Tyvek Wallet With ID Window

Make a thin and stylish bi-fold Tyvek wallet with a USPS Priority Mail envelope, a sheet protector and a pair of scissors. No other materials needed! Not even glue.

And now you get to carry around your government property (money) in other government property (mail envelope).

This wallet is the DIY version of a designer wallet found here. Except for the ID window, of course. That was all me.

Here are the materials you will need:
1 large Tyvek envelope with peel n stick seal - I got mine from the post office for free
1 plastic sheet protector - make sure its translucent

Here are the tools:
1 scissors
1 ruler (optional)

As you can see, it's not going to be too complicated. If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodg....I mean, uh, make a wallet. Anyway, let's get started!

Cut the sticky flap of the envelope off without peeling the wax paper off and set it aside (you'll need it later).

Cut away any part of the envelope that is glued to another part. This means cutting away the bottom edge where the other flap is already sealed and down the center in the back where the two sides meet.

This part is a bit tricky to describe but actually makes a lot more sense once you start doing it. By popular demand, I have added diagrams to my original pictures, I hope they help.

1) Lay out your envelope with the side you want as the outside of your wallet facing down. I wanted some colour on the outside so the white inside is facing up. (In the diagrams, this is the red side)

2) Fold down the big flap on one side along the envelope's pre-made creases. I chose the logo side for aesthetic reasons. This is Fold 1.

3) Use your preferred currency to mark out the necessary height of the wallet. In my case, poverty has forced me to choose Mr. Washington of the USA but you could use Euros, Rupees, Kronurs, Monopoly money, etc. If you will be using currency that have different heights (e.g. Euros), make sure to use the biggest bill for this step.

4) Fold up the envelope along this new line. This is Fold 2.

5) Use a credit card to mark the appropriate height from the bottom for the next fold. Fold this inwards. This is Fold 3 and will create the outside of the card holder pocket.

6) Fold 4 brings the paper back up and Fold 5 completes the inside lining of the card holder pocket. In the diagrams, length A corresponds to the width of a bill while length B is the height of a credit card.

Please note: You can repeat Folds 4 and 5 at this point with the flap at the end of Fold 5 to make as many additional pockets as you wish (or length of envelope material will allow). In this instructable, I'm going to keep it simple and stick with just two pockets - money and card.

7) Tuck the excess flap from Fold 1 under the remaining flap from Fold 5 -- I'm calling this Fold 6. Trim off anything that doesn't fit.

Your finished strip of folded wallet material should look like the last photo.

Trim the folded strip to the length you want. A couple of things to keep in mind:
1) The length should be greater than two credit cards lengths
2) The length should also be greater than the length of the biggest bill you will put in this wallet
3) Keep in mind that when you go to seal the ends, about 2cm of length will be sealed off so adjust accordingly to make it a little longer.

Now is also a good time to think about how you want the back of the wallet to look. I like the "Priority" part of the envelope so I'll cut around that.

This is an optional step but if you want to have an ID window, read on.

1) Mark out where your ID will sit. Mine's on the left side.

2) Cut out the window. Just cut through 2 layers of Tyvek that make up the front of the card holder pocket (see Folding steps). Don't make this cut too big, you want it be just slightly smaller than an ID card so that there will be some tyvek material around the edges of the ID.

3) Cut a piece of translucent sheet protector that is slightly bigger than the window and slide into the space between the two layers. I used a blue sheet protector here but I think a clear one would probably work best.

Remember that sticky flap, you put away earlier? Now's the time to find that thing and put it to use.

1) Trim it so that only the parts with glue remain (it'll turn out to be an inch wide strip).

2) Cut off a length about 2 cm longer than the height of the wallet and seal one end (see photos for my sealing method for a clean seal).

3) Cut off another length and seal the other end in a similar fashion

Voila! You are now the proud owner of a light and durable wallet that is uber-stylish and only cost about 50 cents.

This wallet had just two pockets (the money pocket and the credit card pocket). However, once you've made one of these you can do some variation and make multi-card compartment wallets. Basically you just repeat Folds 4 and 5 until you have the number of pockets you want.

I made one with two sets of card holders plus a money pocket and have posted some pictures.

Let me know what you think of the instructable -- it's my first one and I would love to hear feedback.

Now go and get busy folding!