How to Make a Water Bottle Carrier

I have been planning to make a water bottle carrier for ages and at last I have got round to it! I actually need to whip up a few; we’re going on holiday in a couple of weeks and I know how heavy 6 bottles of water can be!

The water bottle carrier is simple in construction and can be made to fit whatever size of bottle you have. The outer is quilted to insulate the bottle and keep your water cooler for longer.

I had planned to line it but as the lining ended up being a bit of a snug fit, I just finished the raw edge at the top with bias binding instead.

How to Make a Water Bottle Carrier

You will need: fabric for the outer and lining (if you are making a separate lining you will need 2 pieces), wadding, ribbon or bias binding, D rings.

1. Wrap a piece of paper around the outside of your bottle. Mark on the paper the height of the bottle and where the paper overlaps. This is to determine the size of rectangle that you will need to cut from the fabric. Add a cm for the seam allowance and another couple of cm for quilting.

Draw around the bottom of the bottle and add an extra 2 -3 cm extra there too.

2. Cut 1 rectangle and 1 circle from the main fabric, the wadding and the lining. If you are making a separate lining you will need to cut 2.

3. Pin the main fabric right side up to the wadding and one of the lining pieces. Use plenty of pins! You should have a kind of sandwich with the wadding in the middle. You will need to do this for the circles as well.

4. Quilt the sandwich. I did this by sewing rows up and down, using the edge of the presser foot as a guide. Switching the direction in which you are sewing causes it all to distort less. When you have finished the rectangle, quilt the circles.

5. From the ribbon or bias binding, cut enough to go length ways across the quilted rectangle. Cut 2 pieces about 5 cm long and fold each one in half width ways. Slip a D ring onto each piece.

6. Lay the pieces of bias tape with the D rings on about a quarter of the way in from each edge. Pin the longer piece over the top. Sew the bias tape in place.

7. Fold the quilted rectangle in half with the right sides together. Sew along the edge opposite the fold.

8. Pin the circle to the bottom of the rectangle that is now a cylinder. This is a bit fiddly, but stick with it! It might look like a weird vegetable. Sew the circle in place.

9. Trim the seams closely and turn out. Sew bias binding to the raw edge to finish it off.

If you want to make a lining for your water bottle holder, repeat steps 7 and 8, then pop it inside the quilted section with the wrong sides together and add the bias binding.

10. To make the strap, cut a strip of fabric 6 – 10 cm wide and long enough to go from your hip, over your shoulder and back to your hip again. Fold in half lengthways to find the centre. Open it out, then fold the raw edges in towards the centre. Fold in half again so that the raw edges are enclosed inside. Tuck the raw edges at either end inwards. Pin, then sew. I sewed along both the long edges so that it was symmetrical (I have a thing about stuff being symmetrical!).

11. Thread one end of the strap through one of the D rings. Fold the edge over and sew in place. I sewed 2 rows of stitches to reduce the chances of the strap breaking.

Here is the finished water bottle carrier.

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