I like to carry my cell phone in my pocket, but I don't want to scratch it with my keys or loose change, so I made a cover out of duct tape.

This is a simple duct tape cover for a "candy bar" style phone, like my Motorola L6 SLVR.

It has a liner to keep the phone from getting scummy from the adhesives in the duct tape and a flap on the back to protect the lens of the integrated camera.

Step 1: List of Materials.

1. Heavy Duty Duct Tape - Black
2. Scotch Tape
3. Scissors
4. Although it's not in the picture, a ruler. Not so much for measurements, but to help tuck the tape inside the case. (You'll see what I mean later.)
5. Lining material. I used the thin sheet packing foam that came in the box with a keyboard we ordered at work. You could use anything that won't scratch your phone. (Plastic bag, Tyvek envelope, etc)
6. Phone, to use as a template.

Step 2: Wrap the Phone in the Liner Material.

1. Cut a rectangle in the liner material so that a half an inch extends below the bottom of the phone.

2. To make it easier to remove the phone from the finished case, I aligned the top edge of the material so that it was just below the Motorola logo on the front of the phone.

3. Tightly wrap the phone so that the right and left sides of the liner overlap in the back. Tape in place with scotch tape.

4. Fold the remaining material at the bottom of the phone and tape in place. (For my phone I decided to follow the rounded edge at the bottom. I guess it depends on the phone, but I wonder if a boxed end would have worked better.)

Step 3: Start Covering With Duct Tape.

Starting at the top edge, wrap the phone in duct tape. (Mine took two passes with about an eight of an inch overlap)

This left the a little bit of the liner exposed at the bottom of the phone. Which we'll take care of in the next step.

Step 4: Cover the Bottom Edge.

1. To cover the bottom edge I cut two pieces of duct tape. The length is actually the width of the tape as it comes off the roll. The width is about a half inch.

2. Put the tape over the bottom edge of the phone. Make sure that you start from the same position on both sides of the phone and work to the middle of the bottom edge, as this will be a visible seem. Otherwise it will look uneven.

Step 5: Cover the Front and Back of the Phone.

1. Cut a piece of duct tape about 14 inches long and lay on your work surface sticky-side up.

2. Place the duct tape wrapped phone from the previous step on the tape so that the top edge is approximately 3/4 of the from one end of the tape, like in the picture below.

3. Take the phone out and fold over the short edge and tuck it inside, making the back of the case. The lens for the camera on my L6 is on the back so I pinched the tape so that there was a half inch flap that sticks out of the back.

4. Put the phone back in and fold over the front side, then remove it again to tuck the tape into the case.

5. Use a wooden ruler to "square-up" the bottom of the case by sticking it inside with the case bottom on the table. Tamp down the tape from the inside so that it makes good contact with lining material, especially in any corners.

6. Lastly, I wiped the whole thing down with a cotton ball soaked in rubbing alcohol to remove any excess adhesive.