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Ah, Paracord! The manliest of cordage. So compact and tough that it's the cord of choice for nuts who like jumping out of airplanes.
Looking at the guides available, though, you might start to think it's only useful for lanyards and fobs. Today I'll show you the steps to turn it into a snappy looking can koozie sporting your two favorite colors.
I stumbled on this idea on Stormdrane's Blog. While Stormdrane's instructables are thorough, this one is only on his blog and he only hints at the how -- enough to figure it out, but not everything.
Once I'd sorted out the how, adding the second color was a simple change.
In the following pages, I'll show you what you need, How to stitch from start to finish, and suggest some ideas for creating your own variation on the theme.
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For this project you'll need:
- two strands of paracord - 23-25ft each - you'll need at least 45' total to finish a typical can. When selecting your length keep in mind that it's better to have more than less. You can always trim off 2' of cord, but it's hard to add on an extra 2'. For this Instructable, Cord A will be played by popular and soothing "Blue" and Cord B will be played by the bright and energetic "Orange".
- cord-lock or lanyard bead - I've selected a Glow-in-the-dark Key fob I bought recently.
Required tools:
- A can to use as a form - don't plan to drink it anytime soon (your last soda is OK, but for goodness sake, don't use your last beer).
- Sharp Scissors
- Source of flame - hand torch, lighter, gas stove, candle (or matches if you're very quick) - used for dressing the paracord ends.
- Measuring tool - a yard-stick is ideal, but a ruler will do.
Optional tools that could make your life easier:
- blunt pointy tool - a substitute for a Fid or Marlinspike, which is used for "dressing" knots. A knitting needle, embossing tool, or small Phillips screw driver will do. It just needs to be thin, strong, and able to poke into the knots to pull tight strands loose and loose strands tight -- moving the slack around the weave. you can use your fingernails as a substitute, but it's really hard on them.
- tool for stitching (not pictured) such as:
+ bent needle-nosed pliers or hemostat - useful for pulling the cord through the stitch. See Step 5 for an example of use.
+ 2 jumbo permalock needles - allows you to push the cord through the stitch.
- a small rubber band - used early on for marking the cord.
Finally, Knotting geeks tend to use some basic terminology. If you're unfamiliar with any terms I use check out the wikipedia article on knots.
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Thanks!
Any idea how many half hitches to tie for an nalgene bottle?
I'm not sure, but I don't think so.
To use the given color scheme, the orange cord and blue cord do not begin with knots at the same point and move away from each other. The cords don't run in counter rotations, they tend to chase each other around the can.
At this step you're starting 2 spirals that travel around and down the can - one for each color. To keep the spirals even, you start knotting one on opposite sides. In this case the blue cord starts from the lanyard bead wrapping 1/2 way around, the orange starts from 1/2 way around wrapping to the lanyard bead -- IN THE SAME DIRECTION. When the blue reaches the orange knots, it continues on the orange loops and the orange continues on the blue.
Keep in mind, you still have to leave out one of the blue knots on the first pass and put in an extra orange stitch in the first blue loop (so keep that first loop loose). This allows the top to constrict.
As for other bottles, you could wing it, or . . .
18 stitches for a 2..5" diameter can = 7.2 stitches per inch of diameter (a ratio is a powerful tool).
If you're using paracord and want the same density in your mesh, measure your bottle's diameter in inches, multiply by 7.2, and round to an even number. (then divide by 2 to find out how many per color on the first trip around)
Beyond that you're off the map, but they're plenty of neat things to see that aren't on maps.
Did you make that up, or are you quoting/paraphrasing that? Either way I'm stealing it. :) Thanks. for that and the instructable.
I can buy various color cords at hard wear stores....is it the same thing? What is the thickness of this rope shown here?
Tabatha
Type 3 paracord is a 1/8" mesh nylon tube with 7-9 strands of twisted nylon string down the middle. Mostly what you'll find at a hardware store will be sold twisted or braided nylon rope. It's my experience that they tend to have a fair supply, but the selection of colors is limited.
