Hey y’all, in keeping with this month’s theme of what’s underneath? today we’re going to talk about types of elastic. Being confronted with a wall of elastic or hundreds of online choices can be intimidating for a beginner, so today’s post is meant to demystify those choices.

Types of Elastic

There are three basic types of elastic: braided, woven and knitted. These refer to how the yarns are put together, and the different methods of construction give the resulting elastics different properties.

Braided Elastic

Elastic braided tape has lengthwise, parallel ridges. Those ridges make this elastic have more grip but they also mean that braided elastic tends to narrow as it is stretched. Braided elastic also rolls more easily than woven o