Inexpensive EDC Pocket Organizer

this is a simple elastic grid organizer designed to fit in the side pocket of my cargo pants. you can tweak the design to make it whatever size you want. you can use wider elastic, or if you need a larger area, you can weave it so that there is a double wide section.

Step 1: Materials Needed

To build this like mine, you will need:

1" wide elastic, 3 yards is plenty

stiff cardboard or other substance for base. I used a section cut from the cover of a 3-ring binder

duct tape

needle and thread

Step 2: Create the Base

cut out a rectangle to the size you want it. make sure the dimensions are evenly divisible by the width of your elastic. my elastic was 1" wide. I cut out a rectangle 5" x 4" and covered the cut edges with duct tape.

Step 3: Cut Your Elastic.

you want the elastic to fit snug around the base. for this one, I cut five strips at just shy of 8 inches, and four strips at just shy of 10 inches

Step 4: Stitch the Small Loops Together

using a needle and thread, stitch the ends of the short pieces together to make a loop. do this for all 5 of the short pieces.

Step 5: Attach Short Loops

place the short loops onto the base

Step 6: Weave in the Long Strips

weave in the long strips. I just went with a standard weave pattern. if you have a larger item you wish to hold in this, you may need to adjust your weave to leave a wider section. once woven through, hold the ends together with a pair of pliers and stitch them together. these are harder to stitch because the elastic has to be stretched and in place when being stitched.

Step 7: Fill It Up

once completed, start placing your small objects into the loops. you can use the front and back and it will hold a good bit of stuff. you can always mix it up when you need to change something.

this is designed for the side pocket in cargo pants, but would work well for in a bag/purse.

Comments

[DanH103]

Great work! I may build this. Consider using ABS plastic (below) its cheap, light, strong, and easy to work with (can be cut with a utility knife and a straight edge).

https://www.amazon.com/Install-Bay-89-00-9031-Plas...

[dennish132]

I'm off to the elastic store thanks

[mshonnie]

This is a good idea but this looks like Velcro to me, please state the actual material used when posting tutorials, as it makes it difficult to use and follow when you misstate materials as I almost purchased the wrong material.

[severdhed]

The first line of my instructions say this this a simple Elastic grid organizer. Then in step 1, I listed the materials needed... the first one listed was 1" wide elastic...I don't know how to be any more clear about it. I never mentioned Velcro anywhere. perhaps before criticizing my instructions, you should have read them.

[Luke Wilson]

That is an awesome idea.
Also, can you tell me what brand that pen is, pictured in the bottom row of the Organiser?
Thanks for sharing this will all of us. I'm sure it will make life a lot less chaotic, I lose things ALL the time.
:)

[severdhed]

that is not a pen. the gray object at the bottom that looks like a pen is actually a Kershaw tx-tool precision screwdriver. I added a few extra bits from a set I got at harbor freight.

https://kershaw.kaiusaltd.com/gear/gear/tx-tool

my pen is actually one of those Sharpie minis. i took it apart and inserted a modified pass of a bic pen. the other is an actual Sharpie marker.

[Luke Wilson]

Oh, ok. the grey thing's what I meant, thanks for your response.

:)

[RussA5]

If you're talking about where i think you mean thats a flashlight

[severdhed]

the flashlight is actually the bright blue thing on the right side on the back, next to the fidget spinner. it is an Ultratac K18 and it is incredibly bright for its size (360 lumens)

[RussA5]

Btw my reply isn't claiming as my creation i had nothing to do with this but im pretty sure im following your question

[JuanP187]

Have you seen the molly vests and gear like that. Some places have cheap velcro and it is very handy to put on top of the elastic if there is something that has a lot of pull on it, or to tie the whole thing down to something. Once I had to use velcro as temporary a way to hold the truck tailgate closed. It was illegal where I lived to leave the tailgate down. So I screwed down some velcro on the outiside with the black plastic truck bed liner and it kept is secure and then with another piece anchored to the tie down screw on the inside of the truck bed all you had to do was leave the longer velcro outside, close the tailgate and slap the velcro on it. The cross action of the hoop and loop multiplies the force needed to take it apart so it was pretty secure. Nylon with vecro on it works sort of like the tie downs for holding cargo with rachet tiedowns. But I only used it for the tailgate as a light load. hook and loop for velcro can get weak in the sunshine after a while. But for a quick way to get the truck on the road again safely, it was good enough. But velcro would work a lot better on your organizer and you could probably strap it on you cargo pants like the molly or ladder system. Modular things are very handy if you have to do a lot on the go. You just grab and you have your tool on the go. I like what you did with the elastic. Cheap good reliable very handy. Good idea. Way to go! :-)

[marcels workshop]

nice

[Dmitriy AlekseevichR]

Good job. Thanks.

[3366carlos]

wow

[erana_reborn]

Very interesting idea