Paracord Zippo Lighter Pouch

in this 'ible i will be showing you how to make a paracord lighter pouch like the one in the photo above. This lighter pouch is made specifically for Zippo brand lighters and is different to most lighter pouches of any kind as it allows the lighter to be  easily opened without taking off the pouch. This project is surprisingly simple and fun so please try it and post a photo in the comments =P.

Step 1: Materials and Tools

The materials I used were:
A zippo lighter
20ft of Paracord
A leather button
A carabiner
some sort of sealant for the leather button (i just used fabric glue diluted in water because even though i had leather varnish it takes too long to dry and the fabric glue is easier to work with)

The tools I used were:
A lighter
A silver sharpie
Jewellers needle nose pliers (teethless) to help move the needle through tight places
A large blunt needle or a paracord needle

Step 2: Starting the Cobra Wrap/Weave

To start this project we will need a 8 foot length of paracord. Having already done this project i would actually recommend 9 feet because i only designed this with 8 feet and it was only just long enough. to start with, make a mark in the centre of the cord (i used a silver sharpie to make the mark) and then make 2 more marks, each 9 inches from the centre mark, this is where you will start the wrap.
1. First make a loop in the left length of paracord, just above the mark, then pass the remaining length under the right length of cord.
2. Make another loop with the right most length of paracord making sure it wraps around the left paracord and end underneath it.
3. Now pass the right paracord over itself and through the first loop made with the left length of cord.
4. Pull tight 
You have now made your starting knot. Don't let go of this and move onto the next step

Step 3: Continuing the Cobra Wrap/Weave

1. Pass the new rightmost length of cord under the 2 original lengths of cord and over the left cord.
2. Pass the left cord over the 2 original lengths of cord and under the rightmost one.
3. Pull tight
4. Now pass the new left cord under the 2 original cords and over the new right cord
5. Pass the new right cord over the 2 original lengths of cord and under the rightmost cord
6. Pull tight
7. Repeat steps 1-3 and then alternate between steps 4-6 and 1-3 untill you get the desired length or you run out of cord.
The weave should fit all the way around your zippo once
Remember to leave a loop at the end of the weave for a button

Step 4: Weaving the Sides

I cut a 20 foot length of cord for the weave and only ended up using less than 10 feet of it so is only suggest cutting 10 feet or maybe a bit more if you like to make your weave very loose to begin with. It was around here that my paracord bundle collapsed into a big ugly heap =( oops. To weave the sides i used a large blunt needle but i know that you can buy paracord specific needles for relatively cheap. if you are using a blunt needle, the way i threaded it was by melting one end and flattening it, then i passed it through the eye, melted the end again and made a stopper. This worked surprisingly well.
Steps to create the weave
1. Mark the centre (again).
2. Wrap the cobra weave around your zippo and find the top corner.
3. ALWAYS THREAD THROUGH THE OUTTER LOOPS OF THE COBRA WEAVE.
4. Thread half of the cord through one topmost corner of the weave to the other topmost corner.
5. come back out and then thread the cord through the next hole down.
6. continue in this manner until you reach the hinge of the zippo where you should make the cord go out one hole of the hinge side and back into the next hole of the same side instead of the next hole of the opposite.
7. now continue like you were doing before until you get to the bottom most corner.
8. IMPORTANT!!! This corner should be the one furthest away from the hinge. If it is, good for you. If it isnt you will either need to take out one weave or add another so that you end away from the hinge. This is where your own judgement will come into play.

Step 5: Continuing Weaving the Sides

I don't know how i will explain this in words so I'd rather you look at the pictures but I'm going to try anyway.
1. Weave in and out of the weaves that you just made until you reach the cord just before/after the hinge (depends how you look at it =P)
2. Weave back down in the opposite manor until you reach the bottom.
3. Thread the cord through the bottom holes in the cobra wrap and back out the one opposite them
4. If you want a REALLY tight weave, you can weave the same way as we were doing before (as in coming back up from the same hole). If you don't want a tight weave then ignore this.
5. Weave in this manor until you get to the hinge side
6. You will then weave up and continue weaving until you get to the top corner.
7. Now continue weaving in the same way
8. Tighten

Step 6: The Other Side

Weave the other side in the exact same way.
The only difference i made with this side was that when tightening i left a small loop for a carabiner 

Step 7: Oops

Oops

Step 8: Finishing the Sides

i then threaded both ends of the cord into the inside of the pouch, cut them to length, melted them and then shaped them into stoppers. Sorry about the pictures, it6 was very hard to get my camera to focus on the inside of the pouch =3.

Step 9: Finishing the Pouch

To finish the pouch i added an 80 cent leather button on the side which i covered in fabric glue and water with a ratio of 1:1. I explained why i used fabric glue in the materials section of this 'ible. The glue was still wet when i took these photo's and it looks alot better now.

Step 10: And We Are Done

So i guess thats a WRAP. I tried to WEAVE a few puns into this 'ible here and there to keep things interesting but I'm aFRAYED that no matter how hard I tried I could KNOT find a smooth way to do so. hope you had fun and please try this project. I appreciate all constructive criticism and if you do find a way to do this better, post a picture in the comments so that everyone knows =3. Thanks for taking your time to read this 'ible and please VOTE FOR ME in the paracord project.

Comments

[Michael C]

Great idea the only problem I see is that paracord is flammable and the potential hazard of catching fire or melting. Still very creative out if the box approach.

[WilliamM64]

if you're really afraid of that get some bunker-gear (what firefighter uniforms are made of) and make it out of that.

[NanoRobotGeek]

I did find that to be a bit of a problem but only with the little hook for the button and it was pretty easily fixed just by pushing it out of the way of the flame.

[crashzoom]

Worked great. tnx

[robert.shepard.79]

Didn't have a needle...improvised with a paperclip...

[SparkySolar]

Thank you for your Instructable

Nice job.

Rima

[gomer394]

So... any burny-melty fires yet? Is it really worth it to have to push the flammable material out of the way every time you use your lighter?

[iAmTheWalrus 678]

I never do and I only get burnt from not being careful around the melted ends :/

[Pure Carbon]

this is brilliant!

[NanoRobotGeek]

Thank you very much. I would greatly appreciate it if you could vote for my instructable in the paracord contest =3.

[Pure Carbon]

I will vote for you if you vote for my snow shoes

[NanoRobotGeek]

sure =P

[Pure Carbon]

here's a picture of the one that I made, in the second one you can see that I added a p38 can opener because I can't stand having to use a hand crank one and I will all ways have my lighter on me now.

[NanoRobotGeek]

wow. that looks really nice =P. i just wish i had a good supplier of paracord so i could get multiple colours as well. I think it looks a lot better if its not just camo =P

[therealbatmn]

check on ebay, you can get 100 feet of 550 paracord in just about any design and/or color you want for usually about 7-8$ with free shipping. thats where i get mine...there are multiple sellers on ebay that sell paracord and some of them sell spools of up to 500 feet (but those are around 40-45$) and shipping is usually fast (between 3 and 5 days after paying to your front door) aslong as its not coming from china

[Pure Carbon]

agreed.

[jamob]

I've been thinking they need a "sheath" for a zippo for a long time, couldn't figure out how to do it. Great job especially in figuring out how to do it with para cord!

[Tarun Upadhyaya]

Wow...loved the idea :).

[emilyvanleemput]

Really nice!

[NanoRobotGeek]

Thanks. I see that you have been up to a lot lately too