Minimalist Wallet

[Leather20]

So I'm wanting to make a minimalist wallet. What weight leather should I use I have a 6-8oz but I'm worried that will be too thick. I'm also looking for a pattern if anyone knows of one I can get for free.

[garypl]

I wouldn’t use anything heavier than 3-4 oz.  if you want to keep the thickness down.  Tandy website should have some free patterns.

[battlemunky]

I'm in for 3-4 oz also. I've made a few with 5 oz and it gets bulky quick but if its minimal it still isn't too bad.

You don't really even need a template. Take your cards and stack them like you want to carry them and then add some allowance for stitching. It's basically squares and rectangles with a minimalist wallet. Google "free minimalist wallet pattern" and you should find plenty of options to suit your taste profile.

I've made a bunch of them, as have a lot of others here, so if you have any questions feel free to ask.

[Leather20]

Thanks, how much allowance should I leave for seams? I always struggle with making my own patterns because I have either too much room or not enough room

[rleather]

3/4 OZ leather and try looking at Weaver leather they are sponsors of Corter leather . Corter has free patterns you can access on Weavers site. They are not free on there own site. I hope this helps.

[battlemunky]

40 minutes ago, Leather20 said:

Thanks, how much allowance should I leave for seams? I always struggle with making my own patterns because I have either too much room or not enough room

I usually leave 5 mm. Lay it out and figure out where your cards are going to be plus 2 mm on each side of the card to allow for the bend of the leather around the card, then 5 mm on that, then set your wing dividers at 3 or 4 mm depending on how confident you are with your measuring to mark your stitch line. Sizing = done. Then the rest is construction. If it will have a fold allow for 12-15 mm for that.

I use mm because its easier than fractions. 2 mm is ~ 1/16th in and 5 mm is ~ 1/4. I don't think you'll be short on either. If your cuts are good you may not need to trim/sand much at all but you'll have 3 or 4 mm in order to if needed.

Edited October 22, 2020 by battlemunky

[zuludog]

I would use 1,2 to 1,6mm thick = 3 to 4oz leather

Search YouTube for making a wallet. There are loads of videos of all types, several have downloadable free patterns

[Handstitched]

@Leather20 Not sure if kangaroo leather is available where you are, but thats what I  often use for making simple wallets. Easy to cut and easy to sew by hand or machine. ( I've just ordered some more)   Or alternatively, I have used goat skins. Similar in thickness , and come in many colours.

A simple wallet is all  that people want a lot of the time . I've seen  customers wallets as thick as a paving bricks , and so badly out of shape .

Hope all goes well for you  

HS 

 

[Tugadude]

3 hours ago, Handstitched said:

@Leather20 Not sure if kangaroo leather is available where you are, but thats what I  often use for making simple wallets. Easy to cut and easy to sew by hand or machine. ( I've just ordered some more)   Or alternatively, I have used goat skins. Similar in thickness , and come in many colours.

A simple wallet is all  that people want a lot of the time . I've seen  customers wallets as thick as a paving bricks , and so badly out of shape .

Hope all goes well for you  

HS 

 

I echo the recommendation on kangaroo leather.  I think it is perfect for wallets, especially minimalist ones.  I prefer my own wallets as thin as possible, so I generally look for the 3oz. and under.  Depending on the specific application as little as 1.5oz.  

It is fun to experiment with minimalist designs.  Amazing how many different ways there are to tackle the challenge of getting more from less.

Just search for "minimalist leather wallet" and bask in the variety.

[Dwight]

Several years back . . . in a Tandy shop . . . a fellow came in wanting someone to make him a wallet.  The manager sent him over to me as I just happened to be there.

The story was his daughter had bought him a wallet some 25 years before . . . it was now worn out . . . he needed as near as possible an exact replacement.  

I looked at it . . . saw it was very simple . . . we agreed on the terms . . . he unloaded the wallet and gave it to me for a pattern . . . and away we went . . . the finished product was sent to him a couple weeks later . . . and I got a very pleasant thank you note from him.

This is the "practice piece" I did just to get the feel of it.

It is a trifold . . . couple of pockets on each side . . . with a bill holder in the middle.

May God bless,

Dwight

[Leather20]

9 hours ago, Handstitched said:

@Leather20 Not sure if kangaroo leather is available where you are, but thats what I  often use for making simple wallets. Easy to cut and easy to sew by hand or machine. ( I've just ordered some more)   Or alternatively, I have used goat skins. Similar in thickness , and come in many colours.

 

I'd like to do some tooling on the font, can I do that with kangaroo leather?

