct name either, but I get what you mean). Any pictures of your sails?

[Lamanda2]

"Where can I get this cloth? Theres a wal~mart and a Target close. I'm in Florida, so dont have alot of stores others do. xD where'd you get yours?"
"What kind of cloth should I use? I also live next to a Wal Mart, so would they have a suitable cloth?"
You might be able to find it at Walmart (I haven't checked there), if not, try checking local fabric/craft store. You should be able to tell if something is suitable by the feel of it - Something with a really high thread count is best!

"...This is a pretty good method, but there could be better ones."
I think there are lots of ways to make capes and stuff, and your method sounds like it would turn out some very nice results!  

Davy Blocks - Thanks for posting the link about iron-ons!

I just listed a couple new items to my shop, including this new sail:


(Listed for $8.00 ea. - How does that sound?)

.. And a matching flag:
- Flag
- Flag (With Brown Border)

I've got to turn in for the night now (Very, very late (More like early) here!), but I'm hoping to get some more designing done tomorrow!

Thanks again for all of your replies, I really appreciate your feedback.  

~Amanda

[Captain Stoneface]

Rick, on Sep 6 2009, 09:31 PM, said:

Where do you get the unbleached cotton (I don't know if it's the correct name either, but I get what you mean). Any pictures of your sails?

I think that in you can buy it in Holland at the craft store 'De Kwast'.

Edited by Captain Stoneface, 07 September 2009 - 11:31 AM.

[Admiral Croissant]

Rick, on Sep 6 2009, 08:31 PM, said:

Where do you get the unbleached cotton (I don't know if it's the correct name either, but I get what you mean). Any pictures of your sails?

I bought it in our local fabrics shop. I think it's quite easy to get. Pictures:





I made the stripes with a brown pencil, but a normal one looks also good. It's just what you like the most.

[Rick]

You didn't link to the bigger pictures, so for anyone interested:
http://img156.images...2/dsc00455o.jpg
http://img180.images...6/dsc00453f.jpg

The results looks nice, but that's not Lego!  

[Admiral Croissant]

No it's not lego.. But you can use it for lego ships as well

[Lorentzen]

Wow- I'm totally impressed with the quality of this.

I'd buy some blue/white striped sails from you at some point, but not at the moment.
They look incredible, and so does all your other work, which I've just browsed through on your flickr page.

Amazing