So those of us interested in leather craft and also those of us interested in buying long lasting “Buy it for life” quality leather products, already know that there are many ways to make pockets on a leather wallet, checkbook or ID case. This will be my attempt to break down most of those methods along with the advantages and disadvantages of each. Though I don’t use all of these in my products I have a good idea of how to do each method and what’s involved.

The Single Pocket:

This kind of pocket doesn’t need much description, it’s quite simple a pocket that’s sewn directly the the main piece of the wallet or case. It can go flat across or have a dip.

A variation on this could be an ID window- just sew across the side you want open to attach the vinyl window and sew around. I use these in most of my simple ID cases.

Pros:

Simple

Durable (leather plus thread, not much to mess up.)

Cons:

Only holds a few cards because because it depends on the stretch of the leather.

Variations:

Folded: instead of a separate piece a longer piece of leather is folded against itself to create the pocket and only the sides are sewn. This creates a slightly more durable bottom of the pocket and a tiny bit more room.

Window: You can glue and then stitch the vinyl to the leather “frame”. A window type pocket can also be created using just a hole in the leather, however it needs to be small so the card can’t fall out. I prefer vinyl window because the “open window” design doesn’t allow enough of the ID to be visible for most ID’s.

The Stacked Pocket:

This pocket is really only the next logical variation on the single pocket. You simply place a second piece on top of the single pocket. It’s useful for organization (perhaps a scooped pocketed for easy access cards and a flat pocket behind for less used cards), but unfortunately doesn’t offer much more room than a single pocket.

Pros:

Useful for organization. Lets the user keep their cards in a specific pocket and not one big stack.

Can add variety: One vertical opening and one horizontal as shown on the money clip on the left.

Can allow for varying sizes in pockets as seen in the divided-stacked pocket on the passport holder above.

Good utilization of leather as range marks and brands can be placed in the covered pocket.

Like the single pocket, also extremely durable.

Cons:

Not much space advantage to a single pocket- a stacked double pocket can only hold a couple more cards than a single on of the same size.

Thick: every pocket is an additional layer and all the contents are in one stack.

Welted Single Pocket:

This pocket in interesting it relies on an extra layer of leather to give the pocket depth. Besides a front and back piece a “U” shaped pied is sewn between to actually create a “box” for the contents.

Pros:

You can create a lot of space for the contents since it’s determined by the thickness of the leather you use for the welt.

Makes for a spacious, substantial feeling product, that will last.

Cons:

Because it relies on thick leather to create depth, this design creates an inherently thick product. This isn’t the kind of pocket you’d put into a bi-fold or tri-fold wallet.

Leather must be very stiff to work properly. This isn’t a design that would look nice and work with a soft supple leather.

Larger than a simple pocket. The welt (U-shaped piece) needs to be at least 1/4″ wide to work properly, so the design has to be bigger to accommodate the extra space.

Very difficult to cut by hand. Cutting the precise U-shape in thick leather is almost impossible without cutting dies.

The Gusseted pocket:

This type of pocket is common in sections in wallets meant to hold coins. (Gussets in bags are a different beast and I may talk about them in a future post). In wallets and other small leather goods the pocket basically has a thin “V” of material with a crease in the center on each side of the pocket to add depth.

Pros:

Lots of room and a wide opening. This is really the best option for a coin compartment in a wallet. This style of pocket is also handy if you want to have a very large compartment for bills or other check, receipts, notes, etc. You’ll find this a lot more in women’s wallets where thickness in a back pocket isn’t a factor.

Cons:

For the design to work properly the gussets must be made of extremely thin leather. This means that you either have to make the entire product of thin leather (and back it with something or substantial if you want it to last), or make the gusset out of a material that doesn’t match the main “body” of the product.

Very hard to do correctly- because of the thinness required and the precise folding of the gusset, on small items this kind of pocket is very tricky.

Also takes up more space than a single pocket because the gussets must move into the pocket when folded up.

Lastly because of the thinness of the material, it’s not likely to last as long as other options.

Banks Of Pockets

While the previous pockets in this post are basically “single pockets”, most people carry enough cards and ID’s to want more slots. Here are the common ways to have a row of cards.

