How to make a signal-blocking cell phone pouch

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Published by
Jimmy at
August 29, 2017

For some at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, the chosen accessory for protection is an AR-15-style rifle, casually slung over the shoulder. For the Los Angeles-based artist and activist Tim Schwartz, it’s a discreet pouch made of matte silver ripstop fabric that houses his cell phone.
That silver fabric blocks the signal that cell phones constantly transmit—a function Schwartz says is imperative at an unpredictable, politically charged event such as the Republican National Convention.

For RNC protesters looking for a cheaper DIY option, Schwartz is holding “office hours” for protesters at Spaces gallery in Cleveland, to come sew their own signal-blocking cell phone pouches, as per the instructions shared by the Berlin-based artist, Aram Bartholl. His sessions run from 1pm to 4pm today (July 19) and tomorrow.
It’s a safeguard that non-protesters might consider too, Schwartz says. “It’s like using long passwords,” he says. “It’s one of those things where we should be doing it, but we never get around to it.”

providing a copper taffeta fabric, a sewing machine, and advice to protesters. He says his eighth-grade level home economics training in sewing is adequate for the task, and notes that the most important step is making sure all the pouch’s edges are folded and secure.
Here are the instructions, from Aram Bartholl’s site, Kill Your Phone. Materials are available from lessemf.com:
Cut 12 cm stripes from your roll blocking fleece.
Make pieces of 50 x 12 cm, each for one pouch. (i.e. from a 1 m roll stripe you’ll get 2 pieces.)
Fold your 50 x 12 cm piece in length to 25 x 12 cm
Fold again the long sides, each 1 cm and pin them with needles.
Sew two straight seams on the left and right side.
Fold the opening at least 2 times! Find a paper clip or clamp to close the pouch.

Done!

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Previously, It developed a tool for victims of the Haitian earthquake in 2010 to find their missing family members. After that, he said, he “fell down the rabbit hole of digital privacy,” and worked with the Fordham Law School’s Center on Law and Information Policy (CLIP) to research the privacy available to individuals on the web, and balance that with safety.