Drawstring
A drawstring (draw string, draw-string) is a string, cord, or rope used to "draw" (tighten) or tie closed an opening in fabric or other material. Typically, the drawstring is loose when not being used, and tightened when needed during use.
Drawstrings are used in clothing outerwear such as jackets (anoraks, hooded sweatshirts), trousers (breeches, pajamas, scrubs), tracksuits, hats, berets and bags (pouch, sleeping bag, stuff sack, money bag, book bags, back packs, garbage bags), and shoes (as a shoelace).
On clothing and bags, an aglet is at the end of a drawstring to prevent unravelling, and a cord lock can be used on a drawstring to keep it taut. A safety pin, bodkin, or crochet hook can be used to pull a drawstring through a hole.
In biology, a type of protein in the Rho family of GTPases heals wounds by contraction, much like a draw-string being pulled to close a bag.[1]
In 1996, the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued guidelines for drawstrings on children's upper outerwear to prevent strangling or entanglement on the neck and waist drawstrings. Drawstrings on children’s clothing are a hidden hazard that can lead to deaths and injuries when they catch on such items as playground equipment, bus doors, or cribs. From January 1985 through January 1999, the CPSC received reports of 22 deaths and 48 non-fatal incidents involving the entanglement of children’s clothing drawstrings.[2]
On May 19, 2006, the CPSC issued a letter to manufacturers, retailers, and importers of children’s upper outwear garments, urging them to make certain the garments do not have hood drawstrings that can pose a strangulation hazard to children.[3] Several recalls due to strangulation hazards have occurred.[3]
See also
- Pullstring, a string on a device
- Ripcord (skydiving), on a parachute
- Shoelace, a more complex drawstring
- Fishing net, some act like drawstrings as they are pulled in
- Strap
References
- ^ Brock J, Midwinter K, Lewis J, Martin P. (1996). "Healing of incisional wound in the embryonic chick wing bud: characterization of the actin purse-string and demonstration of a requirement for Rho activation". J Cell Biol. 135 (4): 1097–107. doi:10.1083/jcb.135.4.1097. PMC 2133375. PMID 8922389.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Guidelines for Drawstrings on Children's Upper Outerwear, Consumer Product Safety Commission (retrieved 21 August 2010)
- ^ a b Drawstrings, American Apparel and Footwear Association (retrieved 21 August 2010)
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