Arrow Quiver From Scraps of Leather

Archery quiver made from surplus leather scraps stitched together around a cylindrical wire frame.

**Please note I was unable to take pictures of the individual steps when I originally made this, but have gone back and re-done some of the steps to represent the process as clearly as possible. Enjoy!

• leather scraps
• cardboard tube
• must be stiff, I used a tube for mailing posters
• ~ 3" (8 cm) in diameter
• long, thin pieces of something sturdy to attach to rings
• e.g. disposable chopsticks or other wooden sticks, stiff wire
• needs to be ~ disposable chopstick length -- around 7-8" (19 cm)
• stiff cardboard for base
• you'll only need enough to make one circle of the same diameter as your tube
• large paper for making a template
• glue
• fabric or leather glue preferred, although I only had regular white glue and superglue and that worked fine
• twist ties can be helpful for keeping things in place while you glue and as it dries
• dental floss
• big needle (preferably leather-working needle)
• try to use leather-specific tools if you have them (I did not)
• sharp scissors and/or box cutter

• preferred: cutting mat
• optional: clamps

Using your cardboard tube, cut three rings ~ 1" (2.5cm) in height.

Attach three of your sturdy sticks/wire to the inside of one of your rings, evenly spaced (I used twist ties to hold them in place). Make sure they don't stick out beyond one edge of the ring (see picture for example) Use glue to secure them to the ring.

Attach your second ring to the ends of your attached sticks using the same methods. Then repeat the process for the second ring. Attach your third to the ends of those sticks. It may be necessary to let the glue dry a little in between adding rings.

You can adjust the height of the quiver by changing how far apart you place the rings. Just make sure there's one at the very top and one at the very bottom.

Cut your stiff cardboard in a circle slightly bigger than the diameter of your cardboard tube.

Glue this circle to the bottom of your lowest ring.

Using your internal skeleton, determine the area required for covering the outside of the quiver. I did this by measuring the circumference and height of the cylinder. Add ~ 2" (5cm) to both the height and the width. Use these dimensions to make a paper template (rectangle).

Set the internal structure aside.

Place the pieces of leather on the paper template and try to fit them together like a jigsaw puzzle. You may need to trim some pieces to fill in all the gaps, and you may have to adjust them as you go (now and later).

It does not need to be a perfect rectangle, but it should cover the whole template. It's ok if it's larger than the rectangle, but should not be smaller.

Use or cut pieces to a size that you think looks good when put together!

When you have pieced together your rectangle, start sewing! It would be helpful to have proper leather-working tools, which I did not have (nor do I know how to use). Use the dental floss and a large needle for sewing. Try to minimize overlap of the edges of the pieces to keep the surface relatively flat on the outside.

I used a whip stitch or catch stitch.

Once your outer layer is stitched together, wrap it around your internal structure to make sure the edges reach. (Note that in the picture the rectangle of sewn leather pieces is represented by the striped shirt)

Pin/mark the leather layer in place. Don't make it too tight or it will be hard to get the support frame back in later!

Remove the internal structure.

Sew the edges of the rectangle together where they were pinned/marked. Trim pieces that overlap more than necessary.

Slide internal structure back inside, leaving some leather available on both the top and bottom to fold over the top and bottom edges of the outermost rings.

Fold the leather over the top of the top cardboard ring to hide it from view. Glue it in place.

Fold the leather over the bottom cardboard circle. Glue it in place. This will be hidden in a later step.

Optional: use clamps to hold the fabric in place around the top ring while the glue dries.

Set this aside for now.

Use string or something to approximate how long your cross-body strap should be for easy arrow retrieval. You can do this by holding the quiver by the ends in place on your back while holding the string in place where the strap will cross your torso. Then, measure how much string was needed to reach both ends. It seems more complicated than it is! My strap measurement was ~37" (94cm).

From your remaining leather scraps, cut long thin strips. You may need to glue multiple strips together to make them long enough to match your strap length measurement. Make them a few inches longer than your measurement string.

Once you have strips (I used four or five) of the right length, tie them in a single not and braid/weave them carefully down their length. I oriented the strips in such a way that the braid ended up as flat as possible. This will make it more comfortable and stable on your shoulder.

Braid the straps up to the end of the length of your measured string (plus the 3"), then tie a single knot at the end of the strap. There should be at least 1" (2.5cm) of excess straps beyond the knot. You may want to re-tie the knot at the top of the braid to keep the pattern consistent and clean.

Use glue and sewing to secure the excess strips at the end of the braided strap to the inside top of the quiver. Trim the straps beyond the glue, if you can. I happened to have a slit between two leather pieces on the end, so I slid the braid through that to make it more seamless.

Use glue to secure the excess ties on the other end of the braid to the bottom of the quiver. Trim the straps beyond the glue.

Cut a piece of leather in a circle of the same size as the base of the quiver.

Glue it over the ends of the glued straps to hide them.

(Note that in the second image a circle of cardboard was used to represent the leather circle.)

I tied an extra strip around the top of the cylinder because I decided it looked good, but it's not required for the success of the quiver.

Let the glue dry for at least a day or two before using the quiver to hold anything and/or wearing it.

Be safe and shoot on, Legolas!