Staggered Simple Pockets:

I don’t have a picture of this one but it look almost identical to T-slots (pictured above) unless you look at it form the side (which I’ll discuss later).

This is just what it sounds like: multiple full-cut pockets with each panel covering half of the one above it. This technique is only possible with extremely thin leathers because the staggering makes for an extra layer where the pockets overlap.

You accomplish the staggering by starting with the “top” pocket and sewing across the bottom but not the sides. You place the following pockets until you reach the last one (which you glue only). You then sew down the “inside edge” afterwards you sew around the item catching the other side and bottom pocket.

Pros:

Simple, very easy to understand construction.

Simple pattern, you can literally make staggered pockets with plain rectangles so hand cutting is easy.

Cons:

Your edges will look “lumpy” and the product will be thick. If you’re making an 8 pocket bifold wallet you will have 5 layers where your pockets overlap (Front, inside bill compartment piece, “hidden” pocket piece, and 2x pockets).

Slit Pockets:

This method of making pockets involves using one solid piece of leather with slits in it for the “face” and then a thin “non-leather” material for the actual inside part of the pocket. This is often called the ribbon method because it can be done using wide ribbon. Basically under the edge of each slit you glue or sew the material, then create a crease for the “bottom” of the pocket and fold up to the next slit and repeat. This can be done with separate pieces of ribbon or cloth or with one big strip with a zig-zag folding pattern. Generally it’s best to use a cloth that’s wide enough to sew the sides closed when attaching the pocket bank to the item.

A variation of this method is how pockets are made in most of the imported, massed produced, cheap quality wallets you’d find at your local big box or department store. They may actually use a separate piece of leather above each pocket, but if you look inside the actual pocket you’ll see that the pocket itself is nylon. This is my go-to for recognizing if a wallet is quality or not. There are some companies who do use quality materials and this style of construction, but they are few and far-between and the price will usually tell you if you’re getting quality.

Pros:

You can’t get a cleaner or more sleek look than with this method.

Much thinner than other methods for making “card banks”

Cons:

Anytime you introduce a non-leather element to a product you limit it’s lifespan, the cloth pockets generally aren’t repairable. I use this style of pocket in 3 of my products (1 men’s wallet, 1 women’s wallet, and a checkbook), but I will be phasing these out this year for T-slot pockets which I’ll describe next.

Even when done by a high-end company with the best materials it “looks cheaper” than other methods.

Extremely time-consuming to do right, if you individually glue, fold and sew each pocket you can spend hours on a single row of pockets.

T-Slots/Winged Pockets/Tab Pockets:

10 pieces in a 8-pocket bifold.

They go by a lot of names but this type of pocket is my absolute favorite for a combination of both looks and durability. They are made the same way as staggered pockets: sewing across the bottom of each pocket, starting with the top one and overlapping, then sewing down the inside, and lastly around 3 sides of the product. The difference is in that the bottom of the pocket doesn’t go across the entire width of the pocket. It comes up into a “T” shape with little tabs on each side, only these tabs get sewn, this way the wallet only overlaps in the center, not the edge. When the wallet is finished you have a consistent thickness on the edge of the wallet, which looks nice. The bottom pocket in the bank is a solid pocket and covers over the bottom of the “T” shape, if you didn’t know you would think each pocket was one solid piece going across the bottom of each pocket. Lately, I’ve been experimenting with not hiding the “T” pockets have made a few items with ID windows that show how the pockets are made.

Pros:

Extremely versatile: They can be made with both horizontal or vertical card pockets and you can use as many or as few as necessary in a product. Once you own a set of dies to cut them you can use the same pockets on everything from ID cases to Bifolds to passport cases to checkbooks. You use the same “T” shape for all the pockets and the same “cover” pocket at the bottom.

Very durable: when using quality thread they are every bit as strong as a simple sewn-on pocket.

Easy to make in comparison to slit pockets (with ribbon or cloth inside).

Cons:

Like all staggered pockets the item is still relatively thick. If you have access to a splitter skive, it’s good to thin down any pockets that go over one another.

Hard to cut by hand, the T-slots don’t have to be extremely precise but they are harder to cut than a simple rectangle.

So those are some of the pocket that you’ll find in leathercraft, I’m sure there are other methods and variations, let me know what I’ve missed!