2017-03-06

DIY hook-and-loop cable wraps

I used to use twist ties to bundle my cords, until I got a cat who has an unhealthy obsession with them. Zip ties are another option, but you'd better be pretty sure of where you want them. Strips of hook-and-loop tape are a nice alternative, and require no tools to remove if it turns out you didn't put them in the right place the first time.

You can get big packs or rolls of the ready-made ones (Velcro or Panduit brands, for example) for a price that usually isn't very beatable compared to retail hook-and-loop tape. But the color selection readily available around here, or online and selling to Canada, seems to be mostly limited to black. That's fine for some of my cords, but there are others where I'd rather have something close to ivory or beige, to match the cord and draw less attention to it.

Well, Dressew had a sale bin of packs of 1yd loop and 1/2yd hook tape for 25 cents. They had white and pastels only, because these were evidently marketed for babies, and there aren't many goth babies, I guess. For my purposes, I found I could get 8 reasonably-sized wraps from a pack. This actually is a good deal compared to the ready-mades. They do happen to be wider than necessary, but at that price it doesn't bother me.


You just cut a piece of hook, a piece of loop, overlap them a bit (let's say 3/8-1/2") with wrong sides together, sew (I settled on a three-step zigzag), and you're done. It's best to place the loop side against the feed dogs, because otherwise the thread may catch on the hook side as the needle comes up, and that makes a mess.

The "sticking" area of these may be less than it is with some of the ready-made ones, but I find it's more than enough. They also aren't quite as flat as the ready-mades, obviously, since there are the two pieces being overlapped, but I suppose they could be butted together against some kind of softer backing material if that's a concern. Personally, I didn't care enough to bother.

These will make my light-colored cords much less of an eyesore. I'll probably still buy ready-made wraps for the rest.