A drawcord is a narrow fabric with a job: cinch a hood, a hem or a waist. The structure you choose changes how it threads an eyelet, how it feels on skin, and whether it survives a dryer.
Round cord versus flat tape
Round cord (often a braided or knitted tube, sometimes with a filler) keeps its section when it passes a metal eyelet. Hoodies, parkas and basketball shorts use it because a round section does not collapse into a blade that saws the grommet.
Flat tape (a woven or knitted webbing) spreads pressure. It is the better choice in a yoga waist or a pull-on short, where a round cord leaves a ridge. A garment can use both: flat at the waist, round at the hood.
Other structures we sample regularly:
- Elasticated cord with a rubber or elastane core — hems that must rebound in the cold.
- Reflective cord with a retroreflective yarn in the braid — running and outdoor.
- Silicone-grip cord — wet-hand adjustment.
- Jacquard cord with a woven logo — branding that does not crack like a print.
Twisted cotton rope and waxed cotton (waxed cord) sit in a more heritage language: shoes, folkwear, some outerwear. Wax improves abrasion and water shedding; it also changes shade and can mark a light shell if it is over-applied.
Fibres
Nylon (polyamide) is strong, abrasion-resistant and a little shiny. Polyester is more UV- and heat-stable, a bit less elastic. Cotton is the hand people want on a natural story and the fibre that shrinks if you skip a wash test. Viscose looks rich and loses strength wet. Acrylic is bulky and warm, weaker in abrasion. For outdoor, aramid cores exist; they are a spec, not a fashion default.
Tips, stops and the last 15 millimetres
An aglet (the tip) can be metal, moulded plastic, heat-shrink, or a simple heat-cut and dip. Metal tips on a kids’ hood are a safety conversation, not only a brand conversation. Cord stops (toggles) are a separate hardware SKU: spring-loaded, silicone, or metal, sized to the cord diameter.
Always state diameter or width, fibre, construction, colour method, tip, and whether the cord is for a child size. A pretty tassel without a diameter will not pass through the eyelet you already approved on the shell.