Improvisor's toolbox: playing cards

By Mayank Sharma. Posted almost 4 years ago.

Playing cards have a long history that dates back several centuries. While their exact origin remains a matter of speculation, most historians agree that playing cards were invented by the Chinese during the Tang dynasty, in or around the 9th century. Another inconstant aspect has been the number of cards in a deck. There have been several variations over the centuries, with the popular ones being 24, 32, and 48 cards.

The variations continued to flourish even after the deck made its way into Europe sometime in the 14th century. For suits, the Italians used cups, swords, coins, and batons; the Germans used acorns, leaves, hearts, and bells; and the Spanish preferred coins, cups, swords, and cudgels. In the end, it was the French suits of spades, hearts, clubs, and diamonds that stuck. The 52-card deck was a French variation as well, which was taken all over the world by the French colonialists until it became the standard.

French card decks are modelled after renowned historical figures. The King of Hearts is Charlemagne, King of Diamonds is Julius Caesar, King of Clubs is Alexander the Great, and King of Spades is King David from the Bible. The queen cards have had a mixed roster that includes Pallas (warrior goddess; equivalent to the Greek Athena or Roman Minerva), Rachel (biblical mother of Joseph), Argine (an anagram of Regina which is Latin for Queen), and Judith (of the Apocrypha).

Another fascinating aspect of the deck of cards is how they correspond to the calendar. The two colours (red and black) relate to the two parts of a day – namely daytime and night. The four suits correspond to the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter. There are twelve court cards, just as there are months in a year, and 13 cards in each suit are a match for the number of weeks in each quarter. The 52 cards in the deck correspond to the 52 weeks in a year and, if you add up all the values of the cards in a deck (assuming 11 for the Jack, 12 for the Queen, 13 for the King), plus add one for the Joker, you end up with the exact number of days in a year – 365.

While the first packs were printed on paper and wood, modern-day decks are a marvel of engineering and design. Good-quality playing cards are made of multiple layers of laminated sheets of paper, glued together. The glue does more than to stick the layers together. In fact, it is the glue that gives the playing cards their distinctive snap. And when they lose that snap (the life of a deck in a Las Vegas casino can be as short as an hour), you can count on our inventive makers to put them to good use.

Party hats

Make sure you have at least three full decks, and just as many hours, before you start stapling the hats

Project Maker: Sergey Chernyshev

Project Link: hsmag.cc/vNfDio

A playing cards connoisseur, Sergey Chernyshev knew the cards would lend themselves nicely to a DIY project, and so he decided to create himself a top hat. He began with the top of the hat, by stapling a string of cards after overlapping them just enough for one staple. Keep stapling the cards to make a line of cards, as per the size of the head, and staple the last card to the first one to close the loop.

Depending on the fit, use a stapler remover to add or remove cards. When you’ve found the correct fitting, unstaple the last card to lay it flat, and then follow Sergey’s lead to bend its edges with a ruler. Staple the ends again when you’re done. Once the top is ready, it’s time to staple a row of cards to create the brim. Sergey suggests you experiment with the cards while adding the rows to make interesting patterns.

While you can add as many rows as you please, Sergey says you’ll have to use a longer stapler if you plan to add more than two rows. The last step is attaching the brim. For this, you’ll first have to bend and cut through the last row of cards, before stapling more cards to the folded-out cut cards. Sergey suggests you staple through the cards at the bottom to strengthen the brim.

USB case

You can also, like Cory, first remove the original outer covering of the USB drive to make it a little more workable

Project Maker: Cory Sterrett

Project Link: hsmag.cc/diJrEU

Generally speaking, the card-stock used to make playing cards is pretty good, and can be used for a number of crafts. If you don’t have enough of them to staple into a hat, you can follow Cory Sterrett’s lead to use some to create a sturdy, yet fashionable, case for a USB drive.

Begin by first collecting a stack of cards equivalent to the thickness of the drive, and pad them by gluing another five cards on either side for structural support. Then, cut the cards in the middle and trace the drive on the inside of the deck with a Sharpie. Cory cautions you not to rush through this step.

Make sure that you place the drive on the bottom stack, such that it still has enough room to be plugged into the USB port. Then use a pair of scissors and a craft knife to cut and hollow out the cards to make room for the drive. Don’t be fussy about perfecting the cut. Cory says as long as it’s wide enough to hold the drive snugly, you should be good. Finally, just glue the drive to the deck before gluing the other deck over it, and you’re done.

Construction set

Daniel cuts his connectors from old cardboard boxes, which makes them light and disposable

Project Maker: Daniel Bauen

Project Link: hsmag.cc/aJjOMl

A self-confessed inventor and microfacturer, Daniel Bauen loves to upcycle. In his quest to be able to build stable and complex structures using playing cards that wouldn’t tumble down with ease, Daniel came up with a clever design for some cardboard connectors. He suggests using any CAD or vector drawing software to design the connectors. It basically involves a circle that’s 35 mm in diameter, with lines radiating from the centre at either 15 or 30 degrees. If the lines are spaced at 15 degrees, Daniel suggests you make them alternate between 9 mm and 5 mm. On the other hand, if you choose to have them at 30 degrees, they can all be 9 mm. The design is then transferred to a cardboard box using a laser cutter.

Make sure to cut several connectors. That’s it. You can now plug the playing cards in the spaced slots to create your structures. Check out some of the ideas on Daniel’s Instructables page for some inspiration.

Card wallet

The final wallet also has a small fastener to ensure it stays folded, and John suggests leaving it under some weight overnight if it feels too stiff

Project Maker: John Andrews

Project Link: hsmag.cc/3yIfdZ

A store-bought wallet just didn’t cut it for John Andrews. So, he just made himself a cool-looking one using a handful of playing cards and some clear tape. He first tapes together two sets of three cards, each spaced about one quarter of an inch apart. These are then lined up in a 3×2 grid, and taped together with loads of tape for strength.

Then, flip them over and tape some more. Now, fold the rows into each other at one end, such that the faces are on the outside, before taping over the short sides. This creates the wallet-like opening at the other end. To add a pocket to this basic wallet, take a card and cut away about 40%. Then, tape the bottom and the sides of the larger piece to the inside of one of the other cards in your wallet, and you have a small pocket in which to slip your library card.