Drawstring

A drawstring closes a bag by gathering the top. A cord runs through eyelets or a fabric channel, and pulling it draws the mouth into a rosette. Bucket bags, duffles and many backpacks close this way, and the cord holds tension with a knot, a tie or a small spring barrel.

Gathering is what makes the shape useful. The opening expands to one and a half or twice its closed size. Bulky and awkward items go in that would never pass through a zip of the same footprint. The bag then cinches down around whatever is inside. Nothing presses on the contents, which suits soft loads such as clothing, a towel or gym kit.

The gather never closes fully. Where the cord pulls, the folds leave a hole at the center wide enough for a hand. Treat a drawstring as a cover rather than a fastening, and keep valuables in a zipped inner pocket. Wear shows in two places. Cords stretch and fray where they run through the eyelets, and unlined holes punched straight through leather tear into slots within a couple of years. Metal eyelets, a knotted stopper at each end of the cord and a lining behind the holes make the difference. They separate a drawstring that still tightens in five years from one that hangs slack. Many bucket bags add a magnetic tab under the gather, closing the gap without changing the look.