Braiding a Solid Pouch - Nick Martin
A recent poll shows that slingers seem to be fairly evenly divided in their preference for solid pouches versus split. I lean towards the solid pouch because it can reliably handle any projectiles from tennis balls down to 1 oz glandes, avoiding the requirement of different slings for different ammo, as well as the risk of the projectile falling through. I found an easy way to either weave a solid pouch or to convert a split pouch to solid if you wish to make a change. Other articles explain in detail how to make a basic braided sling, so this one will assume you already have one completed. You will only need a 12-foot length of cord, probably the same type as the sling itself, and a pair of scissors. A crochet hook might be helpful but is not a requirement.
1) Decide which way you want your finished pouch to open, with your ammo being loaded from the front and supported from the back. The split pouch probably already faces one way or another, and you will see that one side is the better choice to face front.
2) Pull the new cord through a centered opening you will make in the braids of the release cord and then up to and through the retention cord - at the bottom and then the top of the pouch - from front towards the back, as in the first two illustrations. Here you see a 24# jute sling and a piece of black paracord, which is used only to clarify how to begin. Pull all 12 feet through, leaving only about 6 inches of the new cord overhanging at the bottom of the pouch (along the release cord). You will be threading almost all of your 12 feet of cord back and forth, but it will become progressively shorter and easier to work with.
Figure 1.
3) Begin to weave in an over-under alternating fashion: over the left braid, under the center strand, then over the right braid, back under the right braid, over the center, under the left, and so on, as shown in figures 2 and 3. Figure 4 shows how a half-finished pouch will look when using the same material as the sling itself.
Figure 2.
Figure 3.
Figure 4.
4) Continue weaving all the way to the bottom end of the pouch (towards the release cord). In the final weaves, it may be helpful to use a crochet hook to catch the free ends and pull them through, and then to weave them on into the release cord. See figure 5. If you follow the existing braids in your weaving into the release cord, the result will be very clean and “seamless.”
Figure 5.
5) After a few weaves into the release cord, cut off the ends. The finished pouch is shown in figures 6 and 7.
Figure 6.
Figure 7.
- Nick Martin (4accord)