This man’s wallet project is designed by Emily Levey who blogs at Strawberry Patch Ramblings. Emily has a passion for sewing and loves to share her knowledge and skills with others, teaching forgotten techniques in the hope students will find it as addictive as she does!
Sew this practical man’s wallet – it makes the perfect gift for Fathers Day, a birthday or any other special occasion and is a quick make too!
You will need…
1 fat quarter quilting cotton (or a a few fat eighths if you want to use a variety of prints in your wallet)
0.25m Vilene H250 firm iron-on interfacing
6” (minimum) nylon zip
3 1/2” sew-in hook and loop tape
Co-ordinating thread
Fabric marker pen
Check out Minerva Crafts for most of your supplies on this project
Cut your pieces as follows:
Bottom Card Pocket
Cut one in fabric 8 1/2” x 2 3/4”
Cut one in interfacing 8” x 2”
Top Card Pocket
Cut one in fabric 8 1/2” x 3 1/4”
Cut one in interfacing 8” x 2 1/2”
Note Section
Cut one in fabric 8 1/2” x 6 1/2”
Cut one in interfacing 8” x 3”
Main Wallet Body Internal Pieces
Main Interior cut one in fabric 8 1/2” x 4 1/2”
Flap Interior cut one in fabric 4 1/2” x 2 1/2”
Flap interior cut one in interfacing 4” x 2”
Main Wallet Body External Pieces
Lower Zip Pocket Section Outer cut one in fabric 4 1/2” x 7 1/2”
Lower Zip Pocket Section Inner cut one in fabric 4 1/2” x 5”
Upper Zip Pocket Section Outer cut one in fabric 4 1/2” x 3”
Upper Zip Pocket Section Inner cut one in fabric 4 1/2” x 3”
Zip Pocket Lining cut one in fabric 4 1/2” x 8”
TIP – It can be useful to label your cut fabric and interfacing pieces so you don’t get them confused – masking tape is great for this purpose as you can write on it and stick to the fabric, then remove when ready to use.
Take your two card pocket fabric pieces and fuse the interfacing to the reverse. The interfacing is sized in such a way that you should have a 1/4” gap along the bottom and the side edges and a slightly larger gap along the top edge.
Using the interfacing as a guide turn over the top edge of your card pocket pieces and press. Topstitch 1/4” from the top edge – this will hold the raw edge down to the wrong side of the pocket. I chose to do two rows of topstitching for a heavy duty, ‘jeans’ type look. One line of topstitching will suffice.
Take the note pocket fabric piece and press in half so it measures 8 1/2” x 3 1/4”. Position the interfacing so that it is snug up against the central fold and leaves a 1/4” gap along the sides and bottom edge.
Fold the note pocket piece in half and topstitch along the folded edge as you did for the card pocket pieces. Place the top card pocket piece on to the note pocket piece, aligned along the bottom edge. Using a fabric marker draw a line parallel to the top of the card pocket 2” down, stitch along this line. This will be hidden under the bottom card pocket and will prevent your cards from slipping down inside the pocket and make them easier to see and remove. Position the bottom card pocket along the bottom edge, mark the centre line along all of the pockets (at 4 1/4”) with a fabric marker and stitch along the line. Again I used a double row of topstitching but a single line will also work.
Take the main wallet interior piece and place the completed pockets along the bottom edge, then baste the pockets into place along the three raw edges; do this as close to the edge as you can so that the basting stitches will be hidden in your seam allowance later on.
Take the flap interior fabric piece and fuse the interfacing on the reverse ensuring you have an even 1/4” gap all the way around. Place the flap piece along the right hand side of the interior section with right sides together (RST), sew using a 1/4 seam allowance and press the flap towards the outside.
Set aside the interior section for now. Take the two lower zip pocket sections. Sandwich the zip in between the two pieces of fabric along the short edge on the right hand side. With the right sides facing together ensure the zip teeth are facing down on to the main outer fabric. Your zip should extend beyond the fabric at both the top and bottom edges. Sew along the edge of the zip using a 1/4” seam allowance.
Press the fabric away from the zip and topstitch in place. Repeat steps 7 & 8 for the remaining smaller upper zip pocket sections sewing them onto the other side of the zip. When both sides of the zip are sewn check the finished unit measures 4 1/2” x 10 1/2” long. If not trim to 10 1/2”.
Take the completed outer zip section and lay it so that the wrong side of the zip is facing up. Take the zip pocket lining fabric piece and place it right sides facing together with your zip pocket inner as shown above.
Baste along the three raw edges of the lining piece that are aligned with the edge of the outer zip section. MAKE SURE your zip is open and the zip head is within the fabric section (ie not on the excess tape) before basting around the sides. Leave the short lefthand edge un-basted.
Trim off excess zip tape. Using your fabric marker draw a line 4 1/4” in from the left hand edge and topstitch along this line. This will form the central fold in your wallet, seal the bottom of the zip section and match the central line stitched on your card sections earlier.
Cut another small piece of interfacing 8” x 1” and fuse to the reverse of the inner wallet along the top edge above the card pockets. This will help firm up the section above the card slots, but you don’t want to interface the whole inner or it will be too bulky due to the amount of interfacing already in the card pockets, hence it is only 1” deep. Cut another small piece of interfacing 4” x2” and fuse this to the reverse of the outer/zip pocket section at the far left-hand side. This will strengthen where we will add the hook and loop fastener in the next step.
Position the hook and loop tape so that one section is on the inner section of the wallet, on the far right side on the flap, 1/2” in from the top and bottom and right hand edge. Topstitch in place. Position the remaining piece of tape on the outer section of the wallet, on the opposite end to the zip pocket, again 1/2” from the edge and topstitch in place.
Place the completed outer and inner sections right sides facing together, with the hook and loop tapes at opposite ends. Ensure that the zip is open and the zip head is in the centre allowing you to sew along the sides easily. Pin together, or use clips, then sew around the outside edge using a 1/4” seam allowance and leaving a turning gap of around 3” in the short end. I find it best to do this in the flap end without the card pockets as it is thinest. Reverse stitch at the start and end to secure your seam.
Clip the corners and turn the wallet the right way out through the gap. Press well – it will need it after being turned though, then tuck the raw edges of the gap in and press these well too. Take care when pressing near the hook and loop tape. Topstitch all the way around the wallet close to the edge, I like to do mine around 1/8”, closing the turning gap as you go. If your machine struggles with this topstitching over the thicker zip and card pocket sections just topstitch along the edge with the turning gap.
Emily is a project presenter on Craft Daily TV and is working on her first book collaboration. Her work has been featured in many sewing and patchwork magazines. Visit her blog Strawberry Patch Ramblings for more tutorials and details on upcoming classes.
