DIY Holsters

[lyz_grace]

After a very frustrating search for affordable on-body carry options for summer dresses, I've decided to just try my hand at making my own. I'm planning on it being a cross between a JR ladies' thigh holster (simple, but nothing's adjustable and I don't like that there's two thin elastics instead of one wide one) and the one by Clament Custom Leather (nice, but I'm not spending $125 on a custom holster just to find out that thigh carry isn't for me).

I'm thinking that something like this can't be too difficult to whip up with a sewing machine, some wide, sturdy elastic, and a few garter clips. I know I've seen some DIY holster modifications on here - has anybody made one from the ground up? Any suggestions?

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[chiefjason]

A regular sewing machine will be no good on leather. But if you are going to rivet it on, then you don't have that problem. I'm assuming it's a smaller gun, so you might want to look into thinner leather too. In the 4-5 or 5-6 oz tooling leather. I use Hermann Oak either craftsman or B grade. It's good stuff and easy to work with. You will need to look into wet forming the leather. It's not terribly hard to do. Some water and a sharpie pen will get you reasonable results on the cheap. But be careful, it's addictive. Check out Springfield leather for the supplies you can't get locally. They have been great to work with for me.

Home - Springfield Leather Co. Inc.

Here is a holster making tutorial that might help. If you are creative you can substitute for some of the tools.

Holster Making Tutorial

[lyz_grace]

Great links, thanks!! I actually was planning on using elastic and canvas so it was more like a belly band, but I hadn't thought of riveting the leather, so I'll look into that. I actually do have a ton of leather tooling materials I got as a gift from my old saddle maker who used to give me scraps to practice on... hhmmm... I see this becoming a more intense project than I originally intended

[randomCOguy]

I would buy a cheap (ankle?) holster and modify it to your needs. From your post it almost sounds something like this.

41XTG70iZ8L._SS400_.jpg

This is a cheap ankle holster on amazon

[QKShooter]

Actually a good vintage SINGER will easily handle lighter weight leathers. You should buy a special leather sewing needle that has a spring thingy on it to prevent the leather from riding up with the needle as it retracts from the leather.

[sgb]

Sounds like a fun project, be sure to keep us apprised ................ and lot's of pics.