Wallet Tutorial

I was going to wait to post this wallet tutorial until I could complete the video tutorial as well.  However the video camera stopped recording during part of the making of the wallet.  I still need to make a 2nd wallet, so I will rerecord it then.  But for now, here is the photo tutorial of how I made this wallet.

Here is the first wallet that I had made for my husband.  Its about 2 years old and well loved.

I blame my husband for its destruction.  He likes chain wallets and I did not make a hole for the chain, so he did it himself.  So it was time for a replacement.

First I measured everything.  The only change that I will be making for the 2nd one is making it 10 inches wide instead of 9 inches.  Thats because the flap needs to be bigger for a bulky wallet.  Since I will be changing that measurement for the next wallet, I am also going to adjust this tutorial accordingly.

Next I made a mock up of the wallet out of paper.  This also helps when figuring out what needs to be sewn to what, and what should not be sewn down.

I chose to use corduroy fabric because it is durable and my husband likes it.  I also bought some matching bias tape and velcro.  First cut out all of your pieces: two 10" x 5", two 3" x 5", one 5" x 4.5", a 3" x 4",  a 3" x 3.5", and a 3" x 3" piece.  Next pin and sew some bias tape to one of the 3" wide sides of the right side pockets (3x4, 3x3.5, 3x3).  Also pin and sew on the bias tape to the velcro left hand pocket (5x4.5 and 5x3) along a 5" side.  Also sew the velcro onto these two parts.  The rough part to the back of the 4.5" x 5" piece, and the soft half on the front of the 3" x 5" piece.  Place the velcro just below the bias tape.  Please see the above photo.

Next stack your right side pockets on top of each other and on top of the 3" x 5" piece.  Then pin the bias tape to the left side of it.

Sew the bias tape on.  This also sews these pieces together.

Next stack the right side velcro pocket pieces (like seen above).  Pin and sew the bias tape on the two sides leaving one side unsewn (see above photo).  

Pin the stacked pocket to the right side of one of the 10" x 5" pieces (the right sides of the fabric facing up).  Then pin and sew on the bias tape to the top and bottom.  This will leave another pocket behind the stacked pockets (opening to the left of them).  Then mark a line one inch to the left of the stacked pockets.

Place the velcro pocket over that marked line, face down, with the unsewn side over that mark.  See the above picture.  Then sew a quarter of an inch seam (straight stitch or hem stitch) along that line.

Then fold it back and carefully sew the top side (top if the wallet is open with the velcro on your left side) of the velcro pocket to the back piece of fabric.  Do not sew the flap!

Sew the soft side of another piece of velcro to the right side/good side of the  10" x 5" piece (shown on the left side above).  Then sew the rough half of velcro to one side of the untouched 10" x 5" piece, on the right side of the fabric (right meaning the good side).  The picture above shows the two 10" x 5" pieces stacked (just for the picture). 

Next sew the bias tape to the two long sides of the 2nd 10" x 5" piece.

With the wrong sides of the two 10" x 5" pieces together, sew them together along 3 sides, leaving the top 10" side unsewn.  Make sure to pin the bias tape on to both 5" sides and sew them on.  Be very careful sewing the velcro pocket along the bottom.  Do not sew the flap of the pocket!  What I did was sew up to the flap, then stop, cut the thread, and sew in the opposite direction and stopping just before the flap.  I had to open and close the pocket flap depending on the direction I was sewing in.  

You will have another secret little pocket behind the velcro pocket, with the opening on the left hand side.  You will also have a dollar bill pocket along the top of the wallet.

I hope that you liked this tutorial. 

You can make one to cater your personal wants and needs.

I later added a large metal eyelet to it for my husband's chain.

Poll Closed: February From Trash To Treasure Challenge Poll

 The winners are Go Green & Fabric Scraps!

