Good thread, and now after reading this I have to try it!
Good thread, and now after reading this I have to try it!
kisses and gratitude, Sarge! I so enjoyed meeting you and your son this weekend! Thank you for being ready to give me the whoopie.... (sling lesson!)
Tell your son to keep catching bugs, of all sort, and to keep them around a while, to see what they do. Nothing beats observation when you are studying/considering science!!!
Michelle, if you want to really get good at splicing, get some braided mason's line and practice making whoopie slings with that. Then you'll know you have it down pat.
Ellis
Thanks for the link!
Do all you can with what you have, in the time you have, in the place you are........
Ggggrrrr! I'm on my second try on whoopies and still no joy. What a mess! Maybe I should have waited more than two weeks after cutting off my finger.
Some people make this look so easy but, for me, it's hard hard hard. I can't seem to get the amsteel compacted enough to pull a length through the bury. Once I get it in there it gets stuck. Then sometimes I can't get it out, either. All the while my amsteel is getting frayed and the color bleeds and fades. Ugh!
I think I'm gonna have to find one of those 'loop turner' thingies.
I tried to use the plastic needle, but didn't get very far. I then used a piece of wire. I am not sure the gage, but it still had its rubberized coat on it. It only needs to be about 20" maybe 24". I find that after picking out a few threds from the end and cutting them, that you can pinch the end of the whoopie into the end of the wire folded over. I find pulling better then pushing. I then incert the wire where needed and come out at the desired spot. I the put the cut end of amstel and pull it into the core. The hardest part for me is the initial hole. once its inside I dont so much as pull as I force the scrunched up amstel against the end of the wire. If its tight I roll the wire end ( with the whoopie end stuck inside) around in between my finger while I am either pulling the exposed wire end or pushing the amstel up over the tight spot. The best way I can describe it is to thing of a snake. How the snake wiggles and twisted to slide the meal down. I know I am not an expert but I have made 6 so far and done them all in a few minutes while watching tv.
Monk-
Don't give up. There is a certain amount of finesse involved and it will come to you eventually.
It is probably one or two little things you may not be doing exactly right.
Little things that make it harder include-
-not cleanly burrowing into or exiting the amsteel. In other words, poking in and out of the amsteel within a fiber bundle and not between the bundles. This makes it harder to pull the amsteel into the beginning of the bury and causes it to bunch up.
-pulling or pushing too hard. There is a magical balance between just the right amount of compression of the amsteel bury area and too much.
-bunched tapers. If you taper the amsteel before you attach it to your threading device (wire or loop turner) it pulls in easier. If you do like I did at first- cut it sloppily or leave lumps- it will bunch up at the point it enters the amsteel and form something like a knot.
I wound up watching a lot of Youtube videos and trying to see what they were doing that I was not. Eventually it fell into place.
Keep trying and good luck.
"Live your life so that your children can tell their children that you not only stood for something wonderful- you acted on it"
-Dan Zadra
Sarge,
Thank you for the tips. I will keep them in mind as I make my third attempt later today. I picked up a loop turner at the fabric store and I hope that will make it easier.
I made another set of whoopies, for my 7 yards of DL Fabric.
Taken one of the idea's from here.. using a Wire. longer then the bury.. Then bend half, poke through other side for length of bury.. open wire up, thread in a tapered end in.. Slowly feed it in. and milking it.. Grabbing with Pliers.. and slowly pulling.. POOF in it went.. Done.. Instead of 4 hours for two whoopies.. made Two in 1 hour..
Right tool makes easy.. First time I did not add lube to it.
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