Andean Sling Braids

Andean Sling Braids: New Designs for Textile Artists. by Rodrick Owen and Terry Newhouse Flynn 216 pages, hardcover. 2016

Learn to make the decorative braids used in the sling-making traditions of Peru and Bolivia; this detailed guide, including 400 step-by-step photos plus hundreds of diagrams, teaches the technique and over 100 designs for weavers, craftspeople, jewelry designers, basket weavers, and others interested in using braids for embellishment. In-depth detailed instructions are given, along with clear diagrams; recommended braiding yarns for slings and kumihimo; detailed set-up, making, and finishing instructions; and many fascinating contemporary applications. This book introduces a new piece of equipment, the core frame, and gives instructions for making it from wood and dowels. When the core frame is used with a braiding stand and bobbins, a wide variety of core-carrying braids become accessible to kumihimo braiders. Most of the braids, from 4 to 40 strands, can be made on a braiding card/disk, and 50 patterns can be made on the stand without a frame.