DIY Versatile Pouch/Water Bottle Holder/Snack Bag for the Dahon

The new and improved water bottle carrier for the Dahon.

After last year's easy remedy to add water carrying capacity to the Dahon, which worked well for a while, but then the fabric and lining lost it's structure as heat and humidity and the hottest summer on record took its toll. It was frustrating to remove and replace a sweating bottle so I vowed to come up with a long term solution.

Prerequisites: constructed with reused material, use Velcro-like loop and fasteners for versatility, hold small or large water bottles or a bottle purchased at a convenience store, and enough stiffness to not collapse like the previous version. I thrive on re-purposing bags, problem solving, and construction  and if it has something to do with bikes, well, this project was right up my alley! Once I discovered Makeshifter's Snackhole Stem Bag, I knew that was the design I would copy, but add my own personality and retrofits for a folding bike's handlebars.

To begin, I made notes, sketches, and started painting with watercolors - primarily to add painting back in my life, even if they are tiny images. It also helped to conceptualize the color scheme, not that you can go wrong with hot pink, purple, and black!

The structure is a piece of 1/4" closed cell foam (saved from who knows what and when), formed into a cylinder (above photo, lower right picture), sewn, then duct-taped because I wasn't convinced hand-stitching would hold both ends together.

Each project session was 1-2 hours on six successive weekends, mainly because of my shorter attention span, inadequate basement lighting (location of sewing corner), and early darkness in winter. And if truth be told, there were so many steps involved - most I made up as I went along - that I needed head space to work out ideas. The process reminded me of wrenching on my own bikes, running into roadblocks, and having to walk away and return with a fresh outlook.

I took apart an old purple backpack, saved buckles and straps (I now have probably too large a collection!) and washed all fabric pieces. The pack had a removable top pouch/flap that is also versatile, which I've used a bit on the Dahon's bars... but that's another exciting upgrade project for the future!

The Snackhole's features held appeal: an exterior pocket for pens, utensils, etc. plus a horizontal strap to secure/clip keys, knife, or what have you - a versatile array of possible uses in addition to holding a water bottle.

I set out constructing the exterior piece first, and for decoration, tried my hand at piecing curved stripes, but it marginally worked, instead stripes look like badly sewn straight pieces, but I'm fine with roughness. The purple cordura material is slightly faded anyway, which seems to fit the overall look. I'm not expecting perfection, at least on this part. I then sewed the pocket section to the larger exterior, then placed and sewed the horizontal strap, tacking it with purple stitching. It was fun to use lots of contrasting thread colors. I sandwiched the circular bottom pieces between foamy packing material, then added a button hole for drainage (Snackhole has a grommet), which looks nice and in theory should function well, but later I add the lining without a hole as it proved too difficult to align lining with exterior. I'm fine with the way it turned out.

I wasn't sure how to make a more versatile attachment system - and Makeshifter's website doesn't show how the Snackhole attaches to handlebars - but an independent review displays it quite well.  I had an epiphany: by using removable Velcro-type fasteners - essentially loops - and placing a vertical strap with various sections to hook each loop (above photo, lower left image), my version of the Snackhole could not only fit various bike handlebars, but could also function as an additional pocket on both my medium-size backpacks, something that's been on my mind as we may be, hopefully, embarking on a multi-day adventure this summer! (Yeah, I chopped up the large backpack for this project because straps were disintegrating, very old, and weighed 5 lbs.!)

Left photo compares old and new sizes. Right photo shows puckering on first sewing.

Fashioning the lining proved more difficult, and after sewing it to the exterior, the completed horizontal edge puckered more that I could stand (above photo, right image). The lining was too narrow at the top portion, where I'd unfortunately sewn the exposed, expansion material because I thought the raw edge would show. As it turns out, I used contrasting pink material to cover up edges (see photos below) anyway, so no need to finish off the raw edge. Unhappy with the result, I painstakingly ripped all the seams to reconstruct the lining, then resewed everything. The finished top edge is much better - not perfect - though something I can live with.

I have a bag that's stylish, versatile, and unique that can hold bottles of water and other sundries, suitable for a bike plus do double-duty as extra space attached to a backpack. It is deeper than the Snackhole, plus has a variety of attachment points. I'm very pleased with the finished product.

This was a challenging project, and perhaps the most difficult project I've ever tackled, mainly because I tried to copy someone else's design, while adding my own features, all while configuring material to wrap around a set piece of closed cell foam. Figuring out each step complicated the process: when to sew straps, pockets, and lining to easily fit each section into the sewing machine. I have tremendous respect for Becky at Makeshifter for her unique designs (she has many) and her construction method, I imagine, developed after many iterations. Do check out her website.