The length of mine is half a wing span, with the nylon strapping layered together and contained by rubber bands. See pics at:
http://karlstriedieck.com/Parachute_Lanyard.pdf

Make sure the tube your D ring cable runs through is securely sewn to the harness so that an out-of-alignment yank by the lanyard doesn't rip it loose.

Karl Striedieck karls at uplink.net

At last, very helpful! Thank you KS.
Dee