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Wallet Tutorial!

You will need two fat quarters of contrasting colors, one coordinating button, somesort of stiff clear plastic, and one large(1/2 in. diameter) sew on snap.

Find two contrasting fabrics (light & dark). Cut one rectangle of each fabric, 9in. by 8 3/4in.

Pin them right sides together.

Sew three sides together (two long, one short). For all of my seams, I lined up the edge of the fabric with the edge of the presser foot. For this seam, the needle was in the middle position, but for all other seams I used the right position. Snip the corners somewhat close to the seems for less bulk when turning.

Turn it inside out and iron it flat.

Then fold down the open edge in one direction about half an inch and iron it. This makes it easier to fold the ends into the pouch.

For the flap closure, cut a 9in. by 2 1/2in. piece of the lighter fabric(or whichever you want to be inside the wallet).

Fold it in half widthwise, right sides together, and stitch along two edges. Turn inside out and press flat.

Tuck flap about 1/3in. into open end of pouch. Pin but do not sew yet.

You can fold the wallet in half now, flush with the edge of the flap, to get a general idea of how it will look(flap color inside). It should be slightly uneven.

For card pockets, cut two rectangles, 2 1/2in. by 4 1/2in., of inside fabric. For top edge, fold one edge over half an inch(wrong sides together) and stitch. Iron the other three sides in a quarter of an inch.

Pin the top pocket only, right side up, to the right half of the wallet. The seam side should be about half an inch from the top. The right side should be about an eighth of an inch from the edge of the wallet. This all gets really tricky because just a fraction of an inch will determine the amount of cards you can or cannot fit into the pockets. Check your folds with a card before pinning and keep the seams very close to the edge when you sew it.

Making sure you only sew through one thickness of the wallet, sew the top pocket on the three folded sides(not the seam side) and overstitch the ends.

Pin and sew the second pocket, in the same manner, about a half inch lower than the first pocket. It should also be about a quarter of an inch from the bottom fold.

For the ID pocket, cut a piece of the inside fabric, 3in. by 1in. Fold it in half lengthwise, wrong sides together and iron. Fold the raw edges in toward the center fold and iron.

Cut a rectangle of stiff clear plastic, 2 1/4in. by 3 1/4in. I used a piece of the cover from a composition book I have. This plastic is slightly tinted and pebbled so it doesn't have to be exactly clear. Slip the folded fabric onto the short end of your plastic rectangle and sew.

For the long sides, cut fabric rectangles, 4 1/2in. by 1in. Place the right side against the plastic and sew. When the fabric is folded back the seam will be invisible. Repeat for the remaining two sides.

Trim off the corners diagonally from seam end to seam end. Fold the edges under in thirds so the raw edges are tucked inside. Pin for now.

Pin the ID pocket to the single thickness of the wallet, folds down, with the finished edge to the right. Sew the three folded sides, keeping an eighth of an inch seam allowance. At the corners, tuck the diagonal end under then refold the straight sides under(the corners will probably be impossible to pin). Overstitch the straight side, then backstitch in an eighth of an inch. Turn the fabric and stitch the diagonal end. Back stitch an eighth of an inch, then sew the next straight side, and so on for the next corner.

Now to finish the wallet, fold up the front of the wallet and pin along the open edge, keeping the flap pinned as well. Sew from the folded edge toward the uneven edge. This seam attaches the front and back of the wallet as well as securing the flap.

Start a new seam at the same place as the last, but this time sew along the edge of the flap. Continue the seam around the entire perimeter of the wallet. There isn't really a need to pin, but take care along the other edge where the wallet front and back overlaps. Be sure that the front isn't pushed out of alignment.

There should be a nice seam sround the wallet and it should be ready to hold all of your cards and such.

Fill the wallet with all of your goodies so you can put the snap in the right place.

Place a pin through the fabric where you want the button. Sew the button to the top of the flap. It is just cosmetic, not actually funtional.

Find the thread on the underside of the flap. This is where you will sew the male part of the snap(the outie part). Close the wallet and fold the flap down. Place a pin at the spot where the thread touches the wallet . This is where you will sew the female part of the snap(the innie part). Sew on the snaps.

Snaps finished! Wallet finished!