RhonanTennenbrook wrote on Mar 9^th, 2026 at 7:36am:


I've made some slings from nettle before and more cordage than I can measure. I'm essentially immune to nettle stings at this point It's just getting to the time that nettles can be harvested in Northern Europe so it's a good time to try.

FloatingFlint wrote on Jun 23^rd, 2026 at 12:24am:


Huge fan of Sally Pointer! She has some really great net making videos as well. Made MANY net bags thanks to her.

Cattail sling. I'll add a picture later.

https://youtu.be/phTz1XF2pAU

Three weeks ago I tried to make a sling out of stinging nettles. I exceeded the time limit of 24 hours, because I had to let the fibers dry. It worked out well, the braiding felt good and I got a nice looking sling. BUT, when I pulled it around an 8 mm radius, what I do with all my braided slings to even out the braid and to flatten it a little, the sling broke. I have to say that I pull hard on both ends when I pulled it through this carabiner which I use for it. In retrospect, it was that I did not process the fiber enough and had a lot of "stuff" that wasn´t fiber in my sling. I can say that for sure, because I had the plants I harvested and the "fibers" I got out of them on the scale. And my "fiberweight" was way more than the plant contains . So the issue was not the plant but me being a bit lazy with fiber extraction. The fibers of these nettles should be as strong as hemp fibers and I can´t break a sling out of hemp fiber. Some time I will try again.

I think if you throw stones that are lying under our feet and have sharp edges, a sling made of such plant fibers can fall when a stone falls and get damaged. I noticed that when a sling is made of thin fiber, the stone grazes it when descending.And when it is woven like a Balearic with a thickening, the stone damages it less, since it opens smoothly in a wave and the stone touches only a small place at the end of the trap. Therefore, Balearic slings probably have an asymmetrical leather protection. When there is no skin, a denser weave is saved from damage and the sling will last longer. And finally, I agree that it is necessary to comb out everything that is not fiber and extract the thinnest fibers from the plant, which, when twisted, will give a stronger and more flexible product.

in the photo, a sling made of wild yuca fibers.
I made one thin, and the second one is thicker and wider with a smooth narrowing towards the end. She was able to throw more accurately, but at a shorter distance, compared to a thin sling. Which is logical.

The yuki leaves were not alive, dried naturally. They were sticking out of the bush, but had already been dropped by the plant. But they were not dry either, a little moisture still remained in the leaves. I also tried to weave dried yuki leaves, but they crumbled and were not as strong and elastic, probably the sun burned the fibers.



When throwing from slings woven from yuki, I found another problem that the fibers were so hard that they very quickly injured my fingers at the point of holding, after 10 minutes of throwing, there was already a bleeding wound on my index finger. I didn't have that with nettle, flax, and jute slings.