Hi Darkoath,
I went to spotlight which is a sewing and craft store chain in Australia. The cotton I used is manufactured by DMC in France. I got a roll of the no 8 ECRU. cost me about $2 for more than I can ever imagine using (the ball is 10 grams).
Then I just cut the lenghts I wanted cut, tied and glued in place. I used some beads to give the impression of pullies. When I do my larger ships I will use some hooks so I can remove the mast. The sails are just butchers paper.
Neil