You have done countless paracord projects, but I found nothing on your blog about paracord shrinkage. Probably this is only a concern when making bracelets, necklaces or pet collars. In your experience, have you found that 550 paracord shrinks by about 10%? Do you make allowances for the shrinkage, or do you pre-shrink your cord before you make the project? Thanks for any insight you might provide.
@Trekster, I've usually used good quality 550 type III mil-spec paracord, and have not had any noticeable 'shrinkage' issues with it. I have had folks request that I pre-shrink cord before tying a paracord bracelet for them, in the past when I sold some, but checking the length before and after, showed less than a 1/2" difference in a 10 foot length when wet, and after stretching it out by hand after fully dry, it was back even.
Some paracord distributors, like Ubraidit.com, sell 450 paracord, and they do mention shrinkage(as much as 10% to 12% for black and kelly green), but the difference in paracord construction is in the core strands. 450 has a few loose fibrous polyester strands instead of the twisted 7 inner nylon strands of military/commercial 550 paracord, and those fibrous strands do shrink up a bit and can make the outer sheath a bit 'wavy' in my experience.
So it comes down to what type of paracord you're using. If making a wearable paracord bracelet/watchband/collar with 450 type paracord, you can pre-shrink it to be on the safe side, and if using good 550 paracord, I wouldn't worry about it, but you can try test shrinking it with the cord you have to test it out. YMMV ;)
2 comments:
You have done countless paracord projects, but I found nothing on your blog about paracord shrinkage. Probably this is only a concern when making bracelets, necklaces or pet collars. In your experience, have you found that 550 paracord shrinks by about 10%? Do you make allowances for the shrinkage, or do you pre-shrink your cord before you make the project? Thanks for any insight you might provide.
@Trekster, I've usually used good quality 550 type III mil-spec paracord, and have not had any noticeable 'shrinkage' issues with it. I have had folks request that I pre-shrink cord before tying a paracord bracelet for them, in the past when I sold some, but checking the length before and after, showed less than a 1/2" difference in a 10 foot length when wet, and after stretching it out by hand after fully dry, it was back even.
Some paracord distributors, like Ubraidit.com, sell 450 paracord, and they do mention shrinkage(as much as 10% to 12% for black and kelly green), but the difference in paracord construction is in the core strands. 450 has a few loose fibrous polyester strands instead of the twisted 7 inner nylon strands of military/commercial 550 paracord, and those fibrous strands do shrink up a bit and can make the outer sheath a bit 'wavy' in my experience.
So it comes down to what type of paracord you're using. If making a wearable paracord bracelet/watchband/collar with 450 type paracord, you can pre-shrink it to be on the safe side, and if using good 550 paracord, I wouldn't worry about it, but you can try test shrinking it with the cord you have to test it out. YMMV ;)
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