Duct tape wallets have been my go-to hobby for the past 5 years. In addition to being a very useful pastime, they always make great presents, and can be even used for school projects.
- It was supposed to mimic a Kate Spade piece for an accounting summative – at least the colours are almost there? Yes, it’s made completely out of duct tape and no, there is no cardboard padding in them (I’ve been asked before).
When I first came across the endless tutorials on Youtube in Grade 8, I couldn’t wait to try it out – I bought my first roll of bright green duct tape and got started right away. Although the final result was presentable and lasted me quite a while, there were a lot of things I found I could have improved. So instead of a tutorial, I’ll be giving some tips and tricks to help you get started on the hobby.
The Breakdown
Time
Depending on the complexity of your wallet and how much you like multi-tasking, you should set aside 0.5-2 hours to finish a full piece.
Materials and Pricing
The Duck® brand by far has the most variety of patterns and colours. Each roll is usually a bit over $5, and can make up to two wallets. WalMart and Staples always have a large stock to choose from.
Although a ruler and a pair of scissors are enough to get going, scissors tend to get really sticky from the tape. Being impatient, I sometimes resorted to just ripping the tape with my hands.
- Bad idea – you can see the frayed edges that ripping creates.
I suggest investing in a cutting mat and craft knife. This is definitely needed if you want the fine edges, and the grids on the mat are much easier to use than a ruler.
- This mat came with a craft knife at WalMart for about $15. It’s useful for cutting paper as well, if you ever need it for other projects.
For ID pockets, either clear packaging tape or a sheet of plastic will do – I used the plastic covering that came with those really old school photos. Clear tape is also really useful for saving duct tape. Since no one can see the inside of your wallet anyways, why use the patterned tape when you can replace it with a clear covering?
- Hooray for packaging tape!
Tutorials
There are so many tutorials on Youtube that you can go ahead and choose any one to begin with. Bi-fold, tri-fold, accordion, and clutch are all possibilities.
If you’re looking for a recommendation, I would suggest starting off with the tutorials by SoCraftastic on Youtube.
My most recent piece, the pink and purple accordion, was from a video by Crafts by Stephanie.
Customization
The best thing about making your own wallet is that you can add whatever customizations you want to it.
- Need a convenient way to carry your TTC tickets? Make a pocket!
- A lot of the tutorials don’t have a section for coin pockets, so you can just make your own.
You can also print out pictures to paste on the front of your wallet – just laminate it with clear tape and it’ll blend right in with the background.
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Duct tape wallets are definitely a cool and useful craft to try out if you have the time, and hopefully this helped out a bit with getting started. Happy taping!
