Congratulations!

If it works, it works!  Good on ya!

You seem to have the basic concept down just fine.
My first few were pretty "sloppy" as well, and it wasn't until the member named Nephiel at EDCforums made a superb specimen and showed the forum a photo that I became aware that what I had made could be improved.  (Ya gotta love it.)  So I went back and re-made a sling and that's the one you see with the yellow golf ball.

The overall plan for that sling is easy -- I stand by that assessment -- but it is also true that to make a nice neat one with very little as far as gaps in the pouch, there's plenty of "working" the weave that you will have to do.  Also, you should know that you will need about 5 feet of cord to do the crossweave in a more dense pattern.

If you make a few more of these, you will start to really "know" the pattern.  Once that happens, you will get proficient at reading the pouch and will be able to feed cord back through it to address issues of tightening or loosening the warps to achieve the shape you want.  A well-made one of these will retain a cupped shape without  difficulty or any kind of seasoning.  All you have to do is loosen the "sheet bend" a bit at the ends of the pouch, and tug each of those outer lines that run along the rim of the pouch to shorten them, then tighten the sheet bend again. It ends up working like a drawstring cinching the pouch into a cupped shape.


I'm pleased that people are trying that design out.  Best wishes for success with your sling. 

OK I just tested it out  
I used a bowline knot for my finger and burned the ends of the cord to form caps.
The pouch holds golf balls pretty well. Only two fell out in 20 throws. Going for distance I made many 100+ 60+ yard throws(according to google earth). I also tested an underhand throw and it works too. I'm pleased with my first paracord sling and appreciate the help you guys have given me. I'm going to work on another one soon.  

NOICE-lookin' sling, there, Reuben! 

I wonder, do you have problems with the tennis ball rolling out the sides, though?  I know that the design is great for golf balls, but beyond that diameter, I would worry about premature loss of the projectile.  How's it been going?

The other pouch is my standard paracord one with a golf ball for scale.

It's great that folks experiment.  That's how I improved the three-strand sheet-bend design to make five-strands.  (I say, "I improved..." but that's only because I did it blind to the fact that anyone else anywhere had also come up with that modification parallel to my own doing so.  I later became aware that at least one other person had advocated doing what I did.)

I don't personally have a need for any modification of Cliff's design, since I actually am very fond of the simplicity of it, and the reductionist philosophy that it employs.  ("Do the most with the least.")

I notice that on your solid pouch design, it looks like you have independent cords and pouch.  Why did you opt for doing that, as opposed to having the strands for the cords woven right into the pouch?

peacefuljeffrey wrote on Oct 26^th, 2008 at 1:32am:


Thanks. I had some minor issues with tennis balls falling out the side during underhand throws when I first used the sling (and when the pouch was flat), but did not drop any yesterday. Adjusting the side cords to cup the pouch more helps. Also, the pouch is 7 cords wide (4.5cm) and just wide enough for tennis balls. The pouch is now more curved than shown in the attached photo.

The only issue I had using this sling yesterday was a slight twist in the cords. The paracord is very stiff and my retention knot and release knot are not quite lined up with the pouch. This causes a bit of twist on the pouch, which added a noticable amount of side spin when slinging underhand. Also, my typical fig-8 release knot is smaller (and slippery) in paracord so I may try to find a larger knot (or may eventually get used to it).

I had forgotten about Cliff's paracord sling design. I should try that out when I get some more cord.

I like the split pouch David came up with. I was thinking that figuring out a way to make this into a split pouch would help hold tennis balls (and other large amo) better.

Rueben wrote on Oct 27^th, 2008 at 10:31pm:


Ashleys stopper knot is the answer. http://www.helsinki.fi/~galambos/knot/stopper.html ;  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashley_stopper_knot

Its wide, symmetrical and solid. I use it now on all my slings (unless it uses a leather release tab)

It took me a few goes to learn how to tie it but its actually dead easy. Tighten the 'base' first before doing the final 'bitter end through the big loop' move.