Stay Warm: Keep a Drink on You at All Times!

Is your thickest coat still not enough to keep out the cold? Take a swig to stay the icy breath of old man winter. With a simple and easy-to-install flask pocket, you'll never be caught without a drink!

**Please drink responsibly**

This instructable is aimed toward people who know little to nothing about sewing, so please don't be offended if I dumb things down a little too much.

Step 1: Materials

“Alcohol may be man's worst enemy, but the bible says love your enemy.”
                                                                                           -Frank Sinatra

You will need:
     -Needle
     -Thread
     -Piece of fabric
     -Scissors
     -Flask
     -Coat with lining
     -Drink of choice

Optional:
     -Pins

Step 2: Cutting Out the Pocket

“It takes only one drink to get me drunk. The trouble is, I can't remember if it's the thirteenth or the fourteenth.”                                                                               -George F. Burns

Place your flask on your fabric you're using for the pocket and cut around it. You're going to want to leave about a half inch or so of fabric around the sides of the flask. Place and position the fabric where you want it on the inside of your jacket. If you have pins, secure it down so it doesn't float around while you're stitching. Make sure the pocket is loose enough for you to easily store and remove your flask.

Step 3: A Note About Sewing

“Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.”
                                                                                                -Benjamin Franklin

This page will go into the basics of sewing. If you know what you're doing, go ahead and skip over to the fun stuff.

Threading the needle:
     Begin by passing your thread through the eye of the needle. This may be easier if you wet the thread with your mouth so it holds its shape. If need be, you could invest in a needle threader. Many travel sewing kits come with them.

     Once its through, pull the rest of your thread through the eye until it the needle sits about halfway between the two ends of your thread. Tie the ends together. Your thread should now be doubled up.

Stitching:
     Here is a simple stitch. It's not much to look at, but it will be on the inside of your coat where no one will see it.
     Put several knots in the thread where you tied the ends together until it is too wide to pass through the fabric, after the needle. Start on one side of the seam, poking in and coming out on the other side of it, through the second piece of fabric. After the first stitch is made, I like to loop the needle between the threads of that stitch to ensure the knot does not wriggle through the fabric.

     Bring the needle back around to the side you began on and poke it in again a little bit further down the line, coming out on the other side just like last time. Repeat until you have traveled the length of the seam.

     When you reach the end, knot the string to keep it from pulling back through the path of the stitching. Again, I like to loop back through the last stitch before knotting.

*The materials used have been changed for this page to be more easily visible on camera.

Step 4: Making the Pocket

“Here's to alcohol: the cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems.”
                                                                                                           -Homer Simpson

Stitch around three edges of the pocket, leaving the top edge open. Don't stitch too close to the edges of the fabric, or they will rip out as the fabric frays. In some cases you may want to fold the edges in to prevent fraying. Be sure to only poke through the inner layer (lining) of the coat, otherwise your stitches will be visible on the outside.

Step 5: A Toast to Toasty-ness!

"Friends don't let friends drink light beer."

Choose your poison, fill your flask and tuck it inside. When you start to get the chills, take a swig and feel the warmth.

Step 6: Important Stuff

“Responsible Drinking? Now that's an Oxymoron.”
                                                                                       -Aaron Howard

Does alcohol really keep people warm? The truth is, alcohol does just the opposite, lowering their core body temperature. It causes blood that normally runs toward organs and keep them warm to flow instead to the skin, causing that heating sensation while dramatically lowering the body's core temperature and undoing its efforts to stay toasty. In some extreme cases, this effect can cause hypothermia when compounded with an alcohol-induced coma.

GOVERNMENT WARNING: (1) According to the Surgeon general, women should not drink alcoholic beverages during pregnancy because of the risk of birth defects. (2) Consumption of alcoholic beverages impairs your ability to drive a car or operate machinery, and may cause health problems.