When we start planning a new sewing project—whether it’s a rugged outdoor backpack, a tactical vest, or a custom duffle bag—we almost always fixate on the main fabric. We obsess over the denier of the Cordura, the waterproof rating of the X-Pac, or the specific camouflage pattern we want to display. The fabric gets all the glory because it takes up the most visual real estate. But if the fabric is the skin of the project, the narrow goods are the ligaments and tendons.
These are the strips, straps, and cords that actually make the gear function. They bear the weight, seal the edges, and provide the adjustability. If you use cheap webbing on a heavy pack, it doesn’t matter how expensive your main fabric was; the bag will fail when you need it most.
For the uninitiated, the term can be a bit vague. In the textile industry, narrow goods refers to any textile that is woven in a narrow strip—typically no more than 12 inches wide—and includes everything from heavy-duty webbing and elastic to hook-and-loop fasteners and binding tape. Understanding the distinct properties of these materials is what separates a professional-looking build from a flimsy DIY experiment.
Here is a breakdown of the essential narrow goods you need to know to build gear that lasts.
1. Grosgrain Ribbon vs. Binding Tape
If you look at the inside seams of a high-end jacket or a well-made backpack, you won’t see raw fabric edges that fray. You will see them neatly wrapped in a thin strip of fabric. This is binding.
- Grosgrain: This is a ribbed ribbon usually made of nylon or polyester. It is stiff, durable, and holds its shape well. In the tactical and outdoor gear world, grosgrain is the standard for binding raw edges. It creates a clean, finished look and adds structural integrity to the seam.
- Bias Tape: This is fabric cut at a 45-degree angle to the weave, allowing it to stretch around curves. While essential for clothing and quilts, it is rarely used in heavy-duty gear making because it lacks the tensile strength of grosgrain.
When sourcing binding for outdoor gear, pay attention to the “mil-spec” (military specification) label. Mil-spec grosgrain is significantly tougher and less shiny than the ribbon you might find at a local craft store.
2. Shock Cord and Elastic
Elasticity brings comfort and versatility. Whether it is a waistband, a water bottle pocket, or a tie-down point, you need material that gives and takes.
- Flat Woven Elastic: This is what you find in waistbands. It’s tough and resists rolling. Heavy-duty woven elastic is often used in retention slots inside bags to hold magazines, medical supplies, or flashlights in place.
- Shock Cord (Bungee): This is a round elastic core with a woven sheath. It is essential for cinching down hood openings, securing trekking poles to a pack, or creating a flexible cargo net on the outside of a bag. When buying shock cord, the quality of the inner rubber strands matters—cheap cord loses its snap after a few months of sun exposure.
3. Zipper Chain and Tape
While we often think of zippers as hardware, the tape (the fabric part the teeth are attached to) is a textile narrow good.
In the MYOG (Make Your Own Gear) community, you rarely buy pre-made zippers of a set length. Instead, you buy “continuous zipper chain” by the yard. This allows you to cut exactly the length you need and slide the slider on yourself.
- Coil Zippers: The teeth are made of a continuous coil of plastic. These are flexible and “self-healing” (if the teeth separate, zipping it back and forth often fixes it). They are the standard for tents and packs.
- Vislon (Molded) Zippers: These have individual chunky plastic teeth. They are smoother to operate and great for jackets, but if one tooth breaks, the whole zipper is dead.
4. Webbing
Webbing is the workhorse of the gear world. It’s used for shoulder straps, hip belts, MOLLE fields, and compression straps. However, not all webbing is created equal. Mixing up your materials here can lead to sagging straps or melted ends.
- Nylon Webbing: This is the gold standard for high-strength applications. It has a high tensile strength and a smooth, lustrous feel. However, nylon absorbs water and can stretch slightly when wet. It’s perfect for climbing gear or heavy-load backpacks where durability is the main concern.
- Polypropylene (Polypro) Webbing: If you are making gear for water sports or wet environments, this is your choice. It doesn’t absorb water, it floats, and it is resistant to mildew. It is generally lighter and less expensive than nylon, but it has a lower abrasion resistance and can feel a bit more “plastic-like” to the touch.
- Tubular Webbing: Unlike flat webbing, this is woven as a flattened tube. It is incredibly strong and much softer on the edges, making it ideal for climbing harnesses or any strap that will sit directly against the skin.
- Seatbelt Webbing: As the name implies, this is the weave used in automotive safety belts. It is thinner and smoother than standard tactical webbing, making it slide through hardware (like triglides and buckles) like butter. It is a favorite for messenger bag straps.
5. Hook and Loop
We all know the sound. The distinct rip of a hook and loop fastener is synonymous with tactical gear and children’s shoes. But in the world of narrow goods, there are variations that serve different purposes.
- Standard Sew-On: This is the classic setup. The hook side is scratchy; the loop side is soft. For tactical gear, you often need significantly more loop tape than hook tape (for morale patch fields or identifying markers).
- Adhesive-Backed: A common rookie mistake is buying adhesive-backed hook and loop for a sewing project. Don’t do it. The adhesive will gum up your sewing machine needle in seconds, causing skipped stitches and frustration. Only use adhesive-backed tape for sticking to hard surfaces (like a Pelican case), never for fabric.
- Quiet Loop: Some manufacturers produce a low-profile or quiet version of the hardware. It has a lower snag hazard and makes less noise when separated, which is critical for hunting or tactical situations where stealth is required.
Match the Strength
The most important rule when selecting narrow goods is to match the strength of the component to the strength of the project. If you are sewing a heavy Cordura duffle bag meant to be dragged through airports, using a flimsy craft-store ribbon for binding or a weak polypropylene strap for the handles is a recipe for disaster. The strap will snap long before the bag wears out.
On the flip side, using heavy, abrasive mil-spec nylon webbing on a lightweight ultralight hiking pack is overkill; it adds unnecessary weight and stiffness.
Great gear is a system. The fabric, the thread, and the narrow goods must work in harmony. When you take the time to source the right webbing, the correct binding, and the strongest elastic, you aren’t just sewing parts together—you are engineering a piece of equipment that is built to survive the journey.