Introduction: How to Make a Paracord Leatherman Pouch

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About: Im a firefighter living and working in Edinburgh.

Hi everyone!
I would appreciate your votes for my instructable in the Paracord contest.
Ive made the pouch, now if only i had a leatherman to put in it instead of a piece of wood!

This instructable will show you how to weave a custom made pouch using paracord.
The method used can be easily modified to fit a range of items from multi-tools and torches to mobile phones. It is very simple to make and doesnt use any fancy or difficult knots.

This patricular pouch used a total of 25 feet of 550 paracord however if you are making a pouch for something larger then obvooisly you would need a little more.

When making anything its always best to start with the best materials you can find which is why i always recommend using genuine military spec 550 paracord. The better the cord the longer your pouch will last.

I hope you like the instructable!

Step 1: Materials

For best results use genuine 550 Paracord. I purchase mine from supplycaptain.
As with anything in life you get what you pay for, if you want your pouch to last a long time you want to have the best cord available and with suplycaptain they guarantee the quality and authenticity of their cord. Many online retailers sell similar looking but poor quality cord with no guarantees on the durability ofthe cord.

1.  Approximately 30 feet of 550 Paracord, any colour you like.

2. Scissors to cut the cord

3. Lighter to seal the ends of the cord

4. A pair of forceps or needle nose pliers

5. A hair pin or if you have one a permalock needle (not essential but it helps with the weaving process)

6. A scrap piece of wood at least 18 inches long and 3-4 inches wide

7. Some drawing pins or something similar to hold the cord in place as you weave.

Step 2: Preparing Your Weave

First of all establish the size of pouch needed for your Leatherman.

For my nifty wooden leatherman i will need a length of woven material 12 inches long to fold around it the long way round and still leave some left over for a flap. By laying some strands side by side i also worked out it needed to be about 8 lengths of cord wide.

Using the scrap piece of wood draw 2 lines 12 inches apart. This is your length marker,

Cut a piece of cord 10 feet in length and pin it to the wood at one line, then down to the other line and back again until you have used all the cord.
Throughout the instructable these will be referred to as your horizontal strands.
You should have a total of 10 x 12 inch horizontal strands pinned at each end.
When you pin the cord in place ensure there is no slack but do not pull the cord too tight as it will make it difficult to weave.

You will not be using the outermost strand on either side so you can unpin the ends and leave them loose leaving you with 8 strands.

Step 3: Weaving Your Pouch

You need to cut another length of cord about 12 feet in length. You then need to remove the white internal strands from this cord to make it possible to weave.

For best results you should use something on the end of the cord to make it easier to pass through the weave. In the picture i have used a hair clip as a needle however anything relatively thin and rigid can be used so long as you can attach it to the end of your cord.


Now you can begin the weaving process.

The gutted paracord strand will be referred to as your VERTICAL weave throughout the instructable.

Pass the gutted length of cord over and under the horizontal strands pinned to your wood. Once all the way through ensure the cord is not twisted (removing the internal strands means it should now lie flat)

Simply repeat the process the other way,  under over under over and under.

You should be able to tighten up the  vertical weave quite easily, if it is difficult to tighten then the horizontal strands pinned to the board may be too tight.

Its important also not to over tighten the vertical weave, there should be no slack but it shouldnt be pulled too tight either as this will distort the weave.

Simply continue weaving your vertical strands till the entire lendth is completed. It can be a little tricky at the very end as you will have to remove the weave from your wood to get the last few rows done but patience is the key.

Once you have completed your weave use your lighter to melt the ends of the cord in place.

You should now have a woven length of material 12' long and about 1.5"-2" wide. On one end you should have your two 12" loose strands.

Step 4: Shaping the Pouch Round Your Leatherman

Wrap the length of woven material around your leatherman to form the shape of your pouch. The two loose strands should be at the front of the pouch (not on the piece which will form the flap)

Keeping your leatherman in place begin to lace the loose strand down the side of the pouch . You can lace it up however you like but remember not to lace it up too  tightly as you will find it difficult to take out or put in your leatherman if its too tight.

Once youve laced up both sides you can trim the ends off and use your lighter to melt them in place.
As before if you dont feel confident melting them in place you can sew them in place with a bit of black thread.

Step 5: Adding a Belt Loop

Take the last length of cord which shouldbe about 3 feet in length and remove the internal strands.

Thread this cord into and through the weave on your pouch creating two strands for the belt loop.

You have the option of finishing the pouch now if you like however i made the belt loop a bit more attractive using the cobra stitch.

There are many instructables showing how to do the cobra stitch so i wont explain it here.

Finally once you have finished your belt loops againcut and melt the cord in place using your lighter and your paracord leatherman pouch is complete!

You could finish it off if you wish by buying a little velcro or a snap button to keep the flap closed however after wearing my pouch for a few days the flap stayed closed on its own.

Step 6: Completed Pouch

Here is the finished article complete with wooden leatherman!

I hope youve found my instructable easy to follow and again i would appreciate your rating and also your votes in the paracord contest in the hope i can win a leatherman to put in it!

This is my second instructable however ive made a number of items from instructables ranging from guitars to cnc routers.

Some of my paracord crafts can be seen and bought on my site

www.paracordbracelets.webs.com

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