Duct Tape Wallets

Another 'guest craft' post, featuring fantastic duct tape wallets made by our niece and nephew.

A digression: although hobby crafts are undoubtedly good for the mind and soul, they can be a little taxing on the joints, posture and waist line. Free time is precious and there is often a conflict between wanting to stay in and make things or go out and enjoy the outdoors (walking, cycling, backpacking, camping, sometimes skipping along on a windy day). I am ashamed to say, crafting often has the upper hand. I am currently feeling invigorated and not a little virtuous, having spent a week back-packing and camping in Skye, putting in 7-8 hour walks each day (even with a torn cartilage, which I am sorry to say, might have been prevented if a little more time had been spent walking and a little less time knitting earlier in the year). I had been warned.

Well enough of that self-recrimination and back to crafting. Anyone familiar with backpacking will be aware of the importance of lightweight gear. I understand some people are as obsessive about this as quilters are about fat quarters. This duct tape wallet won my accolade of 'best bit of kit' this trip (other categories being best camp site, best dinner, best walk..).

The original duct tape wallet was this Spiderman design made by Karate Kid (aged about 7 I think) note it isn't a really tiny wallet on a sheet of stamps, but a normal size wallet on stamp design cloth :

Spiderman wallet on postage stamp tablecloth

It wasn't made for me but I immediately saw its potential for a coupon wallet. I did try it out for a couple of weeks but soon realised that I was looking for something a little bit more feminine, and besides that someone wanted it back. By special request, Koala Kid (Karate Kid's sister, aged about 11 I think) made this beautiful polka dot creation:

Polka dot wallet being tested 'in the field'

Not only is it a perfect coupon wallet, it is a pretty fantastic hiking wallet, being lightweight, non-bulky, waterproof, closes easily with a velcro fastener, looks good, has perfectly sized compartments for driving license and Scottish notes...and it is an emergency duct tape resource if disaster strikes (like an airbed puncture or ripped tent...or knee strapping for a torn cartilage...). I don't think in the UK we as yet have such funky duct tape designs like spiderman and polka dots, but here is a link to instructions for making a duct tape wallet. 

Skye: The Quiraing (Trotternish)