Blenders Blog Hop Day 2: Burlap Wallet

Welcome to Day 2 of our Blenders Blog Hop! Today Caila from CailaMade will show you how to make an easy fold over wallet using the Burlap fabrics. Great texture for a wallet, and we love the colors she chose! Check out her tutorial and then find out how you can win a bundle of Burlap fabrics for yourself at the bottom of this post!

Hello Benartex readers! I'm Caila from the sewing blog, CailaMade, here to show you how to sew this awesome boy's wallet! My oldest son is about to start 2nd grade, and he needed somewhere to keep his (occasional) lunch money, so I whipped up this wallet and gave him a beginning-of-the-year gift that made him the happiest kid on the playground. Read on for the full instructions! If you'd like to see more of my sewing tutorials, and my new girls' dress pattern (The Desert Rose), head on over and check out my blog. I'd love to see you there!

 

Materials Needed 

 I used the following Benartex Burlap cotton prints for this wallet. I love the visual texture on these fabrics! They give the appearance of burlap but are printed on soft quilting cotton. They are both manly and modern, with just enough of a casual feel to compliment this beachy wallet.

• Outer fabric: Burlap Charcoal
• Lining fabric: Burlap Harbor Blue
• Card pocket fabric: Burlap Espresso
• Pellon 808 Craft-fuse (but any mid-to-heavy weight fusible interfacing will work).

Cutting Instructions

• For the outer fabric cut one piece: 9 ¾” wide by 8” tall
• For the lining fabric cut one piece: 9 ¾” wide by 7 ¾” tall
• For the card pockets cut four pieces: 4 ¾” by 4 ¾”
• Cut one piece of interfacing: 4” wide by 9 ¾” tall (if using a less sturdy fabric for the outside, such as corduroy, you might want to cut two pieces of interfacing so you can interface the whole piece of corduroy.)

Let's get started, shall we? 

Step One: cut the pieces You should have one outer piece, one lining, and four pockets. Fold the lining in half so that the wrong sides are facing. You should now have a rectangle measuring 9 ¾” by 4” with a folded top edge and a raw bottom edge. Stitch along the top edge, approximately 1/16" from the fold (not pictured).

  Step Two: prepare the card pockets. Pull out your four card pockets of the same size (4 ¾” by 4 ¾”).

 

Pick two squares for top pockets, and two for bottom pockets. (I’m sorry about the sudden change in fabric. The pockets below were used in my second wallet and I had improved the process by that point). To make the bottom pockets, fold the fabric in half with right sides together and press. Using a ¼” seam allowance, sew along the RIGHT side of one pocket and the LEFT side of the other. Turn the pocket right side out and press. Topstitch along the top folded edge as close to the fold as possible (topstitching not pictured).

 

 To make the top pockets, fold the pockets in half right sides together and press. Using a ¼” seam allowance, stitch along the RIGHT side and bottom of one and the LEFT side and bottom of the other.

 

 Clip the corners and turn pockets right side out. Use a dull object like a pencil or chop sticks to push out the corners. Press well.

 

 Now topstitch along the top edge, as close to the edge as possible.

 You should now have four pockets prepared for the wallet, all topstitched. Set aside for later. 

Step Three: prepare the outer piece (Note: If you'd like to add a strip of contrasting fabric to the front of your wallet as shown in the headline photos, do the following. Cut a strip of fabric 9 3/4" long by 1" wide. Pin the strip along the center of the bottom half of the outer fabric. Handsew along the top and bottom edges. Pull gently on some fibers from the raw edge to create a frayed look. Continue through the instructions to complete the wallet.) Now let's interface, shall we? Follow the manufacturer's instructions to add interfacing to the bottom half of the WRONG side of the outer fabric. (If you are choosing to interface the whole piece, cut another piece of interfacing the same size and apply it to the top half of the wrong side of the interfacing. Having a small gap between the two pieces of interfacing will make the outer piece easier to fold.)

 Fold the outer fabric over the interfacing so the wrong sides are facing. Press the fold so it is nice and crisp.

 

  Below are all the pieces you should have prepared so far. Please note, none of these have been stitched together yet. Outer wallet, lining, and four pockets (all topstitched along the top folded edge):

Open up your lining for the following steps.

Step Four: add the pockets to the lining Place the top pockets ¾” below the top of the lining and line up their raw sides with the raw sides of the lining. There should be an approximately 1/2" gap between the pockets on the lining. Make sure the raw edge is facing out and not toward the middle of the wallet. Open the lining, then pin your top pocket pieces in place. With the lining open, stitch the bottom only of the top pocket to the lining, using a 1/8" seam allowance (not pictured).

 Now place the additional two pockets below the top edge of the attached pockets by 3/4" and pin.

 Stitch around both sides of all pockets and the bottom of each lower pocket, with a 1/8" seam allowance. This is what you should have so far:

Step Five: assemble the wallet Place your outer fabric on the table so the side which has been interfaced is on top. Place the lining on top of this piece with the pockets facing down. The interfaced side of the outer fabric should be facing the pockets of your lining piece. Pin these together along the sides and bottom.

 

 Stitch the outer edge (sides and bottom ONLY) with a 3/8” seam allowance.

 Trim the seam allowance down to 1/8” and carefully clip the corners. Make sure not to clip through any stitches.

 

 Turn the wallet right side out and press well. The corners may need some extra pressing in order to lie flat.

 

 Topstitch around the sides and bottom of the wallet about 1/8” or 1/16” from the edge. The topstitching will be most visible from the outside of the wallet, so I suggest topstitching with the outside facing up. You’re done!

 

That was fun, huh? I love making these wallets! They make great gifts for the little men (or ladies) in your life.

 

 Thanks so much for reading today. If you enjoyed this tutorial, please share with your friends and family! I'd also LOVE to see what you make with these instructions. Head over to my CailaMade Inspired Sewing group on Facebook to share your creations and say hi. I'd love to "meet" you there. And don't forget to stop by my sewing blog, CailaMade, for more tutorials, pattern reviews, and pictures of my darling kiddos. Have a great day and happy sewing!

Thanks Caila! Would you like to win a fat quarter bundle of the Burlap line?  It’s easy!  Simply sign up to follow our blog and leave a comment on this post letting us know that you did.  For a second chance to win, follow Benartex’s Sew Interesting page on Facebook and leave another comment here letting us know you did.  The giveaway is open through Sunday, August 31 at 11:59 pm EST and the winner’s name will be randomly selected and announced here next week!

Be sure to check out the other tutorials we'll be featuring all week long! Blenders Blog Hop:Tuesday 8/26: Christina from Sometimes Crafter featuring Burlap
Wednesday 8/27: Caila from Caila Made featuring Burlap
Thursday 8/28: Benartex Blog Design Team featuring Blush
Friday 8/29: Nikki from The Girl Who Quilts featuring Fleurish