I found some time to continue my work on the Egyptian slings (see http://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1515612008/0 for a summary). In 2017, I uploaded a “no-tools” approach on how to make these slings (http://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1505851909). However, I wasn’t absolutely happy with this method, as it is quite a tedious process.

In the meantime, I found some inspiration in the book “Sling braiding – traditions and techniques” by Rodrick Owen and Terry Newhouse Flynn (http://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1516755231), as well as an exhibition in a local museum, where a Tibetan sling was shown (Ur-do: Steine schleudern, Josepha Graf). The technique I stumbled over was “weaving with sticks”. It is reasonably fast and requires only a very minimal set of tools. You need about 30 little sticks, string, a knife and optionally a needle. The work time is, give or take, on the order of 3 hours.

I put together an article which documents some of my work until now (see appended pdf). It outlines different variations of this technique. Consider it not a straightforward tutorial on how to make this or that specific sling, but more as a collection of ideas on what could be done with this technique. During my experimentation, I found that it might be a viable approach to reproduce other slings as well (Cortaillod / Corcelettes http://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1534190532).

I found that especially the Lahun sling in Manchester can be approached very well with this technique. However, I will not make a direct comparison with it to keep the article somewhat concise. There are just way too many small variations, some of which I know of, but just haven’t found the time to try them out. If you are interested in attempting an exact reproduction, I recommend reading my analysis (the first link) and go from there.

So feel free to experiment with this technique. It‘s actually quite beginner friendly. And, most importantly, don’t forget to post pictures of your work 😉.

Enjoy!

Teg / Thomas E. Gartmann

Nice! you used Latex for the document?

Thanks for the replies!

TheJackinati wrote on Dec 16^th, 2019 at 2:44am:


Sort of. See the appended picture. You use just two strings, which replace sticks consecutively.
I did something similar also in Figure 42.
Afterwards, you sew it to the braids, if I'm not mistaken.

Source: Graf, Josepha, Ur-do: Steine schleudern in: Begegnung – Spur – Karte : das
ethnografische Erbe von Heinrich Harrer und Peter Aufschnaiter, Stuttgart, Zürich:
Arnoldsche Art Publishers, Völkerkundemuseum der Universität Zürich (2018)


Sarosh wrote on Dec 16^th, 2019 at 3:35am:

Yes, I did. I'm not going to bother with Word when I have about 50 pictures with text


Kick wrote on Dec 16^th, 2019 at 3:47am:


The material choice here is not so critical. Also, tensioning is way easier than when weaving without a proper loom. Give it a go 

I finally have this a go and... well... mine sucks Just as was said, material choice is crucial. Again I've used too thin material for weaving which has left large gaps and holes on the side where it wasn't possible to tension it any tighter because of the width of the bamboo sticks. I've ordered thicker jute (in different colours as well) that should male for a much better pouch. The cords were just finished quickly with a braid just so I could call this one done. I have learnt a lot from this so the next ones should be much better

Photos will be resized in the morning.

And how difficult did you find the process? Easier or harder than your loom attempts?

Looking forward to your feedback 

Thanks for the feedback! 

With twining, the sticks are most probably faster. With a plain weave, my money would be on a loom. But I have never actually recorded the exact times it would take for each method to make the same sling.

Personally, I find the gaps visible in the sides actually aesthetically pleasing. But maybe I just looked too much at the Lahun sling  .

To my knowledge, the gaps and their appearance are influenced by the following factors:
- Ratio of distance between the rows and diameter of the string.
Distance between rows: Stick diameter when stick weaving; inverse of warp density on a loom (How many mm from one warp to the next on the loom). (it's roughly equivalent, give or take a factor to account for the thickness of the sticks etc.)
- The amount of tensioning. If you tension a lot, the gaps will show more.

I.e. if you want less gaps with the current string, go for a high warp density. This is indeed easier to achieve on a loom than with sticks, as you can reduce the stick size only to a certain limit, which still allows to replace the sticks easily with string.

Tried out the loom again. It did not go well. At all. Pictures and story will come tomorrow. All I'll say is twining over sticks is the way to go and I know how I'll make it work now. I really can't wait for that new jute to arrive...

Kick: Your problem starts before tightening. Check your weaving and compare with e.g. the excellent tutorial by Timothy Potter (it's sometimes online, sometimes not. But two days ago it was. Look for Tut tutorial 2, step 2, check the pictures).

There is too much tension on the weft and not enough beating while weaving.
Check my answer to Sarosh here: http://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1515612008/11#11
The fabric should already be compacted and weft-faced on the loom. Otherwise tightening will be difficult, require a lot of force or become outright impossible, as you experienced.