This DIY carbon fiber wallet is visually striking, incredibly useful, and actually pretty easy to make! It’s a great gift for dudes. And although I’m demonstrating how to make a carbon fiber wallet, you can use the same measurements and sewing steps to make your own wallet out of oilcloth, leather, canvas, or any other material you choose.

Carbon fiber is an undeniably cool material. It’s fire resistant, in case your pocket or purse regularly bursts into flames. It has an amazing space-age graphite look, and carbon fiber is often used to block RFID signals. It has an incredible strength-to-weight ratio, so it results in a wallet that’s thin and durable. And fortunately, you can get small amounts of carbon fiber fabric on Amazon. (As an Amazon affiliate I earn a small commission from purchases made through these links.)

The woven carbon fiber material that I am using produces a thin, flexible folding wallet. If you prefer a more rigid wallet, perhaps with a money clip attached, then this isn’t the right tutorial for you. But here are some really nice-looking ones on Amazon.

If the carbon fiber look isn’t your thing, I have also used my same basic wallet pattern to make wallets out of treadmill belts and other offbeat-yet-sturdy materials. Wallets require such a small amount of material and effort, that it’s worth experimenting with whatever zany supplies you’ve got on hand. I could see this wallet working really well in a metallic fabric, or an outdoor oilcloth like you’d use for a tent.

Supplies needed to make your carbon fiber wallet

• At least 1 yard of 4″ wide woven carbon fiber material (such as this twill weave or this honeycomb weave)
• Heat ‘n Bond Ultrahold
• Lining fabric (I used cotton camouflage fabric, but any reasonably heat-resistant fabric will work)
• Sharp scissors (or, if you have one, a rotary cutter and mat is a lot easier for this project)
• Ruler
• Sewing machine fitted with a size 12 Microtex needle, which may be called size 80 depending on where you live. (Or, if you don’t have access to a sewing machine, a sharp hand-sewing needle and a good thimble)
• Sturdy black thread (I’m using bonded nylon thread. You can also look for a synthetic thread that’s labeled “heavy duty”, “12 weight”, or “12 wt”. Or get one that’s sold specifically for buttons, upholstery and carpet. Those types should all work just fine.)

Step 1: Bond some scraps together to test your materials

First, use some small scraps from each material to fuse a test piece, and check for any bonding issues. You will also need the test piece to check the stitch and tension settings on your sewing machine, so hang on to it for now.

Here’s how to use the Heat ‘n Bond:

• Heat your iron to the silk setting.
• Place the Heat ‘n Bond onto the carbon fiber scrap, with the paper side facing up. The rough-yet-glossy side of the Heat ‘n Bond should be against the carbon fiber. Make sure that none of the Heat ‘n Bond is hanging off the edge of the carbon fiber, or else it will bond to your ironing board!
• Press your iron down for 2 seconds.
• Let the material cool down, then peel off the paper. You should be left with a shiny patch on the carbon fiber.
• Add a scrap piece of lining fabric on top of the shiny patch, pretty side up. Make sure to cover the entire shiny area with fabric, or else you will glue the Heat ‘n Bond to your iron!
• Press for 15 seconds, moving your iron over slightly every few seconds so that there are no unbonded areas where the holes in your iron’s sole plate were. Don’t slide the iron – just move it over gently, or else the materials will shift.
• Let the material cool.
• Check the bond and make sure that everything looks good.

Step 2: Cut and fuse the pieces to make your carbon fiber wallet

You will need to cut the following pattern pieces out of Heat ‘n Bond:

Cut 1 piece 8.75″ x 3.75″ for the wallet back (22 cm x 9.5 cm)

1 piece 8.75″ x 3.5″ for the wallet front (22 cm x 8.75 cm)

And 1 piece 8″ x 4″ for the credit card pockets (20 cm x 10 cm)

I recommend cutting the Heat ‘n Bond to the correct size, fusing your materials together, and then trimming the carbon fiber and lining fabric to the edges of the Heat ‘n Bond. This is because once the material has been bonded, it cannot unravel. So you won’t have to worry about the edges of the carbon fiber fraying after it’s been cut.

You will notice that I used 3 different widths of carbon fiber for the wallet, but I didn’t want to trim the carbon fiber lengthwise to get the narrower pieces.

So, I pulled the carbon fiber on the bias (check out the .GIF to see this process in action) to reduce the width. See how the strip gets narrower as I pull it diagonally?

I fused the 8″ x 4″ piece for the pockets without pulling it at all, to use the full 4″ width. Then I pulled it a little bit to fuse my 3.75″ wide piece. I pulled it a little harder for the 3.5″ wide piece.

After everything has been fused and cooled down, trim all of the pieces carefully to the edges of the Heat ‘n Bond.

Now cut the 8″ x 4″ piece into four pieces that are each 2″ x 4″, for the credit card pockets.

You should now have 6 carbon fiber and fabric “sandwiches” that are held together by Heat ‘n Bond in the middle.

