DIY Wand Holster For Wizarding World!

As lots of you know, they sell interactive wands over at Universal's Wizarding World, which are amazing to play with at the parks. Trouble is, the wands are super unwieldy when you're, you know, not wielding them. They're too long to stick in a purse or pocket, and even if you try, the heat and pressure can warp them. Most folks I see end up either just carrying them around in-hand or jamming their wands into a backpack or shopping bag. SO not magical.

Since John has his own wand we like to take with us each trip, I've been brainstorming ways to make an easy, practical wand holster. Not for cosplay, necessarily, but for actual use.

It's been many months, but I'm happy to say I think I've finally got something. Best of all, it costs less than $5 to make, and requires only a few lines of stitching!

 Ta-daa!

Now a close-up:

 

I'm only five feet tall, but even on me the holster falls well above my knee, so this would fit younger witches and wizards just fine. It's incredibly light weight, and holds the wand snugly enough that you have to give a little tug to remove it. Plus, the black looks great with Hogwarts robes OR with everyday Muggle wear.

[Hit the "Read More" down there for the rest!]

 Here's the basic holster:

I included a long back pocket for storing the special map that comes with all of Universal's interactive wands. (The map shows you where in the two parks you can use them.) You could also use that pocket for storing your theme park map, spell ingredient lists, etc.

The actual construction of the holster only requires 3 pieces of Friendly Felt, the stiff craft felt made from recycled plastic bottles. (It's quite durable, and unaffected by water.) Add two belts loops made from strapping (available by the yard at any craft/sewing shop), and all that's left is the decorating!

John's a Hufflepuff, so here's his:
 

 I ultimately decided to put the H in the corner, but I wanted to show you it centered, too. With the letter centered, you could stitch your initials in the top corner, add a little felt snitch, etc, etc.

 And because I'm a crafty over-achiever, I decided to do the other three Houses, too:

The other three don't include black in their colors, so you can make those shields simpler, like this.

Or you could add the double shield anyway, just 'cuz it looks fancier:

This blue felt is much prettier and richer in person; kinda bummed it photographed so blah.

(Taking these photos has reminded me I want to re-finish Hermione's wand. I'll never understand why they painted it that ugly greenish brown!)

Originally I planned to add some little potion bottles, like this:

All you need is some thin black elastic cord, so the bottles are still removable - or you could use the cord and also glue them in place, if you're worried about losing them. (Wouldn't it be cute to have a tiny bottle of Felix Felicis on there?)

John said the bottles weren't practical enough for him, though, so I left them off. Still, it's an option! (And I have a second one in the works for me, so you KNOW I'm gonna bling that sucker out.)

This is one of those crafts that I'm sure you could figure out yourself with a little time and effort, BUT, if you prefer the easy route, I convinced John to make you guys a fancy-pants template. (YAY EASY ROUTE!) It includes cut-and-trace templates for the basic holster construction, plus all the templates you need to make the shields (double and single), letters (regular and outline) and even the little accent stripes.

I'm putting the whole shebang over on Etsy as an instant download for $3. So if you want your holster to look just like these, here's the link.

But don't worry; even if you don't want to buy the template, I'm still going to show you how to make it:

First, cut out your three pieces of Friendly Felt:

The Friendly Felt has a slightly rougher side and a slightly softer side. Face the soft sides OUT, and the rough sides IN. (The paper map slides easier on the rough side.)

Next, sew down one edge of the wand pouch onto the front pocket:

Now stick your wand in there, and pin the other side closed:

Remove the wand, and sew up that edge.

Now just sew the front and back felt pieces together, and add your belt loops to the back. (Make the loops 2 inches high to accommodate most belts.)

Don't wear a belt? Then instead of loops, add two industrial strength grommets to the top of your holster, and use two carabiner clips to hang it from your belt loops:

(This is a carabiner.)

And... done! See how easy?

Now to make the shields, cut out one shield in each of your House colors. 

(You can use the floppy, cheap craft felt for this.)

Cut into quadrants (use the template if you're not sure), mix and match, then glue onto a smaller paper backing to hold them all together:

 Repeat with the larger size shield if you want to make a double.

The template letters come already flipped, so use spray adhesive to attach them directly to your craft felt:

Why are the letters backwards? Because you'll be using the opposite side of the felt, and leaving that paper in place. Gluing the paper down this way makes it MUCH easier to cut out, and saves you from trying to trace onto wobbly felt.

Again, just leave the paper on the back of the letters when you're done. If the white paper edge shows too much, touch it up with a colored marker:

Now glue down your shield, doubled letter, and accent stripes, and you're finished!

One last look at the one I made for John:

Again, you can download the 4 page template instantly here on Etsy, if you want your holster to look just like this.

John's afraid I may lose readers by trying to sell templates this way, but I'm hoping that by still including instructions, you guys won't feel like I'm holding my crafts hostage, so to speak. ;)

Plus, since I made Epbot mobile-friendly last month, I've taken a big hit on what little ad revenue I had left, so I'm exploring ways to still make a little income here without resorting to donation campaigns or pledge drives. So, if you like what I do and want to see more of it, (and also prove to John that this was not a waste of his time, because BONUS) then I hope you'll consider buying a template!

PS - Please tell me if you see anything that needs fixing on the Etsy listing, k? I'm still new to this! 

*****

Come see ALL of my craft projects on one page, right here!