[Rahere]

You're going in the opposite direction of light, here. Roo leather can be split without losing much strength, so usually is, to 1mm or less, whereas tooling leather generally starts at 3-4mm, to take punch impression. 

The reason veg-tanned leather is used is because it holds water: chrome-tanned doesn't. Roo can be either.

But finding 4-5mm veg-tanned ? You'd likely have to have it shipped from the wonderful land of Oz. 

Edited October 23, 2020 by Rahere

[Leather20]

37 minutes ago, Rahere said:

You're going in the opposite direction of light, here. Roo leather can be split without losing much strength, so usually is, to 1mm or less, whereas tooling leather generally starts at 3-4mm, to take punch impression. 

The reason veg-tanned leather is used is because it holds water: chrome-tanned doesn't. Roo can be either.

But finding 4-5mm veg-tanned ? You'd likely have to have it shipped from the wonderful land of Oz. 

Won't a 3-5oz veg work? I wanna do a pattern on it for some friends to remember something together. Forgive me if i'm completely missing the point here

Edited October 23, 2020 by Leather20

[Handstitched]

Well, alternatively , you could try using a 1.2mm veg tan , however, you won't be able to carve a pattern into it, but you may be able to stamp a pattern into it, or a friends name,   but you have to be so careful that you don't hit the tools so hard  that its cuts the leather right through . Try putting a piece of 3-4mm scrap underneath where you're stamping to avoid that..its has worked.....sometimes.....practice first. And perhaps  make a wallet inner with say , roo hide, goat hide , pig skin , or whatever you have available, then glue & stitch . 

HS

[Rahere]

22 hours ago, Leather20 said:

Won't a 3-5oz veg work? I wanna do a pattern on it for some friends to remember something together. Forgive me if i'm completely missing the point here

No, it's just it goes in the opposite direction to minimal. Another approach it to tool a plaque and sew it to the wallet before make-up. I've a roo-skin wallet 20 years old, daily use. There's no way it would take tooling though, it's as thin as cloth.

[Leather20]

24 minutes ago, Rahere said:

No, it's just it goes in the opposite direction to minimal. Another approach it to tool a plaque and sew it to the wallet before make-up. I've a roo-skin wallet 20 years old, daily use. There's no way it would take tooling though, it's as thin as cloth.

I'm a newbie and I feel kinda silly asking but how would I do a plaque?

[Handstitched]

@Leather20 A leather plaque is a separate piece of 2.5 or 3mm veg tan leather, either round , square or whatever,  that is thick enough to be tooled/ carved, but allow enough room for stitching. Put it on before assembling the wallet.

BTW, Theres no such thing as a silly question on here. All good . We're all here to help   

HS

[Rahere]

9 hours ago, Handstitched said:

@Leather20 A leather plaque is a separate piece of 2.5 or 3mm veg tan leather, either round , square or whatever,  that is thick enough to be tooled/ carved, but allow enough room for stitching. Put it on before assembling the wallet.

BTW, Theres no such thing as a silly question on here. All good . We're all here to help   

HS

I considered adding a comment that if it's large enough, it can add useful shape to the wallet, and cover an anti-scam material (there's folk out there who've gutted a swipe reader and read your cards on public transport, in your wallet).

[Rahere]

18 hours ago, Rahere said:

I considered adding a comment that if it's large enough, it can add useful shape to the wallet, and cover an anti-scam material (there's folk out there who've gutted a swipe reader and read your cards on public transport, in your wallet).

I was trying to think of the term for the anti-scam. RFID.

[Handstitched]

Not sure if they still do, but I think Tandy sell that material . 

@Leather20 you could also add a concho in place of tooling, but it may add little bit of ' bulk' to the end product, unless its sorta flat-ish, if that makes sense.   Love to see the end product. 

HS

[Danne]

Maybe start with something simple like a card case? Everything I do is fully lined and my templates would be hard to explain to someone else. 

But a while ago I made a simple card case template for someone. Use leather around 1-1.2mm 

To avoid seeing the top pocket through the bottom pocket, it can be good to skive the edges. It doesn't have to be perfect since it won't be visible. A safety beveler will work fine if you don't feel comfortable using a skiving knife. (This is A4, i'm not sure if it's possible to print in letter size, if not just tell me, and I make one in letter size.

Edit: I didn't really explain the distance piece. Glue it to some thicker card paper, and you can use it to align the distance for the top pocket from the edge. Scribe a line where you need to roughen your leather grain for glue, and also use it when you assemble your pocket so it's the correct distance from the top.

2card.pdf2card_template.pdf

Edited November 12, 2020 by Danne