celebrate the boy tutorial: basic boys wallet

I first want to say thank you to Dana and Rae for hosting such an awesome event.  If you haven't been indulging in all the fun already, go check out both of their blogs for lots of great inspiration.  There has already been so many great ideas! 

Today I'm sharing a basic boys wallet tutorial because...

every boy

needs a place

to keep his stuff!

So I know, you're probably thinking, 'What? She has two girls, how'd she get in the mix?!'  Well, I pretty much slipped Dana a twenty and told her I just had to join in on the fun.  But really, I think there's a part of me that really clicks with all things boy. So here I am, onward with the tutorial...

It's a great time of year to make these wallets.  All the fall suiting fabrics are on sale this time of year, and you'll only need a 1/4 yard of your main fabric (and have plenty leftover to make more).

Materials:

• 1/4 yard fall suiting fabric (tweed, plaids, etc., usually made from wool and/or synthetic materials)
• 1/4 yard lining fabric
• scrap of leather (optional)
• rivets, grommet (optional)
• scrap of medium weight fusible interfacing

{1/4" seam allowance throughout unless otherwise noted}

Cutting the pieces:
From the exterior wallet fabric cut one piece 8.5" wide by 4" tall.
From the lining fabric cut 2 pieces 8.5" wide by 4" tall (this is the money pocket lining and the wallet lining piece)

Also from the lining fabric, cut one piece 8.5" wide by 10.5" tall (this is for the card holder slots)

Assembling lining:

To create the card holder pockets, take the 10.5" tall lining piece, fold up the bottom of the fabric to create the pocket bottom for the first card slot, and repeat again for second card slot. 

This is kind of tricky to put into words, but you'll be folding it like an accordion.  Fold the fabric up at the 3" mark, fold fabric down after 1.5", up after 2", down after 1.5".   Press (and starch if desired). 

Next, sew 2 rows of stitching down either side of the middle of the card holder fabric spaced about 3/4" apart.

Align top edges of  one 8.5" by 4"  piece with top edge of card holder piece, right sides facing. 

 Sew together using a 1/2" seam allowance. 

Flip around and press so that WRONG sides are facing. 

Topstitch along top edge. You should now have four card slots. 

Baste this assembled piece to the RIGHT side of the wallet lining piece with the card slots facing you, aligning raw edges at bottom. 

Assembling wallet:

Fuse interfacing to WRONG side of exterior fabric. 

Place lining assembly and exterior piece RIGHT sides facing. 

Sew around all edges using 1/4" seam allowance leaving a 3" opening for turning.  Clip corners.  Press. 

Topstitch around entire wallet, I use a chopstick to get really close around the corners, it helps grab onto the feed dogs of your sewing machine.  Press. 

Add any embellishment, grommets, leather, rivets. Follow my pictorial grommet directions:

That's it.  It's a pretty basic wallet, so mix up your fabrics, try something new, and get creative!  Enjoy. 

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