DIY Wallet Roundup

July 9, 2007 12:08 PM

First there were duct tape wallets. Then plastic bag wallets came along, and now everyone's jumping on board with soy milk wallets, cassette tape wallets and even playing card wallets!
posted by thebigdeadwaltz (26 comments total)

Call me when they make an entire car out of duct tape, so that I never need to visit my mechanic again.
posted by davejay at 12:31 PM on July 9, 2007

You know the best use for duc tape? ....... To seal the qwuacks.

Hardy har har.
posted by salvia at 12:52 PM on July 9, 2007

Don't forget Seattle local Alchemy Goods. They make bags from old bicycle tubes and those big street ads.
posted by YoBananaBoy at 1:02 PM on July 9, 2007

I made my first duct tape wallet about two years ago, before it was novel in my school. My girlfriend really outdid me, though, with not one, not two, but three duct tape purses in white, purple, and blue, complete with "monogrammed" letters on the outside.
posted by trim17 at 1:45 PM on July 9, 2007

Seatbelt bags are cool too. : >
posted by amberglow at 1:51 PM on July 9, 2007

I have a kool-aide sport drinking bag wallet that my niece made me. I love it. It even has a credit-card window and I pretend that it is anti-RFID.

My other piggy bank is a faraday cage.
posted by isopraxis at 1:52 PM on July 9, 2007

juice pouch tri-fold wallets
posted by isopraxis at 1:55 PM on July 9, 2007

None of that coated stuff (like juice pouches or boxes, etc) are recyclable at all, so they really should be reused.
posted by amberglow at 2:01 PM on July 9, 2007

Neat! I'm a fan of funky wallets. Recently, I've been lusting after the "stealth" wallets sold at the MoMA Design Store.
posted by saladin at 2:02 PM on July 9, 2007

I prefer walluminating wallets
posted by dabitch at 2:03 PM on July 9, 2007

Duct tape babysitter.
posted by scblackman at 2:24 PM on July 9, 2007

there are forms to print out to make your own, out of any material, too.
posted by amberglow at 2:27 PM on July 9, 2007

and here's how to make your own messenger bag from that advertising vinyl.
posted by amberglow at 2:30 PM on July 9, 2007 [1 favorite]

this one is cool too--from trash bags
posted by amberglow at 2:31 PM on July 9, 2007

Don't forget duct tape bandages - from 3M, no less.
posted by Smart Dalek at 2:50 PM on July 9, 2007

Hey, you know what else you can make wallets out of? Leather!

The seatbelt bags are cute, but way more than I would pay for a quality bag made out of traditional materials.

is crime really so bad you would resort to a juicebox wallet?
posted by misha at 2:52 PM on July 9, 2007 [1 favorite]

Neat! My first post in the blue seems to be going well!
posted by thebigdeadwaltz at 3:18 PM on July 9, 2007

I just made this one yesterday to hold all my cards that I rarely need, and I'm a little in love with it.

There's a huge number of wallet instructables.
posted by natabat at 3:28 PM on July 9, 2007

I invented the duct tape wallet. Maybe....
posted by Tube at 3:52 PM on July 9, 2007

Hey, you know what else you can make wallets out of? Leather!

Yeah, and they look nice, and last forever and ever. I mean, I really do like all these clever repurposings, and would enjoy making one myself, but they look bloody awful, and I seriously doubt the gaffer tape or plastic bag jobs would last a year. (Admittedly, the instructables one natabat links to is very pretty, but a wallet that will turn into a papier maché lump in your back pocket as soon as it rains seems like a bad idea.)
posted by jack_mo at 4:10 PM on July 9, 2007

The linked wallet (printed to look like playing cards) was designed by my friend Philip Chapman-Bell, who has a wonderful blog about his origami designs.

I really dig these sorts of creative uses for things, but as jack_mo says- very few things beat a good leather wallet!
posted by EricGjerde at 5:42 PM on July 9, 2007

I've been using a tape measure wallet for ages. Plenty of people comment on it.

I used a leather wallet for a while but they scuff and wear away. They're also just boring!
posted by Deconstruct Now! at 8:13 PM on July 9, 2007

I like the soymilk wallet, but I could do without the Preachy McCruelty testimony in the beginning.

Good post, I love this DIY stuff.
posted by Verdandi at 10:05 PM on July 9, 2007

The best wallets are made from hagfish.
posted by dirigibleman at 10:43 PM on July 9, 2007

I was expecting instructions on how to skin, gut and make a wallet out of the hagfish in that link. Dang, now I'll have to look for another weekend project, one that is less smelly... ;)
posted by dabitch at 9:32 AM on July 10, 2007

I love my wallet made out of a Tyvek FedEx envelope. That Instructables list is impressive, too.
posted by Pronoiac at 10:11 AM on July 10, 2007