Step 3: Test your stitch settings

Remember when I told you to fuse a test piece of carbon fiber and fabric? Use the test piece to make sure your machine settings, needle, and thread are all working well for you. It’s important to note that the ideal needle and thread for your machine may be different from mine. Based on my tests, I’m recommending a Schmetz Microtex needle in size 12, and a heavyweight bonded nylon thread. Your machine may prefer a different setup, but these supplies worked very well for me.

I set my machine for the widest zigzag, which is about 5 mm wide on my machine. I used a stitch length of 1.5 mm (or about 16 stitches per inch).

The Heat ‘n Bond package recommends not stitching through the bonded material. So here’s a fair warning that your sewing machine may not like it. But in my experience it works great, and I’m 100% going to do it anyway. Stitch fairly slowly because the needle will build up some friction as it goes through the bonded layers. I also have a really butch vintage sewing machine that will handle 8 layers of upholstery fabric without a problem. So be sensitive to what your particular machine can and cannot handle.

Try stitching through one layer of the test piece first. Then fold the test piece a couple of times and press it flat, to test stitching through multiple layers. Check your tension settings, too. They may need to be decreased since you are working with a heavier weight of thread than usual. And if your machine is showing signs of struggling with the material, take a step back. You can either use the hand wheel on your machine, or hand-sew the wallet if it comes to that.

Step 4: Stitch around edges to stabilize the carbon fiber pieces

I want to zigzag stitch around the edges of each piece to stabilize them further. I’m planning for this wallet to hold up to some heavy use! I don’t want to rely on the Heat ‘n Bond alone to hold the camo fabric and carbon fiber together. (Particularly at the top of each pocket, where the bonded materials won’t be sewn to another layer. The sides and bottoms of the pockets would be held together by the assembly process.) I ended up stitching around all 4 sides of every piece, because it made me feel better.

I sewed with the aforementioned sewing machine settings, making sure that the needle sewed into the material with each zig, and just over the edge with each zag. This created a sturdy edge that was wrapped with thread, so I’m confident that the pieces will never separate.

Knot your threads at the beginning and end of each stitching line for this project. Or, sew a few stitches in reverse to lock your threads. You may also want to add a dab of glue on the knotted thread tails to keep them extra-secure.

Step 5: Attach upper credit card pockets along their bottom edges

Place two of the pocket pieces on top of the wallet front piece. Align the edges as shown in the picture, with the 2″ sides of the pockets lined up with the sides of the larger piece. The pocket pieces should be halfway between the top and bottom of the larger piece, and all 3 pieces should have the carbon fiber facing up.

Hold the pockets in place with binder clips or clothespins, and stitch along the bottom edges of the pockets only, as shown by the pink line in the photo.

Step 6: Attach all four credit card pockets along the inside edges

Place the other two small pocket pieces on top of the first two pockets. Line them up with the bottom corners of the wallet front piece. The edges that you sewed in the previous step should be covered by the new pockets.

Hold the pockets in place with binder clips or clothespins, and sew along the inner edges of all four pockets. You will be sewing near the center fold of the wallet, as shown by the pink line in the picture.

Step 7: Sew All Pieces Together Around 3 Outside Edges

Now place the wallet back piece on the table, with the camo side up. Cover it with the wallet front piece, carbon fiber side up. (All four pockets should be on top of the stack.)

Line up the pieces along the lower edge and corners, so that the largest camo-side-up piece peeks out a little at the very top edge. (Having the edges of the bill compartment slightly different heights like this will make the wallet easier to open up.)

Hold the entire stack together by using binder clips or clothespins.

Sew around the two short sides and the bottom, as shown by the pink line in the photo. This will attach all of your wallet pieces and pockets together.

Remember to sew slowly, and take a break if you feel like the needle is getting hot from friction. You will be going through four thick layers at one point, where the pockets overlap. Be mindful of whether or not your sewing machine is struggling.

I sewed along each edge twice, for extra security.

Step 8: Shape your DIY carbon fiber wallet and crease the fold

Now, for the very last time, heat up your iron to the silk setting. (For the last time during this project, not the last time in your life, you dreamer.)

Carefully press straight down with the iron, to smooth out the seams and pockets so that your wallet looks fabulous. Slide the iron over very gently and then lift it, so that the holes in your iron’s sole plate don’t leave any impressions on your material. If it looks a little rumply, just press down again.

The Heat ‘n Bond will try to keep the shape you give it while it’s warm. Use this to your advantage! While the wallet is still warm from the iron, bend it over a ruler so that it folds nicely in the middle. Make sure everything is smooth. Then weight the folded wallet down with a book so that it cools with the fold in place. Iron the folded edge again later, if necessary. You can also warm the wallet with a hairdryer, if you need to a more gentle way of shaping it.

You’re all done! Now you know how to make a carbon fiber wallet. Add some cash, your driver’s license, and of course your American Express card so that you always have a form of payment that isn’t accepted anywhere in the known universe.

If you liked this project, you might want to take a minute to check out some of my upcycled sewing projects. I’ve made stuff out of vinyl placemats, vintage records, used produce bags, and a bunch of clothing tags. I also made a swimdress out of the worst pants I have ever seen.

Happy sewing, y’all!

Jessie