Paracord is all the rage right now. It's strong, light weight and comes is all kinds of colors and patterns (for the aesthetically minded). It's usefulness goes beyond it's basic form. If you deconstruct it you'll see that it is made of a durable outer sheath, several smaller strong cords (they get their strength from being bundled together), and one twisted black and white strand thin enough to sew with. The dozens of uses for each of these parts makes this rope very desirable to have around. Especially in an unexpected emergency.
Enter the survival bracelet. I'm sure you've seen them around. The draw being that you can carry somewhere around 10' of cord with you on your wrist in the form of a bracelet (depending on the style). If a situation arises that requires rope, you simply take it apart.
Of course you can do more than just make bracelets. I have seen all kinds of things made out of paracord. The benefit of the longer items is that they hold a lot more cord. A good rule of thumb is about a foot per inch. You can do the math.
Here are some of my favorite project tutorials. Hopefully you find something that will inspire you to get your knot on! Click the images to get to the tutorial.
#1 Paracord belt
#2 Paracord dog leash
#3 Paracord hammock
This one isn't so much an everyday carry item, but it looks fun!
#4 Paracord bottle wrap
Like most of these projects, the applications of these techniques can be applies in many different forms.
#5 Paracord bracelet
You've got to include the classic bracelet in a top 5 list. This link has some great instructional videos.
There are many many different knots and patterns that are used to create this sorts of items. The results are varied. Some simple and some very intricate and beautiful. There's a whole paracord world out there waiting for you...