Braided textile sleeve with self-sustaining expanded and contracted states and enhanced “as supplied” bulk configuration and methods of construction and supplying bulk lengths thereof

A bulk supply of protective textile sleeve material, comprising:

• a braided, tubular wall extending lengthwise along a central longitudinal axis between opposite ends, said wall has a decreased length, extending from one of said opposite ends to the other of said opposite ends, increased cross-sectional area first state and an increased length, extending from one of said opposite ends to the other of said opposite ends, decreased cross-sectional area second state, said wall has heat-set, braided yarns causing the wall to remain substantially in the first state and absent some externally applied force, with the wall also remaining in the second state absent some externally applied force, upon applying an external force to the wall to stretch the wall from the first state to the second state, said wall is finish cut and disposed in a package with the wall having a shipping length extending between the opposite ends, wherein the shipping length is configured to be subsequently cut into a plurality of discrete use lengths after shipping.