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Water Absorbing Polymers, Weed Barriers, Greenhouses, and Other Great Gardening Products |
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Jumbo
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Cool Ties™ Polymer Cool Neck Bands The following is a recent
e-mail received from a young airman in Iraq: We are expecting the temps to continue to climb. The ties will be perfect. You and your volunteers are very special people. All of us here are truly grateful for you dedicated service to our great nation. Thanks again and again. I expect to be here until July possibly August
along with 19 other We love you all and, thanks for the continuing
support. Cool Ties have become a very popular method of keeping cool during the summer heat. Cool Ties work (with medium size polymer) on the principal of evaporative cooling. Once the polymer is hydrated, the fabric surface of the Cool Tie draws the moisture from the polymer to the fabric surface, which evaporates resulting in an effective body cooler. In areas of high humidity where no wind is present use two or three Cool Ties, keeping one in a refrigerator or ice chest and as soon as the one being worn reaches body temperature, exchange it with the one in the cooler. Wear the Cool Tie around the neck or head and it will bring great relief from the heat! How to Make Cool Ties or Bandanas Each
pound of polymer contains about 115 teaspoons of polymer, which
will make lots of bandanas. There are several ways to make Cool Ties. Cotton fabric will work best, as it has superior wicking properties. Let your imagination be your guide. One method is to take an ordinary bandana and make a Cool Tie by simply folding over the wide edge about an inch or an inch and a half and stitching the “hem” down to create a tube. Complete the bandanas as with the following instructions for the ties: Click on the links below for other Cool Tie patterns and information on volunteer organizations making and sending items to the troops. Knit, crochet, sew for our deployed troops: Materials Needed: Scissors Cut one strip of fabric 4" wide from a fabric that is at
least 45" wide. If you want to have a bow to tie use a 60" wide
fabric.
The tail ends may be rounded or slanted to give a more finished look. Finish the edges and ends of the rest of the band by serging or turning and stitching. Press.
Turn tube right side out and press. At one end of the tube, stitch to close, then double stitch for strength. At this point you should have one end of the tube open.
5. Carefully pour the polymer granules into the tube (1-3 teaspoons). Stitch the tube closed. Reinforce with another row of stitching.
To use the cool neck band, soak in water for a 15-20 minutes (hot water speeds the hydration process). As the polymer granules soak up the water "mush" them around so the polymer spreads out equally along the tube. Tie around your neck for a "Cool Band." TIPS-- · The polymer granules are used in gardening soil for water retention. (Use STA-Moist Medium 1-3 tsp) Each pound of polymer has about 115 tsp. · The cool band can be refrigerated so it is more refreshing on a hot day. · It can be soaked in cold water and used over and over. · If too many polymer granules are used in the tube, the polymer will ooze through the fabric tube. Two teaspoons is all that is needed. · Store in a zip lock bag in the refrigerator, or hang dry. The polymer will rehydrate again using instructions in step 6. Prepared by: Joy Polk, Benton/Franklin Clothing and Textile Advisor, and Kay Hendrickson, Area Extension Agent, Washington State University Cooperative Extension. For ready made cool ties go to: http://www.cooltiesareus.com (this is a link to someone who sells coolties.) |
AquaBond...A
rainstorm in a bottle!
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