Help your child gear up for an afternoon hike with these handy supply holders -- duct tape pockets that slip onto a belt to keep a water bottle, map, or just about anything else right at hand.
| Prep Time: About 1 hour | |
| What you need: | |
| Duct tape
Scissors Water bottle | |
| Seasons: Fall, Spring, Summer | |
| Materials: duct tape, water bottle | |
| Instructions: | |
| 1. | Each of these pockets begins with a duct tape sheet. To make one, first lay a 12-inch-long strip of duct tape, sticky side up, on your work surface (use a durable surface, like plastic or formica). Carefully place a second strip, sticky side down, about halfway down on the first strip. |
| 2. | Flip over the strips and stick a third piece halfway down on the second strip. Repeat this process until you have a sheet that's about three quarters the height of the item to be carried. Then follow the steps below to turn the sheet into a pouch for a water bottle, a map, or an energy bar. |
| 3. | 
For a water bottle holder: (A.) Fold up the bottom tape
edge and trim the 2 side edges to make them even. Cut H-inch-wide
tabs along the exposed top piece of tape. (B.) Wrap the duct tape
sheet around a water bottle with the tabs at the bottom, sticky
sides out. Trim the sheet, if necessary, then tape it in place to
form a loose pocket around the bottle. (C.) Fold over the tabs,
sticking each one to the next, to create a bottom for your
pocket, then cover the tabs with more tape. |
| 4. | 
For other pockets, like our map and energy bar holders:
(A.) Fold over the top and bottom sticky edges of your duct tape
sheet, then wrap the sheet around the item to be carried to judge
the fit. Trim the sheet, if necessary, then tape it in place to
form a loose pocket. (B.) Seal the bottom of the pocket with a
piece of duct tape and trim the edges. |
| 5. | 
To assemble the belt: One at a time, slip a piece of scrap
wood into each pocket as a temporary backing, then use a craft
knife to cut 2 vertical slits (about 1 or 2 inches apart and
slightly longer than your child's belt is wide) near the top of
the pocket (a parent's job). |
| 6. | Finally, slide the pockets onto your child's belt and fill them with supplies. |
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