My wallet had been a good one. A Fossil  I think (the brand, not a remnant of a long dead organism found buried in the ground). It must have been trucking around in my back pocket for at least 7 or 8 years now. Suddenly, it was no good.

Hollering out to the wife, “Hey, if the situation arises, I could use a new wallet.” Silence.

But, a few days later she suggested I make one out of duct tape. Sounded like a reasonable idea. Especially since there was no money in said wallet with which to purchase a new wallet. I just happened to have a selection of excellent duct tapes down in the basement.

I searched for a plan at Instructables.com, looking for just the right combination of quality and utilitarianism. They have plenty, but none struck my fancy.

A short time later after googling “duct tape wallet” I found one I liked at the website of a designer named Dustin Kirk. The instructions are not the most clear, but after reading them a couple of times and diving in, it was easy to figure out what to do.

First I made four pieces of duct tape “cloth” one for the bill fold and one for some card pockets inside.

Then it’s just a matter of trimming the pieces to size and taping them together. The exposed cut edges are a weak point so I covered them over with folds of tape to keep them from fraying.

For a first attempt at a duct tape wallet, I am pleased with the result. For a half-hour of fun work and less than a couple of bucks worth of materials, I’ll be happy if it lasts a year or two. According to reports I have read, good quality duct tape will last up to two years; lesser  quality maybe only one. I think this is pretty good duct tape.

When the thing does wear out, I’ll just make another! The neat thing is, that I won’t need to follow any particular plan next time. With the experience of use, I should be able to design and construct a wallet that is customized for exactly my needs.

Duct tape comes in many different colors these days and some plans show you how to make a weave patterned cloth so the goods are two-toned. There is of course no end to what can be done with duct tape.