quite a while back i came across a thread which had instructions and advice upon the braiding of Balearic slings.....well, I've been looking for a few hours, used the forum search feature, and come up with zilch, also went through the "FAQ and tutorials section, however I'm not sure if it was included there (it really ought to be) i was just wondering if any of the other members had it saved in there favourites, or has a link at all?

Interestingly enough, I just spent a couple hours of my evening here at home making a Balearic style sling for a craft show at work, and while thinking about slings, I realised I hadn't been here in ages, maybe even years. I did this latest sling with green and brown jute twine, and it was mainly as an experiment to see what kind of patterns I could make with different colours and the green and brown gives it a nice earthy, camouflage kind of look that I kind of like. This one is a little shorter than my typical Balearic sling, being about 34" from centre to end. I'll try to post pictures soon. But that tutorial is great, for learning how to braid a proper, Balearic style sling. I've referred to it many times over the past few years and that style has become my preferred sling style to this day.

Right enough Balearic slings can be braided from ready made cord, though, as shown in the "foner" site shown above

Jaegoor is always the purist.

Rat Man wrote on Apr 2^nd, 2011 at 4:01pm:


In making slings and in scoring with them. 

Jaegoor I also realize that real Balearic slings are made from plant fibers. However, I've got limited amounts of time, patience, raw authentic materials, etc. However I do have access to materials that make the whole process faster, easier and inexpensive enough to justify the time spent on the project. With that said, if you'd care to make an authentic Balearic style sling for me out of plant fibres, I would gladly pay you for it and send you my shipping information. I'll do a full out review of it and see how it compares to one of my own "reproductions." of course, you must realize that jute twine is made from plant fibers that have been stripped off the plant and spun together to form thin cords, so I have to wonder how inauthentic this construction method really is. Ive slung everything from frozen fruit to half bricks and just about every material conceivably in between and never had such a sling wear out, so I trust my construction methods.

Oh man, a silk sling would probably look really sweet! Any chance you've got a picture handy of one?

Jaegoor wrote on Apr 2^nd, 2011 at 4:20pm:

I would be honored to have a sling made by you, Jaegoor.  I would send you one in return if you'd like, though you're undoubtedly a better sling maker than me.