The last fifteen millimetres of a drawcord do more work than they get credit for. An aglet (the tip) stops the braid from fraying, feeds the cord through an eyelet, and is often the only brandable metal on a hoodie. A cord stop (toggle, spring stopper) holds the cord where the wearer left it. They are different SKUs. Neither is specified by “nice end.”
What an aglet is for
A drawcord without a tip fuzzes, then mushrooms, then will not pass the grommet it was designed for. The aglet is a ferrule: plastic, metal, or a dip that hardens on the fibre. It should stay on through wash and through being yanked through a coated eyelet. Decorative shape is allowed after that job is done.
This article is the tip and the stopper. Construction of the cord itself (round braid versus flat tape, fibre, reflective yarns) is the earlier University note on drawcords.
Tip materials
Moulded plastic (ABS and similar) — the volume apparel aglet. Light, colour-matched, printable or moulded-in logo, cheap. Good on fashion hoodies and joggers. Heat and solvent on the cord (if the mill is gluing) must be compatible with the fibre. A glossy ABS bullet on a waxed cotton cord is a taste decision; adhesion is a process decision.
Metal — zinc alloy, brass, sometimes stainless. The hand that makes a coat feel finished. Logos by engraving, stamping or enamel; colour by plating or paint. Barrel (“bullet”) tips in brass are the classic. Metal on a children’s hood is a safety conversation (weight, rigidity, small-parts if it detaches) as well as a design conversation. See the children’s drawstring note before you specify a zinc bullet on a size 5.
Silicone dip or silicone sleeve — a moulded or dipped elastomer cap, often 100% silicone, colour-fast, soft. Good on sports, kids’ (when the cord is allowed at all), and any program that wants no metal and no hard plastic click. Adhesion to nylon, polyester and cotton cores is a compound and process problem: too hard and it pops off; too soft and it gums. Export programs still need REACH and RoHS on the compound, not only a Pantone.
Heat-cut and film / heat-shrink — the lowest-cost tidy end on a synthetic braid. Honest on a pack cord. Cheap-looking on a brand hoodie unless the cut is clean and even.
Cord-end clips and “bell” ends (zinc or plastic caps that clamp or screw on) sit between an aglet and a stopper: they finish the end and can add bulk so the cord cannot disappear into the channel. Specify them as hardware, with a plating and a pull test if they can come off.
Cord stops
Cord stops are the spring-loaded or silicone bodies that clamp the cord. Size to the cord diameter, not to the photo. A 5 mm stop on a 3 mm cord slips; a 3 mm stop on a 5 mm cord cuts the braid.
Materials follow the same family as other small hardware: plastic, silicone, zinc, sometimes acetal. Logos, two-shot colour and metal shells are available. The spring is the part that fails. Ask whether the stop is meant to be sewn into a channel or to float on a free end — and remember that free ends on children’s hoods are a regulation problem, not a toggle-design problem.
Process and tests
Tips are crimped, glued, moulded-on, or dipped. The mill should quote cord diameter, tip inner diameter, attachment method, and a pull-off force. Wash, 48 h NSS on plated metal, and a colour-crock on painted or silicone tips are reasonable on a branded program. SGS-style RSL packs belong on metal, paint and silicone alike.
Custom colours on silicone should be instrument-matched (ΔE on a stated illuminant), not “close to the hoodie.” Custom moulds for a logo bullet are NRE; they make sense at quantity, not on a 300-piece capsule.
Write cord diameter and fibre, tip type (plastic / metal / silicone dip / heat-cut), attachment, logo method, and whether a cord stop is required — plus the age of the wearer. The pretty end is a trim. The specification is how it stays on.