"Capt. Mooron" wrote in message news:f_YJa.21094

Huh?....... zig zag is not a stitch and the original holes wouldn't
matter.

The original stitch has a zig-zag pattern. The seam is an overlap of two
bits of cloth which has two runs of zig-zag. The 'outer' side of each
zig-zag is just outside the edge of the cloth and seems to be a bit like an
overlock.


He won't have a machine capable of stitching through that thickness and if
he did he wouldn't be asking the question.

True, although it's not terribly heavy cloth. The sail is about 5m high and
is for an 18' boat.


Lock Stitch is the correct method and it is done with a threaded awl
designed for the purpose that can be purchased at any leather craft supply
store.

Ah, thus emulating a two-thread machine stitch?


If you are concerned about the existing fabric... place a piece of
sail tape over the area and stitch through it. The resulting work will be
stronger and last longer than a commercial machine stitch.

Noted.


--
Wally
I demand rigidly-defined areas of uncertainty!
www.art-gallery.myby.co.uk