Bike Innertube Wallet

Intro: Bike Innertube Wallet

- bomb wallet made from an old inner tube.

- all you need is an innertube and a sewing machine. It's soft, malleable, flexible, durable and aesthetically it's a nice looking design. the rubber is relatively easy to sew and the finished product will fit nicely in the back pocket of anyone who drives a prius or wants to seem just as green.

STEP 1: Materials

Materials:
- innertube - a 26 x 1.9/195 tube is the perfect height without having to trim.
- sewing machine - you'll need one with adjustable tensioning
- black thread
- scissors
- currency
- a license or card
- a ruler

STEP 2: The Backbone

the backbone of the wallet:

- choose a portion of the innertube that has writing or doesn't depending on the aesthetic you want. hipsters will want to stay away from brands and might stick to writing that includes the dimensions of the tube. professionals may want to avoid any kind of writing all together for a sleeker, leathery look.

- cut the section of the tube that you want to use.
- make a cut where you want to start, then measure 9 inches down the tube and cut again
- do this twice
- make another cut down the seam so the innertube is no longer a tube. ( i noticed i got a straighter edge if i cut at a side seam verses the top or bottom seam.
- when you're done you'll have two opened pieces of inner tube ( see picture below) that measure 9 inches long by 3.75 inches high.

STEP 3: Cut the Pockets

the next step is to cut up the intertube to create the pockets for your cards.

- cut 6 more pieces of innertube to hold your cards similar to the way you cut the back bone, but use the following dimensions instead.
- each piece should be 3 3/4 inches wide and 1 1/2 inches high.
- a license or credit card is 3 3/8 inches wide but you want to leave some room on either side to sew the pocket down to the backbone.

STEP 4: Prep the Pockets and Prepare to Sew Them to the Backbone

1. lay the large backbone down with the good side facing up towards you.
2. this is your opportunity to properly space all the pockets in the wallet. it's a little harder than it sounds because you want all the cards to fit snuggly so they don't fall out, but if it's too tight of a fit you'll feel like your cards are always stuck. I explain more in step #5.
3. arrange each of the pockets on the backbone taking the following measurements into consideration. you can decide if you want your wallet to have 4 or 6 pockets total.
a. leave a quarter inch from the side of the backbone to the side of the pocket
b. leave a quarter inch from the bottom of the lowest pocket to bottom of the bottom of the backbone
c. leave a half each between the pockets on the left and the pockets on the right (in the center fold) so the wallet has ample room to fold.

*the final step will be to sew the pocketed backbone to the second large slab of inner tube so be sure to leave room on the side and the bottom so you can fit the sewing machine in and sew them together.
*as you sew the rubber down it will stretch and shift the pockets slightly.

STEP 5: Set Pocket the Top Pocket

- now that you have an idea how all the pockets will fit begin sewing with the top left pocket.

- place the card on the wallet the way you would want it to appear so you can mark the first pocket. align the top of the card with the top of the wallet. the card in the picture below is protruding too much over the top and I needed to shift the pocket further down before sewing it on. on my wallet the top of the pocket is about an inch from the top of the backbone tube.

- again, be sure to leave about 1/4 of an inch between the side of the wallet and the side of the pocket.

- before you start to sew it's important to increase the tension on your sewing machine as much as you can. I set mine to 8. before I did this all the thread kept bunching up because the machine couldn't handle the rubber.

- start at the top left and sew counter clockwise attaching the pocket to the backbone.

STEP 6: Overlap & Attach Pockets #2 & #3

- sew the next two pockets on the left side of the wallet. I placed each pocket about 3/4 of an inch below the opening of the pocket above it. this lets your cards stick out so you can see which cards are in each of the pockets.

- make your lower pockets slightly larger ( like 1/8th of an inch) so you avoid sewing into the pocket above.

- save the inner tube with writing for the bottom pockets, which are the most visible to add some design aesthetic.

- below you'll see i sewed the second pocket right over the top pocket

STEP 7: Sew on the Second Row of Pockets

- with the left column of pockets attached you can now align the pockets on the right side.

- leave about 1/2 of an inch between the right and left sides so the wallet will fold. there should also be 1/4 of an inch between the right side of the pocket and right side of the backbone tube.

- lay your pocket out so the top of the pocket measures about an inch from the top of the backbone. this will ensure your card isn't peeping out of the top of the wallet.

STEP 8: Sew the Front to the Back

- sewing the front to the back will create the large pocket where you'll store your bills.

