How to Make Triangular Standard Batten Pockets

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When a Sailrite® mainsail kit calls for standard battens (non-full length) we most often recommend a triangular batten pocket be built to accommodate the batten at each batten location on the sail. This style of batten pocket requires a little more patterning but is typically used for medium to larger boats.
Video Chapters

Batten Pockets for Smaller Boats

  • Patterning & Sewing Patch – 0:09 min.
  • Sewing Pocket to Sail – 2:31 min.
  • Finishing Leech Edge – 7:05 min.
Batten Pockets for Larger Boats
  • Sewing Patches – 10:45 min.
  • Sewing Pocket to Sail – 12:27 min.
  • Finished Leech Edge – 13:51 min.
Materials List
  • Dacron Sailcloth
  • 1" White Elastic - #22202
  • Seamstick 1/4" Basting Tape for Sailmaking & Vinyl (50 yds.) - #20306
  • Thread
Tools List
  • Sailrite® Ultrafeed® LSZ Walking Foot Sewing Machine (110V) #311602
  • Ruler
  • Scissors
  • Pencil

Sewing a triangular standard

From patterning the pocket to installing the batten, this video walks you through all the steps of sewing a triangular standard batten pocket onto your mainsail. We’re sewing the batten pockets using the Sailrite® Professional 4-Point Sewing Machine and using 4-point (also known as 3-step) zigzag stitches. If you don’t own a 4-point zigzag stitch machine, you can also use a regular 2-point zigzag sewing machine, such as the Sailrite® Ultrafeed® LSZ Walking Foot Sewing Machine. It’ll get the job done with professional-looking results, and the Ultrafeed is portable enough to take with you on all your sailing adventures for on-the-go repairs and DIYs.

If you have any questions or run into issues along the way, feel free to contact us by phone, email or online chat. Our trained staff of customer service representatives will be able to answer any questions and get you on your way to a successful sewing project. We're always happy to help our customers successfully accomplish their sewing DIYs!

After you’ve finished this sail project, are there any other repairs or sewing projects needed on your sailboat? We have a full Sailboat Repair Series of blogs with how-to tutorials on how to fix everything from rips and tears to replacing a sail window and even how to reinstall a sail’s corner ring. Just type “Sail Repair Series” into the search field on our site to find the list of blogs. If you’re interested in other types of sail batten pockets, be sure to check out our other batten pocket videos.

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