This water bottle carrier was inspired when I found myself carrying everyone’s water in my backpack for the 4th of July parade. Next time, everyone carries their own! This is my first tutorial so please feel free to send me corrections or comments on how to make it better.
1. Cutting Instructions
Cut one piece of fabric for the exterior and one piece for the interior each 10 3/4 wide x 8 inches tall. I’ve pieced my exterior fabric with two coordinating prints in the tutorial pictures.
Cut 2 circles of your lining fabric, the circle should have a 3 3/4 inch diameter. The diameter of the circle stitching line is 3 inches. Add an additional 3/8 inch seam allowance making the cut circle diameter 3 3/4 inches.
Cut one piece of Insul-Brite 9 x 7 inches. Cut one Insul-Brite circle with a diameter of 3 inches.
For strap, cut one length of twill tape and one length of ribbon, both 42 inches long. This fits my 8 and 11 year old daughters. When I sized it for myself I cut it 50 inches long.
2. Sew exterior to lining along the top edge only, right sides together using a 3/8 inch seam.
3. Press open seam.
4. The Insul-Brite is going to get sandwiched between the exterior and the lining. Pin Insul-Brite to the wrong side of exterior fabric, aligning and centering top of batting with the joined seam line. Pin in place about an inch down to keep batting from sliding around. Fold over the the lining fabric and pin some more. Top stitch 1/4 inch along the top edge. This provides a baseline anchoring of the batting.
5. Pin entire sandwich like a quilt, securing as needed to keep layers from puckering when stitched. Stitch all layers as you please. Repeat this for the bottom circle. Finish bottom edge of top and edges of circle with a zigzag stitch or serger.
6. I used a French seam to join the side edges of the carrier. A French seam is two steps which result in the raw edge being trapped inside the second seam. Use some scraps and do a practice seam if this is the first time trying this. This seam is great for fairy skirts too!
Step One: Pin WRONG sides of sides together and stitch a 1/4 inch seam. Don’t press seam open, you want them to lay flat together.
Step Two: Turn tube wrong side out. Pin again along the edge, RIGHT sides together and stitch a 3/8 inch seam. This seam will ‘trap’ the previous seam inside. This gives you a nice clean finished edge for the inside of your carrier.
7. Leave tube with lining turned to the outside. Pin bottom circle to tube’s raw edge, right sides together. Clip edges of the tube to make fitting easier. Only clip about 1/4 inch into seamline.
8. Stitch using a 3/8 inch seam.
9. Turn carrier right side out.
10. Attach twill tape to ribbon with a single stitch down the center.
11. Turn up 1 inch of strap raw edge and attach to inside edge of tube, centering ends on either side of the carrier side seam. (After making this I think it would have been easier to attach the strap before creating the tube.)
12. Enjoy watching your kids carry their own water bottle.
Tips:
This carrier fits a small 500 mL bottle of water. I used a Crystal Geyser bottle that was 8 inches around. The finished tube is 9 inches in circumference and 7 1/4 inches tall.
The formula for sizing the diameter of the bottom circle is: the circumference of the circle divided by 3.14 (or pi). The circumference is measured by laying the top part of your bag flat, measuring the opening from one side to the other and then doubling. I usually round up the result of the formula just to keep things simple and add for a little shrinkage that will occur when the circle is quilted. I then add a 3/8 inch seam allowance or a total of 3/4 inch to the diameter measurement. In this example, a 9 inch circumference divided by 3.14 = 2.866, I rounded to 3 inches and added 3/4 of an inch for the total seam allowance.
Insul-Brite is a thin batting with a thin layer of foil. It will hold in heat or cold. If using it for potholders it’s recommended to use two additional layers of regular batting. I purchased mine at JoAnns.
Go to Whip Up and see all the other fabulous entries for this round of the Whip Lash Challenge. My entry is for the Tutorial category.
Thanks so much for sharing this tutorial. I’m off to make a few right now! Happy 4th!
Fabulous tutorial… saving it for my daughters who love this type of thing! Thank you!
Wow! Most explicit with directions and pics to boot. This is the best.
Just Stumbled Upon this, and it’s darling!!!
Very cool. I am soooo gonna make one. Maybe more!!
Ok, so I just finished my first one of these and my son loves it! Thanks so much for such a practical item and so easy to make! Your instructions are very clear.
