sewing for your sweetie: mindbender wallet tutorial (& pattern!)

i did it!

my bf has to carry all sorts of licenses and certification cards and such, and he sits on his wallet all day long. he's a good shopper and a stylish fellow, and he found himself a slick sailcloth one, which is stylish, lightweight, and hecka flat. Don't let your lover be like George.

it's kinda big, but it fits in a man sized pocket...

it's also MADE OF FABRIC. which means so many things. for instance 1) it wears out. 2) I knew I could figure out how to work it.

these pockets hold credit cards (when they're not holding fingers). ps i have arthritis! ha! i'm not old.

so i made him a new one! and I want to share it with you for v day, in case you want to make your bf/gf/whatever something totally awesome for under a dollar or two (seriously) AND which is a classic gift one traditionally gives their sweetie, so all the better.

i call it the Mindbender wallet, cause it bent my mind to figure it out. but version 3 was easy as pie, and now i know how to tell you about it!

Here it is. Follow this handy instruction guide for the how to. And PLEASE write with questions or any feedback. I want to make it easy for you, too. :)

I'm so proud and happy to share it with you!

MINDBENDER WALLET
 from superstar.

1. make this cross shape. I realize now that this tutorial is very American (Sorry, rest of the world). I used inches and there's a pocket that fits dollars like a charm. But there's a bigger bill pocket too, so maybe if you can manage the inches you'll be in business! Keep your coins in your front pockets, k.

measurements...

what these pieces mean,  vaguely.

2. Hem the long edges (the left and right, in these pictures) and the 3 sides of the flap edges with a 1/4" hem.

i pinned the corners of the flaps to hem em. you'll also want to cut 1/4" slits at the base of the flap so that you can fold the fabric in to the hem.

3. Now you'll make the sneaky bill pockets.
3a. Take the long side of the cross, sections 3 and 4, above, and make a zig zag of them. Bring section 3 over section 2 folding one way, and section 4 over top of both (see pics, below) so that the hemmed edge meets the fold you just made.

fold section 3 to section 2...

then fold section 4 back so that the hemmed edge meets the fold you just made.

Note: This pocket will be smaller than section 2 by itself. THIS IS THE DOLLAR BILL MAGIC. it should hold a bill nicely nestled toward the top of the wallet. 

Press! If you like, check to make sure your Benjamins will fit in this pocket. Should be a nice fit. 

 3b. Now stitch the sides of the zig zag to secure it. you can see by the pins below where to sew.

4. Now you'll make the credit card pockets.
a. Fold section 1 on top of the sneaky bill pocket. Press.

Fold section 1 over the zig zag pocket you just made and press it.  

 4b. Fold the side flaps over section 1,

the leftmost red pin is holding the card flap to the topmost  layer . 

and pin at the left edge (if you're following my pictures), which is also the top of the wallet and where you'll put the money. Make sure you only pin the top two layers of fabric, or else you'll stitch the wallet closed.

Now before you go to your machine, make two little marks where the folds meet the background fabric (AKA Section 1), at 2.5" in, which should also be the center widthwise (see my giant marks below). That's where you're going to sew to keep your credit cards in place. When it's time, JUST sew where my marks are, about 1" long- don't kill yourself or the wallet trying to make that seam any longer.

 5. now go to the machine to make the credit card pockets.
a. stick your fingers in the wallet to make sure you have two sections, then stitch the flaps to the rest of the wallet, taking care that you sew only two layers of fabric together.

see the red headed pin pointed toward my fingers?  it's going to be replaced my a green pin on the other side of that seam.

This green headed pin is doing the same job as the red pin above, but on the inside of the wallet pocket. To get this to fit into my machine, i sewed it kind of inside out. 

 Stitch the flaps from the fold to the corner hem you did in step 2. You'll get a little squat pocket like the one below.

squat pocket, one of two. 

5b. This is a little scary, but if you've stitched everything above, your wallet will hold its shape while you wiggle it through this step. To make a divider in the credit card pocket, stitch the 1" marks you made above, taking care again to go through only two layers of fabric - the credit card "flap" piece, and "section 1". 

see the chalk mark we made earlier? that's your stitching guide now.

clip your threads and take a look - do credit cards fit? does it look something like this?

almost there! that one pin shows you our last stitching line. 

6. Last step! Just do one secure seam down the bottom to close up the credit card pockets and reinforce the wallet bottom.

fold her up for presentation... 

Stuff it with a love note and you're ready to go! 

Happy valentines day, lovelies. 

xo bex. 

PS if your main squeeze is into a heavier accessory like you know LEATHER, this whole process got started when the bf sent me this link. enjoy! http://artofmanliness.com/2012/11/30/how-to-make-a-wallet