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Braided sling with a woven pouch (Read 18774 times)
Shale
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Braided sling with a woven pouch
Aug 29th, 2004 at 5:58pm
 
Hi everyone,

I would like to make a braided sling with a solid woven pouch.  I tried to adapt one of my split-pouch slings by weaving a piece of nylon string through the holes in the pouch braids, but the result was messy and uneven.  Now I plan to start from scratch.  If anyone knows how to make a braided, woven-pouch sling, I would appreciate any advice you might have.
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Shale

As he that bindeth a stone in a sling, so is he that giveth honor to a fool. (Proverbs 26.8)
 
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english
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Re: Braided sling with a woven pouch
Reply #1 - Aug 30th, 2004 at 5:09am
 
I made a little post about this somewhere.  I was experimenting, and came to the idea of using the same technique the Iroquois used for weaving wampum belts.  Take a thin sapling, not too long, about as long as you want your sling.  Braid one entire cord on the sling, and then stop at the pouch.  Tie the braided cord to one end of the sapling, and tie the unbraided sling strands to the other end, making sure it is taut like a bow (not too taut, otherwise the fibres might break.)  Take one or two combs, depending on the sling pouch design (rectangular [two combs] or diamond [one comb]) and put them into the fibres to separate them out into a braid-able shape, using the teeth on the comb to separate them out well.  Keep the comb(s) in place, and start weaving in your weft, trying to keep the weave as tight as possible.  If you manage that, then maybe you could try a twining weave on your next sling (I haven't done that yet, but I intend to sometime.)  I hope these instructions were as clear as I wanted them to be, but I doubt it.  I'd suggest going to http://www.nativetech.org/wampum/wamphist.htm because there is a very good image of a wampum weaving stick.
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Shale
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Re: Braided sling with a woven pouch
Reply #2 - Aug 30th, 2004 at 11:53pm
 
Thanks, English, I'll check out that site.  I also looked at some native weaving techniques, and thought it might be possible to use the 'spiral-weave' technique.  This technique uses one 'cord' coiled into a spiral, with radiating cross-stiching holding the various coils together.  Native North Americans used this weave to make baskets, but I think it could be adapted to make a sling.  If I use two cords for the coils, I could make an oval-shaped pocket, and then have each cord come out on opposite ends of the pocket for the retension and release cords.  Though this type of sling would be easy to make, my concern is that, since the last coil of each cord would be on opposite sides of the pocket, this sling might have a tendency to twist.  I'll try both techniques and see which one works best.
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Shale

As he that bindeth a stone in a sling, so is he that giveth honor to a fool. (Proverbs 26.8)
 
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Hobb
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Re: Braided sling with a woven pouch
Reply #3 - Aug 31st, 2004 at 8:57pm
 
Woven pouches are surprisingly easy.  I'd start with a minimum of 16 strands (I used 32 to make mine).  Divide them into 4 equal groups, or 'ribs'.  Take another, much longer strand, and whip it (wrap it around) the retention cord.  then just weave it over/under/over/under, coming back around when you get to the last rib.  every time you cross your weaving strand across all four ribs, smush that row back up against the previous rows.  If you do it correctly, the strands you use to make the ribs won't show through, as they'll be completely covered by the weaving strand.  Hope that makes sense.
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english
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Re: Braided sling with a woven pouch
Reply #4 - Sep 1st, 2004 at 6:23am
 
Actually, if you are starting weaving, do it with eight big strands - practise until you can do that easily, and then do to smaller strands and more of them.  The problem is holding the woven shape - tension is required (hence the bow loom) and something to separate the fibres out (hence the comb(s)).  I find a typical sling pouch can take around four hours, which is why I haven't done any for ages.  Look nice though.
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Hobb
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Re: Braided sling with a woven pouch
Reply #5 - Sep 1st, 2004 at 11:07am
 
I guess I need to make a clarification.  Once you've woven a section of the pouch about an inch long, then you split the 4 ribs into 8 ribs.  Continue to weave over/under 4 on one side, making a strap about 2-3 inches long.  Then weave another cord over/under the other four ribs 'til it matches the first strap for length.  Then you re-combine the 8 ribs back into 4 ribs, weave for another inch, and then take the strands making the ribs and continue braiding your release cord.  No need to use larger/smaller strands.
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english
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Re: Braided sling with a woven pouch
Reply #6 - Sep 1st, 2004 at 1:09pm
 
I also need to clarify.  The larger strands are just for weaving practise, as it were, not for a final sling pouch.  Just to learn how to actually weave to begin with.
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Thori
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Re: Braided sling with a woven pouch
Reply #7 - Oct 27th, 2004 at 10:53pm
 
This is great information, as I have a particular interest in woven pouches.  But here's my question:

It's obvious one would need to use at least 16 (or better, 32) strands to make this work well.  What, then, is the best way to form the retention and release cords? A simple "round braid" would tend to become very wide and cumbersome, wouldn't it?
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WildAtHeart
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Re: Braided sling with a woven pouch
Reply #8 - Oct 27th, 2004 at 11:08pm
 
do a round braid with all the cords for a few inches, then cut off about half of them so they will be braided in and secure with the main half that continue for the length of the cord.
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Thori
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Re: Braided sling with a woven pouch
Reply #9 - Oct 28th, 2004 at 4:16pm
 
Cool.  Thanks, Wild.
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english
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Re: Braided sling with a woven pouch
Reply #10 - Oct 30th, 2004 at 12:33pm
 
You can actually make a sling pouch with 8 strands.  It's not that difficult.  And sixteen strands is not that much, honestly.  Look for something the size of, say, embroidery silks.
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english
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Re: Braided sling with a woven pouch
Reply #11 - Nov 1st, 2004 at 3:03pm
 
I have a sling in a weaving jig I knocked up (a comb and two points to suspend the sling from) upstairs.  I have not quite done half the pouch - it is intended to end up as an "Egyptian" or middle east style sling pouch, with a diamond shape, &c.  A woven sling can actually be done quite quickly.  I only started it about half an hour ago, with breaks and coming on here to write this.
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Thori
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Re: Braided sling with a woven pouch
Reply #12 - Nov 1st, 2004 at 3:36pm
 
This may seem like a silly question, but it's been bugging me:  what does one do when one's weft reaches the comb in the middle of the pouch, or wherever a comb may be?
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english
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Re: Braided sling with a woven pouch
Reply #13 - Nov 2nd, 2004 at 1:39pm
 
That is actually a very good question.  It was bugging me to begin with.  I came up with a solution which works ok, and produces nice pouches.  When making the "diamond" pouch, once I hit the middle, I move the strands closer together in the comb - this naturally narrows the pouch.  Then, I might loosen the hold on the strands, so that the loose fibres will come closer together when you pull the weft - this can be quite difficult to control.  The main drawback is that the "diamond" shape in the middle can fold inwards slightly, although I consider this to be a little better for slinging than a simple flat diamond.  Try to make up your own solutions.  My own works, but it is difficult and sometimes doesn't work great.
  With the Peruvian split pouches, I just move the comb along a little, as the pouch can be just about rectangular, but at the ends naturally it has to narrow.  So I loosen the strands as described above, and pull the weft almost as far as I can.  That way you get nice triangular ends.
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Thori
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Re: Braided sling with a woven pouch
Reply #14 - Nov 2nd, 2004 at 4:16pm
 
Thanks for the response, english.  I'll consider that when the time comes.
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« Last Edit: Nov 4th, 2004 at 3:49pm by Thori »  
 
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