Continue the Warmth Challenge	9 (31%)
Go Green	15 (51%)
paper or plastic?	7 (24%)
Valentine's / Love	6 (20%)
Crayola Challenge	5 (17%)
Soda Tabs & Bottle Caps	7 (24%)
Plastic with yarn/fabric	3 (10%)
The Dining Room	4 (13%)
Inspirational Challenge	4 (13%)
Fabric Scraps	13 (44%)

Votes so far: 29
Poll closed 

Go Green: If you do not already, use only cloth napkins, hankies (not tissues), reusable shopping bags, or another reusable item all month. Do not use disposable items. You can do one or more of items.


Fabric Scraps: Make something with left over fabric scraps.

Some of my thoughts on the go green challenge that are not in the example:

• Compost and recycle everything that you can. Try to see how long you can go without having to take out your garbage. My max so far has been 3 weeks. It feels really good to skip trash pick up day.
• Reduce: Probably the most important of the 3 Rs. Try to buy less. Try to use reusable items (another of the Rs). Try to shop with the idea of how much “trash” you are buying (how much packaging comes with your purchase and how much of it is recyclable).
• Maybe you need a little extra cash or you want your children to learn about ways in which to make some money. Then you can save those recyclable items that can be redeemed for cash in your area. For me, that means saving brand name drink plastic bottles and cans and taking them to the grocery store.
• Another Reduce: Take food containers to take out restaurants and have them put your food in your reusable containers. This also goes for bringing your coffee or tea mugs to places and having them fill them up instead of giving you plastic or styrofoam cups. Some places, like Dunkin Donuts, will sell these mugs and then give you a discount on refills.
• Another reduce: Drive less. Make a list of all the things that you need to buy, and buy them all on a single outing instead of over several days. This will save you gas. Also walk more, if you can, or car pool.
• Do you really need that new book? Check and see if your library has it or can order it. Many libraries will share books with each other so that their customers won’t have to try and find an out of the way library.
• Pick one night a week (or more) to turn off all the electricity in your home. What can you do for an hour with just a candle, fire in the fireplace, or a flashlight to see by?
• Meatless Monday: If you eat meat, you can actually make a nice impact on the environment and on your health by cutting meat out of your diet for one day a week. It is a growing thing. There is even a Meatless Monday website.
• If you are a Vegetarian, then maybe you can go even further on Mondays. Maybe do Vegan Mondays. Or start weaning your lifestyle away from animal products, like leather.
• Buy organic food and humanely treated animal products.
• Shop local: Buy from local farmers and local stores. This does not mean buy from the Target down the road from you. I mean stores that are individually owned and run. Not only will you be supporting your local economy, but you will be using less gas when driving.
• Pick up the litter. Thats right, either by yourself or with a group, go around and pick up litter. Where I live we have a town wide clean up every April (the Saturday after Earth Day). People sign up to clean certain parks, roads, etc.
• Get involved with a local “green” organization.
• Start a vegetable garden.
• Buy products that were made from post consumer recycled items.
• Start getting rid of your plastic dishes and other food items and replacing them with non-plastic items (this does take time).

I could go on, but those are some ways to interpret the go green challenge.

Wallet

My husband's wallet has been falling apart for some time now.  I bought fabric to make him and my oldest son each a wallet a few months ago.  I finally got around to making one of the wallets tonight.  As it turns out, the flap of the wallet it not long enough for my husband (to hold a lot of stuff inside).  That means that this wallet will go to my son.  I am currently putting together a video tutorial for you tube and for my blog.  I will also include written step by step instructions on my blog as well.  I'm hoping to post the tutorial on here tomorrow.

Dog Lover's Fabric Valentine's Postcard

This one was mailed to my aunt today.  It is not as perfect as I would have liked it to have been.  Next time I am going to buy the thick middle part that you iron the fabric to.  I think that will help decrease the amount of folds and puckers.

