How To Make The Best Duct Tape Wallet - Part 2

So now you've got a wallet, made out of duct tape, that can hold money. But wouldn't it be nice if it could hold plastic money as well? In this part of my duct-tape wallet guide, I'll give you step-by-step instructions and show you how to add credit card pockets to your wallet.

Additional tools used in this part: masking tape, colored pencil

Step 7

Make the pocket sheets. Make a sheet the same way you did for the wallet itself, but smaller this time. You want it to be 3.5 in. x 1.5 in.

Diagonal cuts on the corners to make a nice fold-over tab, remember?

Then do that five more times so that you have six pocket sheets.

Six-of-a-kind.

Step 8

Attach the pockets. Alright, remember that we are going to do three pockets on each side. I'm going to start with the top left pocket. Use a credit card or gift card to determine its position--you want the gift card to be just about even, maybe a bit lower, than the top of the wallet. The left side of the pocket should be just about at the edge of the wallet's side. Once you have it placed, use some masking tape to hold it still.

Masking tape prevents the pocket from moving around when you first attach it. Make sure the smooth side of the pocket is on the outside.

Now, rip off a strip of duct tape and cut it so that it's 3.5 in. long. Then, cut it in half long-wise. Take one of these 3.5 in. strips and use it to attach the pocket: align its edge with the pocket, and place it so that it's half on the pocket and half on the wallet. As always, smooth it nicely. 

Side view of the pocket being attached. Sorry that it's a bit hard to see; the black-on-black makes it tough.

Now we are going to use the other 3.5 in. strip to attach the other side of the pocket. Tear off your masking tape and fold the pocket over.

Fold it down flat.

Use the strip on this side as well. The reason we do both sides is so that the adhesive from the front strip is never exposed to your cards; you really don't want to get sticky crud all over your plastic.

The pocket is attached, and no adhesive is exposed.

Now we have to do the sides. Once again, we don't want any adhesive to touch your cards, so simply taping the pocket down will not do. This time, we'll do the inside first, but it's a bit tricky.

Rip a strip, at least two inches long and lay it on your board. Cut the edges clean, and cut it in half long-wise. Now, you want to use your knife to cut the strips into this shape:

Each strip has two triangular points.

The bottom of each triangle should be 1.5 in. from the edge. I use the ruler and my knife to create little nicks in the tape to mark the place. Then, again using the ruler, I make the diagonal triangle cut from those points.

Then do the same thing, but with the triangles going in the other direction. Afterwards, cut the tops off of the triangles (for both sets), as in the picture.

Triangles going the other way. Also, they've been decapitated.

These oddly-shaped things you've just made are for two pockets; thus you'll have to do this two more times to finish all six pockets. I only do one set at a time, however, so that I don't cover up my cutting board. 

The triangles are facing different ways because one is for the left side of the pocket and the other for the right. So, peel off a strip and place it like this:

The angled side of the inner triangle flap should be adjacent to the side of the pocket. (If you understood that last sentence without referring to the picture, congratulations.) The reason for this is so that when you fold it down, the flap does not get in the way of anything. The reason for having flaps at all is because it is stronger than not having flaps.

Then fold down the flap:

Flap!

Do the same for the other side.

The other side is the same, but mirrored.

Now, fold the outside behind the pocket, and press it to the body of the wallet.

The outside flap is now tucked under the pocket. It protects your cards from exposed duct tape adhesive.

Doing this fold-over can be rather difficult. I find it's easier to get each side started one at a time instead of trying to do both at once. And if you want, you can make the process a bit easier by cutting off the bottom corners before folding:

It's OK; you can use scissors to make this cut. 

Phew! It was a long process, but congratulations--a pocket hath been made.

Continue by making two more pockets on that side. You'll want the bottom of the bottom pocket to be just about touching the bottom of the wallet (Buh?!), and you'll want even spacing between them. For my wallet, I found that placing the next pocket 5/8 in. lower than the previous pocket yielded a nice result. Play around with the positioning and spacing until you think it looks nice. Then, tape it on so it doesn't move.

Again with the masking tape.

Other than the spacing, the procedure for these next two pockets are the same as for the first.

Step 9 (Optional)

Add some color. Alright, you've done three pockets. Good job--you're halfway there! ...But it looks kinda flat.

Black on black on black on black. Wooo.

At this point, I like to give the interior of my wallet a bit of decoration, just to break up the monotony. Grab your secondary color, and cut a strip about half an inch wide and 3.5 in. long. Stick this on the front pocket just below its lip.

Now it's blue on black on black on black on black! Hooray!

