Very complete answer, but I realized that I should have given
additional info in my question (Netscape 4.75    pacbell.net DSL    
Macintosh OS 9) in order to help clarify the question.  I added the
info a few minutes ago -- don't know if that helps the researcher.

That's pretty darn close to what I was looking for. Another
possibility I just thought of is the types of coverings used to
enclose heavy chains (e.g. in bike locks). An example:
http://www.lockitt.com/images/Vic_chain.jpg. Everybody in New York has
these now.

In any case, thanks; I'll give the polyester stuff a try.

The only reason its not a 5 is because I still don't know what the
first shop was (but I think that's because no-one does!)

This answer has not been rated.

Thank you very much! Exactly what I was looking for.