I just finished plaiting this sling two nights ago.  It is made from wool/acryllic yarn.  Brown and stone colored.  The retention loop is 6 strands over a 2 strand core.  The retention cord is 10 strands over a 6 strand core.  Where it goes thru the pouch, I broke it back into two plaits of 6 over 2. Then back to 10 over 6 for the release cord. So it has a total of 16 strands in the cords.  The cords are nice and stiff, except for one spot in the retention cord where I tried to change the plaiting a bit.  This did not work, so I abandoned it.  Later I realized that it did not pull as tightly as the rest.

In the retention cord you will notice a marked spiraling to the plait.  I don't really know what caused this to be so bad, but it is only in the plaiting, the cord does not twist.  About 2/3 of the way to the end of the retention cord I started doing something right and it sraightened out.  The release cord is much better, though not perfect.

The pouch is leather and made similar to my other pouches.  The sides of the pouch are stitched around the two cords.

Jeff,

Good job! I pity I can't to braid.

Jurek

Jeff
   That is truly a nice sling. Makes me think that I aught to try ding something similar now that the weather has turned cold again. Nice work!


WalkingBird

By the way, some pages back JeffH explaned very well how to make a 4-braid. That helped me a lot:


Here is a tip:  Take half the strands in each hand.  Lay them flat, one above the other.  This makes an inverted "v" opening toward you, tied or clamped off away from you.  Now, tak the top strand on one side an wrap it around the back (away from you) and bring it through the middle of the strands on other side.  Lay it across the lower strands and back onto the side it originated on, where it becomes the bottom-most strand.  The strands never change sides.  They wrap around the lower half of the strands on the other side and then return to their "home" side as the bottom strand.

Note that I did not number the strands.  That is not important (particularly with only a few). They do need to be in multiples of four, however, for the easiest plaiting. Once you understand this, all the illustrations will begin to make sense.  You are dealing with two flat bundles of strands that end up as a round plait.


//Ulrica

Thank you, Dan!


A 4-braid is really as easy as a 3-braid.

And yes, I made a wristloop this time, to test it.

I have no idea if a three strand pouch hold the stone better. I just thought it would look nice when I had three colours. And I was a little bit inspired from the pic on the very first page on this site, the one with five strands pouch...
I will found out when I can test it.

// Ulrica .. who like the feeling of the new sling

I threw some tennis balls with my newest sling (above) a few days ago.  Either I am getting better or stiffer slings work better inherently.  My accuracy was much better, though still not great.

I did not use any of my smaller slings, only the peruvian and my new one.  These are all stiffer.  The feel was totally different that the last time I used my smaller, 4 plait slings.  If nothing else, the larger cords are easier to hold and control.  Plus, they don't twist very much, if any at all.

jeff <><

Jeff,  Do you find the leather pouch to last longer?  I wonder, is there any historical references to slings combining leather and braiding?  Seems obvious from this end of history.

Here is the sling I asked Jim Burdine to braid for me. Someday I'll be able to do this well, someday...

yeah, I agree with mgreenfield!

What a beauty!!!
Takes you breath away!

Ulrica