- pin around the perimeter because the rubber will shift as you sew if you don't.

- sew around the edges trying to avoid the pockets. the sewing machine can sew through two layers of rubber but i started running into trouble and broke a needle once i started sewing through three layers of rubber. if you have to do it i would suggest advancing the machine by hand or using a more industrial strength needle.

STEP 9: It's Easy - You're Done

treat yourself to a tasty beverage, it doesn't matter if you spill, it's rubber.

Comments

[3366carlos]

that sucker looks nice.

[vicesat]

Looks like this make you sweat a lot

[AmyKarle]

This is very cool. We should have a crafting day together!

[kenhfisher]

I'm in. I've got a woodshop and a certificate to Tech Shop - let's make stuff!

[dr_peru]

My purses always wear down pretty fast, so when i will have burned through the next one, i will give your design a try :)

[louis.m]

Nice Instructabe.

May I make a suggestion?

If you treat yourself to a beverage before making the wallet, you can cut the can in two sheets that you can use to make the wallet RFID secure !

[devilchild666]

This is okay!

[ciclopiave]

niiice

[escapefromyonkers]

nice work, i like the idea that it is not slippery. A leather wallet or other material can be pretty slippery , especially with the up and down motion when cycling. I always try and buy pants with a zipper wallet pocket, since i am on bikes a lot. If by chance it is not grippy but slippery, there is a clear spray that adds a sand like clear coating , goof hardware stores carry it.
No reason to ever buy a inner tube, the bike shops i know , especially the ones that so a lot of business in nyc, just ask how many tubes i want, they are into seeing them being up-cycled too.

[makerbuilderbaker]

Thank you for the inspiration, I decided to make my own tri-fold wallet with red and black thread. I cut my tube along the bottom seam which created a less curvy piece than the side which you suggested.
you can check mine out here:
http://theimpossibletribar.blogspot.com/2011/11/bicycle-inner-tube-wallet.html


My recommendation is to get a sewing machine that is old and powerful with a walking foot. I used one and it was a piece of cake; the first thing I've ever sewn.
I encourage anyone with access to a sewing machine to make one of these, a spare tube is less than 5 dollars and you probably already have one, thread is dirt cheap, and it should take less than 2 and a half hours!

[kenhfisher]

You can also buy one from me at http://www.crankcreative.com if you don't feel like investing the time.

[ElusiveGreen]

There are also the ones offered by http://alchemygoods.com, who had actually hosted a contest on instructables some time back. Pardon for interrupting.

[tjackson15]

Hiya, would you mind if I used some of these images in a school project along with some that I took myself? I won't make any cash from it, it's just a coursework project about upcycling and recycling. That would be really helpful!

[dellis8]

looks awesome man, I'm just wondering if anyones tried to heat join tubes together, using a heat gun or even a soldering iron. I could see potential problems with both methods (heatgun would be hard to control which bit of rubber melted and soldering irons would gum up).

I have access to industrial quantities of old innertubes and don't have a sowing machine, any other thoughts? I like the staple idea but think it might look a bit amateur???

[TheJoshinator]

I've seen Instructables around here somewhere for innertube belts, as well as making woven innertube seats for old rattan chairs with the seats busted out. Maybe try weaving a doormat or something? That could be really cool! You could also just use rubber cement (also known as contact cement) in place of stitches to hold the wallet together, or for purses and other such things.

[crochooley]

My poor Janome....

I'm trying this out but I have a difficult time keeping the tube flatten when cutting or sewing.  Is there a safe way of putting mild heat to this (similar to plastic fusion) to flatten the tube making the sewing easy?

Before I tried doing that, I wanted to see if anyone else has done this ...

Thanks for the awesome tutorial.  I'm always looking for new ideas to recycle.

[TheJoshinator]

I haven't tried this, but I suspect one could put a sheet of paper on each side and gently heat it with an iron. That's what I've heard for fusing plastic bags to make thicker plastic sheets for projects, so I bet it'd work with an innertube.

[PieterDV]

I've I'd make one of these (and I guess I will pretty soon) I plan on glueing the rubber to a liner, like pigskin split leather or something like that. That'll certainly help to keep it streched.

[kpierson]

I just made this for my boyfriend's Christmas present. I can't wait to give it to him! I don't have a walking foot but my mom is an experienced seamstress and suggested I put tissue paper over it before I sewed. It made it difficult to see the seam but it kept the tube from pulling as much.

[pdminter]

It turned out great! You did a good job and he loved it.