Fabric Postcards

I made 5 more Valentine's fabric postcard yesterday.  Some how the fabric got the best of me with these, because there are some unwanted folds in them.  I almost forgot to take pictures of them before mailing them off to various friends.  This picture was taken outside of the post office on the snow.  Three of them are going to different places in the States, one is off to the Netherlands, and one is going to Queensland, Australia.  I wonder if the post office is delivering during the flooding there?

I also made this very special fabric postcard for a friend whose husband died this week.  He had been ill for awhile.  My heart goes out to her.  The "a" is for him and the "b" is for her.

Valentine Fabric Postcards & Swap Gifts

I participated in a Valentine's swap with other members of the From Trash To Treasure Ravelry group this month.  Actually I ended up organizing it.  Not only did I sign up for the package swap, but I also signed up for the card only swap.  I wanted to make some special cards for everyone, so I made some fabric postcards.  This one went to my package swap partner in New York.

This one went to delights (ravelry name).

This one went all the way to Australia to my Christmas swap partner.  I just had to send her something for Valentine's Day.

This one went to my friend spookycuddles (her ravelry name).

One of these went to my online friend who also happens to be a fan of my show.  She also got the crochet soda tab heart from me.  The other two went to my mom and my grandma.

Here is the back of one of the postcards.  A little history about the fabric used: The purple dove fabric I bought in high school.  I did not know how much fabric a yard really was, and I bought way to much.  Then I did not touch it for 15 years!  My first project with it was 2 years ago when I used it in my grandma's quilt.  It got used for the 3rd time in these postcards.  The dark red print was from some curtains that I made for the last place that we lived.  My husband does not like red curtains, so it was time to repurpose the fabric.  The red background fabric in the first one was left over from the first quilt that I made for my 2nd son.  Most of the other fabrics are from other Valentine themed quilting projects.

Spookycuddles took this picture of the package that I sent her.  What is with the finger tutu you ask?  Its an inside joke.  She loved it.  The regular card is a pop up card.  You might recognize many of these items from past posts.  

Spookycuddles took the pink heart ornament that I made and starched it, coated it in glitter, and attached a flower to the center of it.  It looks great.  Is that a Christmas tree that it is hanging from?  Why yes it is.  She leaves her tree up year round and decorates it for different holidays.  I wanted to make sure that she got some more Valentine's ornaments for her tree.  She also added a flower to the center of the crochet envelope and glued a magnet to the back of it.  It is now a note holder on her refrigerator.  How clever.

This lovely photo what taken by delights after she received her package from me.

And here is a close up.  

I still have a few more fabric postcards that I want to make for my online friends, especially for 3 in particular who are going through some hard times.  One of them lives in Queensland, Australia where there has been massive flooding which resulted in a number of deaths and missing people.  My heart goes out to them.  Another friend just lost her husband yesterday.  A card isn't much, but its a way to show that I care.

Applique, Make-Up Bag, and Socks

Monday I made this 16" square reverse applique block.

I also made two of these 8" reverse applique blocks.  I have several more to go.

Click here to view my reverse appliques tutorial.

Last Friday I taped episode 33 of my local access t.v. show.  This is what I made during the taping, a make-up bag (notions bag, jewelry bag, etc.).  My show is all about being "green," so how is this "green?"  I used fabric scraps left over from my sewing projects as well as from friends' sewing projects. You can also use old t-shirts, jeans, table clothes, etc. for it as well.  Maybe one day I'll use fused plastic bags for it.  That would be interesting.  You can also use organic cotton batting for the inside.  

I am hoping to edit the 30 minute episode for viewing on you tube very soon.  Until then, you can view my blog tutorial here.

I'm not finished with my first sock yet.  I have about 2 to 3 more inches of the foot to go before starting on the toes.  There are mistakes and it looks funny to me, but it is my first sock.  I just hope that I can make a matching 2nd sock.  Maybe my next pair will actually be leg warmers.  It was below zero degrees out on Monday, and I sure could use a pair for under my jeans.