Heat Sink Cord Finish

One of my frustrations has been to have a nice finish to the ends of elasticized cording for swim suits. For some time now I have been meaning to try heat shrink tubing. I finally did it the other day and was very pleased with the result. It is very similar to the finish on shoe laces. Heat shrink tubing comes in a variety of sizes and colors, even clear. It is available form hardware stores.

Here are the steps I followed:

1. Cut 1/2" length of tubing.
2. Slip the cut tube over the end of the elastic leaving a little of the end exposed.
3. Heat the tubing until it snugly encloses the elastic.
   (To do this, use a hair dryer or heat gun.)
4. Cut off the exposed end of the elastic.
5. Finish the end with a little Fray Check.

In the example below I tied the cording to the ring, then slipped a length of heat shrink tubing over the elastic and did the heat shrinking. I like the way it encloses the entire elastic. Had I wanted to I could have used a longer length of tubing and enclosed the elastic all the way to the ring.