1/8" Solid Nylon rope won't have the same handling charicteristics as paracord (which is VERY forgiving), but that doesn't mean it won't work. You'll have to be very careful with the cord twisting (or untwisting), and you might need to be a little longer since it won't stretch as much. You should be able to get away with it with care and patience.
For a source of paracord, most better outfitters will carry some (mostly in a single color, prepackaged) and a choice few will sell a small variety by the foot off a spool. I live quite a ways from the any good outfitters, so I order mine online. Supply Captain has a good selection at one of the better prices per 100'. There are others who sell purely by the foot, but the cost + shipping can rise sharply. If your shipped cost is much more than 0.10$/ft, your probably paying too much.
Tabatha
Keep in mind, the process of knotting up all that cord will weaken it. If you chose to undo the koozie, the paracord will be twisted and kinked but more or less whole. It'll still be better than nothing, but I wouldn't lift 500# with it.
This method makes tubes, so a flat rectangular object is (if you pardon the pun) stretching it. It could make a fair slipper case, but if you're looking for a "heavy duty dust jacket", it probably won't fair well.
Also, dunno what your "dear book" is, but for most people the REALLY valuable books are often leather bound.
This method works well for rigid objects -- I wouldn't recommend it for something flexible.
Should be able to do what you want -- within limits: First of all let me state the obvious. This mesh likes to follow convex shapes. It's probably going to have a gap along the concave edge on the back.
Second, If you haven't guessed, the stitch counts and lengths are going to be way different because of your larger perimeter. Be prepared to play around with it.
Third, keep in mind a can is going to have the same perimeter over most of it's length, while this canteen has a sharp increase in perimeter followed by a slow decrease as you move down. You will probably need to add stitches as you put in the top then drop a stitch when the mesh starts becoming too loose for your taste.
If you want this to be removable and extend all the way up to the neck, it can be done, but it will be tricky to lay out. a removable sleeve will be much easier if you start just above the bend rather than starting at the neck.
On an oblong object like this, I wouldn't recommend working the bottom like a round one. Here I'd let the mesh extend just below the canteen, ending with each string on opposite sides of the canteen. then, instead of skipping stitches to close, I'd change the pattern entirely stitching through the loops going from the front to back of the canteen. when your two strings meet in the middle, finish off with a knot inside and your done.
You may end up with a "corners" on the bottom and a gap on the back, but you shouldn't have any puckering. If you don't like how that looks as your finishing up, back out the last row and drop a single stitch on each side as you round the sides. when you put that last row back in and stitch it together, it should tighten up how the mesh follows around the corner.
If you decide to take this on, post some pictures here (or write up the differences as your own instructable). I'd love to see how this would come out.
As an expatriate in heathen lands (everyone seems to thinks dogs are sacred here -- weird!) It's good to hear from a fellow Gator! Now if I can only get my co-workers to stop confusing it with Alburn . . .
Hope you have fun putting it together!
Go Gators!
I would like to do it!
In my opinion the 3rd step is a little bit messy...
Otherwise it's great!
Thanks! I hope you have as much fun putting it together as I did!
Agreed, but the third step is a messy step to begin with. The sad part is it's a simple step -- tie an overhand loop in just the right place with just the right size -- but the cord isn't on the form yet, and it's a little hard to explain what the "right place" and "right size" are.
In hindsight, it's probably best to put the lanyard bead on at the end of this step -- actually the more I think about it, that could simplify things quite a bit. I'll probably revise this step once I've had a chance to think it out better. Thanks for pointing it out!
a) A beer (or even a soda)
AND
b) 45'of cord!
I can see it now:
"Drink faster -- we've got an emergency!"
In the end you spend more time dressing the weave than anything else, so it won't save much time, but it would make the cord more manageable.