Monday, July 23, 2012

Bundled Cords

No cord or cable can draw so forcibly, or bind so fast, as love can do with a single thread.

Robert Burton



Do you get frustrated with the electrical cords to your laptop or sewing machine when you travel?  Sometimes they seem to wrap themselves around everything and get into knots too!  A few years ago I found/heard a hint that helped solve the problem.  I have been using it for a while but it brought about another problem so here is my solution to the solution to my problem.

All neat and tidy!


Yes, that is a pony tail holder.  They are cheap and effective in bundling the cord and keeping it from getting tangled but there is a problem that develops over time.  They loose their stretch.  Look how this one has grown!  The green one has begun to lengthen on the right side too.

All stretch and no snap back!

So here is what I did.  I cut away the stretched out elastic and replaced it with 1/4" wide elastic about an 8" piece of it.

Cut at 8 inches

Thread it through the 2 beads and stitch the ends together.  Then stitch the elastic together half way between the beads.  The stitching looked ugly so I reinforced it with a piece of ribbon.  I used 1/4" satin ribbon because I had some laying besides the sewing machine.  A larger width would be a little easier to work with.  Stitching through 1/4" elastic or ribbon takes a bit of fiddling around to get the little things to be still and lay together correctly.  If I had to do it again I would stitch it to a 1" wide piece of ribbon to start with,  wrap the ribbon around the joined elastic, stitch the ribbon down and then trim the ends off close and add a little Fray Check to keep it from unraveling.  Hindsight is such a marvelous thing!  LOL

With and Without Ribbon Added

The replaced elastic is softer and has more stretch.  It would easily fit around the bulkier cords like my serger has where the cord to the machine and foot control are attached to the cord that plugs into the wall.  If you don't have the pony tail holder you could make one with two large buttons or large wooden beads.

Do you think you will try this?

Go see what else is up this week at Karen's Sew Many Ways Sew Darn Crafty Linking Party


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