Introduction: How to Make a Marching Band Drill Binder

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A drill binder is simple to make, customizable, and will protect your drill from weather and wind while providing easy access to it from the field. This will work for any instrument where it can be on the shoulder like a purse so Sousaphone and drumline might need other ways of wearing it. Many bands require them but you can do this with all your school books too if you want :)

all you need is...
 - A regular binder any size but 1 inch is probably best
 - A 52 or 54 inch shoelace, the size found on converse high tops, round or flat will work but I prefer flat
 - Your drill
 - A 3 hole punch. A heavy duty one is recommended so you can punch more at once
 - *optional* stickers, sharpies, fabric paint ect.

Step 1: Punch Your Drill

Go ahead and punch holes in your drill ,if your director didn't do that for you, and then put it in your binder.

Quick tip- if you wear your binder with the front (sticker side on mine) facing out then you might want to make the holes in the bottom of the page or the director's point of view. This way when you open it while wearing it you can read it more easily especially if this is your first time reading a drill chart.

Step 2: Making the Strap

Tie you shoelace in a big loop with the knot as close to the aglets as possible. Don't forget you can be creative by tie-dying your lace or writing on it with fabric paint. You can also use whatever knot you'd like to ,but once it's tied it should look something like this.

Step 3: Combine the Lace and the Binder

Fairly self-explanatory just open the rings and put the lace in and take the lace around the cover. It's best that you secure it in the rings so it won't come off.

Step 4: Try It On

Now that it's finished see if it fits. If you find it's longer or hangs lower than you'd like it to just make more knots to shorten it up. try holding your instrument too just to see how it looks

*note- normally you'll wear it down by your side like in the second picture instead of on your thigh I was just making sure it was visible in the picture

Step 5: All Done!

Now you're finished! At this point feel free to add any artistic flare like stickers or you could decorate it with some inside jokes or drawings anything you like :)