Build a ship in a bottle
Carve a small ship, fold its mast flat, slide it through the neck of a bottle and pull a thread to stand it up. Here's the video that hooks everyone, and everything you need for your first ship.
Space neededA kitchen table
First projectA one-mast sloop over a few evenings
Skill levelPatient beginner
Good forSteady hands, quiet evenings, any age
The video that hooks everyone
How a ship in a bottle is made
A model maker works through the neck of a bottle with long, thin tools, fitting a tall ship with white sails onto its painted sea. Press play and see why it hooks people.
Is this your video? Claim your page and share in the sales
Tool list
What you need to start
Everything you need for your first project, and nothing you don't. It's mostly small hand tools and a bottle.
Starter kit
01Clear glass bottleSmooth, clear glass with a fairly wide neck. Clean it and peel the label.
02Basswood blockSoft, even wood that carves easily. One small block makes several hulls.
03Hobby knife, blades and a cutting matCarves the hull and trims threads. The mat keeps the knife from slipping.
04Sandpaper, 150 and 220 gritSmooths the hull before you paint.
05Pin vise and tiny drill bitsA hand drill for the hinge hole and the thread holes.
06Bamboo skewers and thin wireSkewers become masts. A short piece of wire is the hinge pin.
07Black thread and thin paperThread for rigging, paper for sails.
08Blue modeling clayOil-based clay that stays soft. It becomes the sea.
09Long tweezers and a long dowelYour hands inside the bottle.
10Acrylic paints, a small brush, white glueColor the hull and glue the parts.
The manual tells you what to look for when you buy each one.
- 1A ship too big for the neckMeasure the inside of the neck first. With the mast folded, the hull and sails must slide through with room to spare.
- 2A thread that's too shortThe lifting thread has to reach out of the bottle with plenty to hold. Leave a long tail and trim it last.
- 3Too much glueA blob of glue inside the bottle is there for good. Use a tiny drop on the end of a wire.