Thanks again!!!
Oh! These are fabulous! Thank you for taking time to share this with us!
I can’t wait to make some!
God bless,
Elaine
I am going to make this for my parents who are going on a mission trip to Central America for Christmas. Thanks for the idea!
Katy
Thanks for sharing this tutorial!
I made one today and as it was going to be for a handbag i didnt do a strap i made a smaller wrist strap by sewing a strip of material in half then topstitching it. To add it to the bag i sewed it while sewing the two front pieces together. I might have to make another for my mum for the gym so it is easier to hold and keeps her water cool!
Thanks again for sharing!
Sooo Cool! Will just have to give this a go. Thanks
that looks awesome! I will have to try that out
This is a good pattern and looks easy, going to make some for Christmas gifts next year. I received one this year that is so fancy, made of gold material with beads hanging all around it and a gold strap. Too pretty to carry. To make one for a man I think I would denim as it would not look sissy plus could stand the wear.
Thanks for the great tutorial, I will definatley be making one or more of these cute little carriers! You tutorial is very clear and easy to understand…..Thanks
I’m confused by your website. I just want to see what I can purchase and how much it costs. I’m very interested in your beautiful water bottle carrier. How do I order one?
Great Work! this really works great for our time, i just bought 3 plastic water bottles that i expect my kids to reuse instead of adding to our environment issues of plastic bottles in our landfills, this is a great way to have our kids carry a reuseable bottle with style!
If you are concerned with sizing the holder, you could sew it slightly large and add a draw-string top to it, then any bottle could fit in it but still be secure.
Fabulous! I’ve made both my kids one so I don’t have to hear them whine about carrying their water bottles at the zoo! Thank you!! I’m also making them for teacher gifts to put in the insulated lunch totes I’m making!
How do you get the bottom so round and perfect? Mine are lumpy and more “freeform”!
Kristi: I clip the fabric a little around the edges, both the bottom circle and the cylinder as needed, basically where ever it’s not wanting to lay flat. My motto is also “you can never use too many pins”. This is definitely the trickiest part of the construction process. Thanks for your nice note, Kathy
Kathy, thank you so much for this tutorial! I’ve had it bookmarked for a while and finally put it to use! I made some straight from the tutorial and they turned out perfectly following the directions ‘as is’. My dilemma: the little ‘half pint’ bottles that are 8 ounces. We are going on vacation and my 3-year old likes the little ones – so hopefully you won’t mind that I took some liberties and altered the pattern/tutorial to make the carrier fit a shorter bottle. I also added a strap w/velcro that goes over the top of the bottle to hold it in – you know 3-year olds, they can get a bit rambunctious and I was afraid it could fall out. If you’d like to see pictures you can check them out on my blog http://www.tlcandmore.blogspot.com. Thanks again for a wonderful tutorial. It is going to be a lifesaver for us all (including 7, 3-5 year-old girls) during a family trip to Disneyland next week.
Thank you for the nice idea!
Greetings from Berlin
Ute
I will be trying to make one of these (hopefully tomorrow) for my kiddo. He brings a bottle to school but hates when it sweats on his desk. We’ve been using an old baseball sock, but now I can make him something with camo, dragons, or flames! Thanks for the insulation tip. I have some darling fabric that I’d like to use to make a lunch bag for myself, now I have an excuse to buy the insulation! Thanks!
I read Marcia Hohn’s(quilter’s cache) newsletter yesterday & she mentioned your water bottle carrier. What a wonderful tutorial!
I made the bag this morning. It was fun & thanks to the great instructions it was easy!
I just made one of your bottle carriers- easy peasy and SO CUTE!!! Directions were straight-forward and easy to follow. One Christmas present down, however many more to go………..
Can’t wait to try this! I’m thinking of making it for the gym, with a little pocket on the side to hold my keys and headphones. I always end up walking around the gym gathering up bits and pieces. Thanks!
this is great
i made a different one….but will be giving this one a go next
tell me where i could find the insulation stuff???
i used quilt pellon for the first one i made
This is great! Thanks. I see one of these for every family member in my future!
