Leather Potion Bottle Holder

Every brave adventurer needs to carry around liquids and components with him. What better way than in a glass potion bottle with a handmade leather holder?

I've made several dozen of these, and if you're interested I've documented the step by step process.

This process and design can be applied to any number of bottle shapes and sizes, and can be made with any type of material or leather. I will be demonstrating with a glass "vase" bottle that can be easily found at Micheals. Next you will need some leather obviously. I will be using black oil tanned leather, however, I have made these out of Veg-Tan and Latigo as well. I get all my leather from Tandy Leather Factory. You will need a decent long piece, but it can be rather skinny. It must be at least 3/4" wide. Most Tandys sell scrap leather and even straps by the pound, so the leather shouldn't be too expensive.

You will also need to get some rivets and snaps at Tandy. Rivets are about $5 for a pack of 100, Rivets come in different lengths, and the size of rivet you need is determined by the thickness of your leather. My leather isn't too thick, so I'm using the small size. You will also need some snaps and a setter, here.

Then you will need a way to cut the leather. I use a plain fabric circular cutter, but an exacto knife, razor or even scissors would possibly work.

And lastly, a hole punch and a ruler which are 2 of my favorite most useful tools.

If you are just going to make one, you can possibly skip this step, but it still might make it easier. Take a piece of paper (I use card stock), and cut into 3/4" strips. Tape 2 of the strips together to make a longer one. You're going to end up with 3 different length pieces.

Fold over the top of the long piece to make the loop. You can make it longer if you need it on a longer belt. Mark and punch the holes where the rivet will go. Place that hole at the neck of the bottle and fold around the front, and measure and mark another hole. Then you will also want to place holes in the center of the "belly" of the bottle.

Measure a second piece around the belly, and the third around the neck. Don't make them too tight or the bottle won't fit, but if it's too loose, it may fall out. Remember that the leather is a little thicker than the paper, so make the measurements SLIGHTLY looser with the paper.

Once you have your pattern made, it's time to cut out the leather. Start by cutting it into 3/4" strips the same length as your pattern. Then line up and mark the holes and punch them.

The EZ rivets from Tandy come in 2 pieces the base and the cap. Start by folding over the loop with the small piece centered in the middle. I like to put a ring in now to add multiple attachment options. Put the rivet base through al l3 holes and put the cap on. Then you want to hammer it. I use 2 methods shown here. Just hit it with a standard flat metal hammer, or use a rawhide hammer with a flat setter, both work just fine. You want to use a hard flat surface under the rivet for best results. I use a granite block and an anvil.

Next fold the 3rd piece in a loop and rivet it to the other like shown. Then bring the bottom up through the loop and add another rivet.

A snap consists of 4 parts. Take two of the ends and put the flat base pieces together, then use the setting tool to hammer it.

The other end is a little ugly looking so I rounded it off. There are actually a lot of expensive specialized leather working tools, I actually used an end strap punch to finish the edge, but it looks just fine if you round it with the knife. Then set the other snap on the remaining flap using the setting too land anvil.

Put the bottle in the holder and close the snap. Then you are finished! Fill it with blue or red gatorade for a cool health or mana potion!

Let me know if you have any feedback!