wallets WALLETS - Specifically card slots/edging for them.

[Tugadude]

There are a ton of wallet-making video tutorials on youtube that detail how to construct what you are after.  Essentially all of the pocket pieces are identical except the outermost one.  The back pockets are typically cut in a "T" fashion in order to minimize thickness on the edges.  The pockets are "stepped" one on top of another and each pocket is sewn to the one behind it, except for the front pocket.  This prevents the cards slipping down to the bottom.  Again, this is detailed in numerous videos.  

If you are using glue to lay up your pockets, remember to take a bone folder and open the pockets up after stitching.  This may be why some pockets are tight.  If you cut things right all the slots should fit the same.

[Tugadude]

This should help.

http://makesupply-leather.com/leathercraft-tutorials/4-tips-for-making-a-bi-fold-wallet/

 

[Tugadude]

One way of stitching the bottom of the pocket piece...

 

[charon]

Perfect visualisation of that T-style piece I was trying to explain with words. Thanks Tugadude!

[bennadatto]

Hey all!

Bringing up an older topic, but I can't wrap my brain around one part of the T-slot thing.

I understand that in making the T slots, you're minimizing bulk on the edges.  But...in the middle, you'll still have multiple layers of leather all stacked on each other.  It seems to me that in doing this, you'll end up with a wallet that is thin on the borders, but has a mound in the middle where all the leather is stacked.  

I've seen videos where people skive down the edges of the card slots, but it still seems like you'll have a bulge in the middle.  What am I missing?

Thanks all!

-sam

[Matt S]

22 hours ago, bennadatto said:

Hey all!

Bringing up an older topic, but I can't wrap my brain around one part of the T-slot thing.

I understand that in making the T slots, you're minimizing bulk on the edges.  But...in the middle, you'll still have multiple layers of leather all stacked on each other.  It seems to me that in doing this, you'll end up with a wallet that is thin on the borders, but has a mound in the middle where all the leather is stacked.  

I've seen videos where people skive down the edges of the card slots, but it still seems like you'll have a bulge in the middle.  What am I missing?

Thanks all!

-sam

As far as I can see, you're not missing anything. This is exactly why I don't like to make wallets with any more that 3-4 card pockets in one "stack".The only way I know to completely eliminate the "mound" is to not have any dividers at all -- just slots in a piece of leather. This doesn't take much material, you have a wide range of leather you can use, and you can put a lot of slots into a fairly small wallet. However it doesn't stop the customer from pushing their cards too far and getting them stuck inside their wallet. (Sounds like a good way to save money to me!) If you want a way to stop the cards being pushed too far in, you're going to have to have something behind.

Some manufacturers cheat and use nylon webbing or cloth for their card pockets and sew leather to the bits that your average customer isn't going to look at. It works and keeps things real thin but in my experience the nylon always wears out before the leather. And, IMO, you're then not selling a leather wallet, it's a nylon wallet with some bits of leather stuck on.

Otherwise you're stuck finding a balance between leather thin enough to not be very bulky and strong enough not to tear.

@nstarleather has written this all up and illustrated it better than I can do: https://nstarleather.wordpress.com/2017/05/11/north-stars-primer-on-pockets/