Kathy–I made two of these last night while watching election results come in. (I was so nervous that I sewed and ate Halloween candy for hours!) The pattern came together quickly and easily, and I found the insul-bright at my local “Jo Ann fabrics” without a problem. I made mine with a short strap and a very large snap–the pieces that I cut for the strap measured 11″X2″, and I used 1/2″ seam to sew it wrong sides together, and turn, then attach to the inside and sew the big snaps on by hand to the outside of the carrier and the other end of the strap. I made these with the short strap so that my girls can hang them from the saddle when they ride horses! Thanks for a quick, fun, cute tutorial. And, Obama all the way!
I made one last night for my brother-in-law. Used blues and browns. I think he’ll really like it. Thank you so much for the easy tutorial and idea!
Thank you again!
This is the link to the one I made…
http://stuckangel.blogspot.com/2008/12/my-personal-christmas-roundup.html
thanks !!!
Thanks for your great tutorial! I’ve only just started sewing, and found you instructions really thorough. If you’d like to see my finished water bottle carrier, it’s on my blog:
http://menabilly.blogspot.com/2009/01/water-bottle-carrier.html
What a lovely tutorial
thank you for sharing.
I hope it´s ok that I link to it from my blog?
I love your site!
i love this idea! thanks for the tutorial!!
I absolutely loved this tutorial. Very Clear and Simple and easy to understand. Thank you!
I linked to your tutorial on my blog. ;o)
wanted to say thank you SO much!! this will definately be used!
my question is what size water bottle do you carry in this?
Thanks for this great tutorial. I am in the final stages of creating one for my daughter and another for my son. I had a bit of trouble sewing the base on – I ended up unpicking it and starting again. I think I tried to sew round the underneath the first time. I put the water bottle in the carrier when pinning the second base on, which definitely made it easier. I now have two happy children who can carry their own water!
Thanks for this great tutorial. I am in the final stages of making one for my daughter and another for my son. I had a bit of trouble sewing the base on – I had to unpick my first attempt. I think I sewed from underneath the base. I put the water bottle inside the carrier when pinning the second base on and that made it a lot easier. I now have two very happy children who can carry their own water!
I read your website every week, its great and got lots of information to take in and lots of interesting articles.
I found your site long ago as it was posted on one of my quilt groups, I saved the link and finally had a reason to make some. We are taking two grand kids to Sea World and so I won’t have to carry the kids bottles whipped up three, two for grand daughters, and one for me. They are 5 & 10 so adjusted the strap size for them. I’m going to leave mine in my bag. My hubby saw them and said make a belt loop on mine. Hmmm, I hadn’t planned on making him one
but now he also has one. I posted a pic on my blog if you want to take a peek.
Thank you!
I also put a link on my blog to your tutorial, I forgot to tell you that!
I have maded 3 so far for gifts for my nieces and my son’s good friend. My son really wants his own… going to use a CARS fabric I purchased at Joann’s. Will make more in a larger size for friends with reusable water bottles. Thanks for sharing this great idea!
Hi! Thanks for sharing this great pattern. I know it’s been a few years but I recently discovered it and made these water bottle carriers for teachers’ and mother’s day gifts. They were a big hit! Thanks! I posted pics on my blog and a link to your site.
Truly,
Erica
I love it!! Perfect gift to my daughter for her first day to school!!
Hi! Thanks for the tutorial. I did one for a friend. You can peek it here:
http://blogdesandramaria.blogspot.com/2009/12/water-bottle-cover.html
Just made this, it’s a nice, quick gift though if I’d spent a bit more time on it instead of being in an infernal rush to get to bed I would have done a better job on the bottom, which puckers a bit. No matter…
A question. We don’t seem to have thermaBrite in Australia. the closest I could get at my Spotlight store was something called Thermal fleece. Yours looks like it’s crinkly – this stuff isn’t. And only one side is reflective. I took a punt and had the foil side facing the interior of the carrier.
Anyone have any thoughts/ substitutes for this product?
Thank you so much Miz Pink Chalk for offering this tute. Very generous.
Hmmmm….
This is soooo cute, I just made one for my son, and it only took about an hour to do this. I am going to make more for my family for Zoo trips and Camping for when we hike. Great Tutorial and Thank you so much for sharing!
– as for substitutes, I used some thick fleece instead of the insul-bright. It works almost the same but may not keep the drink as cold.
I’m glad you enjoyed making the pattern Caz!
This is so cute. I love it.
ADORABLE