Free sewing pattern for cycling wallet

[Coluber42]

I'm trying to post a free sewing pattern every year for some practical cycling-related item (taking suggestions for next year's...). This year it's a wallet that's sized to hold a cell phone and other items and fit in a jersey pocket. The pattern has several options and detailed instructions for how to make it, so you don't have to be an expert sewer.

The link is here: http://www.dillpicklegear.com/project-cycling-wallet/

Yes, this is a business website. But I post free patterns for practical items because I think that giving a gift that is practical and handmade is more what gift giving should be about than trampling people for a better deal at a Black Friday sale. In any case, it's a fun project with lots of possibilities, and it's a good use for scraps or reclaimed materials.

The other two patterns I've posted are up there too, one for a cycling cap and one for an under-seat wedge-style saddlebag. Enjoy!

[bikinchris]

How about a pattern for a shielded credit card sleeve? The new cards with RFID chips are vulnerable to being scanned by someone in the area of your card. They don't have to touch you.

I made a sleeve out of duct tape and used a double layer of aluminum foil to be extra sure.

[BSBD]

How about a pattern for a shielded credit card sleeve? The new cards with RFID chips are vulnerable to being scanned by someone in the area of your card. They don't have to touch you.

I made a sleeve out of duct tape and used a double layer of aluminum foil to be extra sure.

Do you mean cards with the contact chip exposed on the face, a la Chip and Pin or Chip and Signature? If so, that's not the same as RFID. (Though there are some cards with a contact and contact-less set of capabilities, so they aren't mutually exclusive.) Secondly, have you tested your sleeve of foil? As in actually attempted to read your sleeved card with sensitive kit and not some random kiosk at a store? I say this because it may be doing nothing for you in the end if someone is seriously scanning for cards then they may be using far more sensitive kit

[Dead Man]

http://loksak.com/civilian/shieldsak/

[Coluber42]

I made one of the demo ones using three layers of fabric: denim scraps on the outside and quilting cotton on the inside, with Tyvek in the middle to make it waterproof. After stacking the three layers, you just treat it as one piece from there on. I don't know what it actually takes to stop people from reading the RFID on a credit card (or a passport for that matter) but I don't see why you couldn't use aluminum foil in the middle, even a few layers. A sewing machine should have no trouble at all stitching right through it, and if you sandwiched it with stiff enough material, it would presumably give you a reasonably long life without getting too kinked up inside.
If you want to make it normal wallet width, just cut the pattern in half. All the pieces are rectangles, so it should be easy to modify.

[Dead Man]

I don't know what it actually takes to stop people from reading the RFID on a credit card (or a passport for that matter) but I don't see why you couldn't use aluminum foil in the middle, even a few layers.

http://loksak.com/civilian/shieldsak/

;)

[Steve in SLO]

Very cool thing to do, posting patterns and instructions for free. It makes me want to pull out my trusty old Bernina and give it a shot.

[oddsaabs]

The link is here: http://www.dillpicklegear.com/project-cycling-wallet/

Thanks for posting this! I was just working out how I was going to make a custom size wallet this winter and you just saved me making a whole bunch of mistakes and do-overs.

Cheers!

[Coluber42]

http://loksak.com/civilian/shieldsak/

That just shows that someone sells a product that they claim will block RFID, it doesn't tell you what you need to know to make your own.

So I got interested and started hunting around the internet. Apparently (and bearing in mind that this is not my field!) one layer of typical aluminum foil will often block a low-strength reader such as the ones that read touchless cards at the checkout.
However, readers can vary quite a bit in strength and buying or making a stronger one isn't hard. Also, there's a variety of frequencies in use and blocking materials may be more effective for some than for others.
There is an FCC legal maximum for the power of the transmitter, and someone who intends to skim your credit card data presumably isn't especially concerned with FCC regs. So it doesn't seem to me that aluminum foil is worth the trouble.
Foil made of copper or actual tin might be better, or copper mesh. Foil made from tin might be hard to find, but copper sheet, copper foil, and copper mesh are easy to find at hobby and craft stores.
There are a lot of products that claim to block RFID signals, but not all are equally effective and even the ones that are effective at low power or up to the FCC limit might or might not protect against what an actual data thief might use.

In any case, if you have credit cards with RFID's and you're worried, it seems simpler and much more effective to just call the card company and ask for one without it.