Of course, remember to do this when we add the other side's pockets, else your wallet may look a bit ridiculous.

Also of course, you are free to skip this step, but I think it's a nice touch that is really easy and makes the wallet that much better.

Step 10

Seal the outer side of the pockets. This step is pretty intense. Get ready.

Perhaps you've noticed that there is exposed adhesive on the sides our pockets. Of course we must cover this. To do so, we'll place a strip of duct tape on the outside of the pockets. To make this strip strong, we'll make flaps that fold into the pockets. This may take you a couple of tries.

Rip off a strip and lay it on your board. Now you need to mark a line on the tape, but only temporarily. I've found that colored pencil works pretty well, making a line that is barely visible, but visible enough, and it wipes right off when you're done with it. Use the ruler and the colored pencil to draw a line about a half inch from the edge of the strip.

Remember that I made the distance between my pockets 5/8"? That's important. If you chose a different value, you'll have to compensate accordingly. Now, cut this pattern:

Thick lines represent cuts. If you want, you can make a cool triangle or whatever other shape to show off that spunky blue stripe we made in the previous step (that's the "optional" thing in the picture).

Those two trapezoids should come in about half an inch from each end. These will make flaps to fold over the top and bottom of the wallet. The three cuts at 2", 2-5/8", and 3.25" will make flaps that will be folded into the three pockets. This will strongly seal the outer side of the pockets, while not covering any part of them up.

To actually make these cuts, use that colored pencil line you marked on the tape. The top point of each flap (in the above picture, where it meets the dotted line) should be half an inch from the edge of the tape (i.e., on your colored pencil line). Also, the bottom part of the end trapezoids should be on this line as well. I start by making a small nick with my knife at the 0.5", 2", 2-5/8", 3.25", and 4" marks on the ruler. I then make the cuts from there, since the angles aren't really important.

In this picture, you can barely see my blue colored pencil line. However, the nicks at the top of each flap are visible. When making these cuts, make sure they are clean. Really dig your knife in if necessary (remember: be careful), or go over them twice. It's a real pain if you need to fix them after lifting the strip off the board.

This is a bit tough. I find the easiest way is to line up the  front-most pocket with its tab first,  and then if you measured and cut correctly, the other tabs should be in place as well. Fold each one down into its pocket one at a time. Then, fold the trapezoid tabs over the wallet itself, like you did in Step 6. For folding over onto the other side, you can cut a triangle in the middle to make it easier, like I suggested in Step 4.

All sealed.

Step 11

Do the other side. Attach your pockets on the other side the same way we just did for this side. However, here are a few notes.

When placing each pocket, make sure it is lined up with the pocket on the other side. One reason is aesthetics--the pockets look better overall if they aren't at different angles. The other reason is that it makes it a lot easier when we have to seal the middle. 

Use your ruler to make sure the pockets are lined up and at the same angle. Do this for each pocket before attaching it.

The other thing to note is that the outer sealing pattern will be the same, but upside down (but you probably figured that out). Like so:

It's the same as before, but for the right side.

Step 12

Seal the middle. Alright, left and right pockets are attached, their outsides are sealed, but alas! There is still pesky exposed adhesive between them. In this step, we are going to cover that up, using pretty much the same technique as we did for the outsides. However, this is a bit tougher, since we want to seal both the left and right side pockets with only one piece of duct tape. Why? Well, ideally, you will minimize the amount of tape on a fold, so that it can fold easier. And since it would be better to use one piece of tape, and these instructions are for the best duct tape wallet, we're doing it. Even though it's harder. (Of course, if you find it to be too difficult, you can make two separate, overlapping pieces for each side--it's your wallet, after all.)

The first thing to do is measure the distance between your pockets. This is your Between-Distance.

It's a weird number because I didn't put the pockets exactly against the edge of the wallet. That's OK though.

Then, cut that pattern from Step 10 into a strip of duct tape, except this time put it on both sides. After doing one side, use your Between-Distance to find where to draw your line for the other side. You should end up with something like this:

My triangles are a bit off. Meh.

Now place it on your wallet and fold the flaps into the pockets, as you did for the outer seals.Once again, I find it is easiest to start by lining up the front-most pocket first, and working your way back. This is pretty tricky, but don't get discouraged.

Flaps in!

Then, cut some triangles for the top and bottom to make for a nice fold-over:

Fold those over, and voila! You have a completed and usable duct tape wallet!

Everything I need to ride the subway, buy books, buy my household goods, and be awesome because I have a duct tape wallet.

But this still isn't the best duct tape wallet. It's kinda plain: just a billfold and some credit card pockets. So next we'll add some extra features and personalizations.