Secret Pouch for Pen Knife

I want to carry my Swiss Army Knife on me and have easy access, but I don't want to have it wide open in public incase it makes someone nervous. I usually keep it in my backpack, but searching through the bottom of my bag to get it is a pain in the butt and way too slow. I want easy access to my tool, while keeping it hidden. So I've created a hidden pocket in my backpack right under the lip of the zipper.

Basically, I cut a hole into the inside layer of the backpack and then sewed around it to make a pocket. I have no sewing experience and was able to do this in about an hour. This is almost too easy! Let's get going!

This is a very simple build. You'll need the following:

• backpack
• sewing needle and thread
• Swiss Army Knife (we'll use the scissors and the knife)

So first, I found it to be easier to sew the pouch and then cut the hole for it. So I started on one end and sewed all the way around to make a rectangle, minus the top side.

To sew, first thread the needle. Then tie a simple know at the other end (I usually tie two on top of each other just to make sure). Then poke the needle through the backpack at the top of one side and pull it all the way through. This is a good time to make sure your knot was big enough. Then send it back through. Very simple, just keep doing it all the way around.

To finish, loosen the last stitch made to form a small loop. Then thread the needle through this to make another loop. Make another loop in similar fashion through this loop. Then tighten the first loop while keeping the other two slack. Then pull the end of the thread to tighten the other two loops. (There are pictures for this in the next step.) Once tied, you can cut the thread.

Now use the blade of your pen knife to cut open the pocket as straight as possible. Make sure to only cut the first layer of fabric, not all the way through. Now we need to protect the cut fabric from just fraying to pieces over time and use.

So I used a different type of stitch to hold it down. I don't know what it is called, so I can't recommend outside sources to help. What I did is poke the needle through, draw the thread through, and then bring it over the top and poke it back through. The pictures above may help. Then tie it off with the same technique as before (now I have pictures for reference).

And you're done. Super simple! This pouch holds my knife no matter what I do. I don't have to worry about how I hold my backpack or its orientation when I put it down, but now I can keep my knife out of the way and maintain easy access.