Wallet Organizer

The Pattern:

Pattern Page #1 Pattern Page #2 Pattern Page #3 Pattern Page #4 Pattern Page #5

• plus one piece of fabric or clear vinyl for your ID holder. size of ID plus seam allowance to top and bottom.
• plus pre-made or made by you double-fold binding (.5″ wide when folded double, 2″ wide when unfolded all the way)
• plus .5″ wide elastic, a little taller than your wallet.

Note: the right side pocket is slightly more narrow to accomodate the planner.

Putting it Together:

1. Cut Fabric. I usually use cotton quilting fabrics due to the variety of prints.
2. Right side pockets. Take the long left side pocket piece. Fold it accordian style to form a pocket. Where to fold is marked on the pattern and also a zig-zag looking drawing of how it will look from the side. Press folds.
3. Press interfacing onto back of folded pocket piece (interfacing is the same size as the pocket lining piece you have cut out).
4. Put pocket and pocket lining wrong sides together.
5. On the left long edge, place the binding right side down along the edge, matching edges. Unfold the binding and pin in place. Sew along the binding crease, 1/2″ from the edge.
6. Refold the binding so it encases the pocket and the lining. Sew near to the folded edge of the binding.
7. REPEAT FOR LEFT SIDE POCKET (left side pocket will have 3 pockets for cards plus ID holder)
8. Zipper Pocket. Use SewPixie zipper pocket tutorial to create a zipper pocket on the outside of your wallet (I put the zipper pocket on the same end where the card pockets are). OR use EmilyFlew’s pleated pocket idea for a more expanadable change pocket.
9. Interface the wallet lining. Place it and the outer wallet piece wrong sides together. Place the left pocket at the left edge of the wallet lining, the right pocket at the right edge. Baste in place.
10. Baste the ends of the elastic at the edge, lined up with the zipper. Check and make sure your elastic will hold your wallet closed snugly.
11. Repeat binding steps to bind the wallet together all around the edges. (I bound the top and bottom first, then the sides, folding the binding under at the ends on the short sides, then hand stitching the ends closed).
12. Enjoy!

Beat-Up Binder Makeover

Three-ring binders: a school essential. After another year keeping records of my students, my binder was beat up once again, its flimsy plastic cover partially ripped. Instead of tossing it into the landfill for several thousand years, I decided to give it a second life. I pulled out the ever-handy duct tape to reinforce the rip in the binder and whipped up a lovely fabric cover closed with a Velcro strap. Here’s an easy way to give your ugly binder a makeover.

You will need:
Fabric for the cover exterior and the Velcro strap || Fabric for the cover lining || 3” x 3” piece of Timtex (interfacing/stablizer) || 1 ½” of one-inch wide Velcro || lid of a wide-mouth jar (about 3 inches in diameter) and pen for tracing || scrap of accent fabric for decorative circular closure (I used brown corduroy.)

Cut it out

(1) With your repaired binder opened and lying flat, measure the length and width. To find your fabric cutting dimensions, add 1 ½” to the width and 10” to the length. Using these dimensions, cut one rectangle from the exterior fabric and one from the lining fabric. In addition, cut one rectangle 3” x 6” from the exterior fabric. This will become the Velcro strap.

(2) Using the jar lid, trace and cut out two circles from the accent fabric. Set these aside for now.

Sew it up

(3) Sew together the exterior fabric and the lining: Pin the large rectangles together with their right sides facing. Sew along the edges using a ½” seam allowance, leaving a 3” opening in the middle of one of the long sides. Trim the corners and turn right side out by pulling through the 3” opening. Push out the corners with a turning tool and press. Set aside.

(4) Fold the 3” x 6” Velcro strap piece in half lengthwise, with right sides together. With a ¼” seam allowance, sew down the long side, forming a tube. Turn this tube right side out. Tuck in both short edges ¼” and press the entire tube. Edge-stitch a scant 1/8” around the entire Velcro strap.

(5) Sew the rough side of the Velcro to the middle of the right side of one of the decorative circles.

(6) Lay down the other circle with its right side facing up. Set the circle with the Velcro attached on top, with its Velcro side facing down. Pin the two circles together. Sew around the edges with a ¼” seam allowance, leaving a 1 ½” opening beneath the short edge of the Velcro, as shown below. Clip the edges and turn right side out.

(7) Cut out a circle of Timtex just slightly smaller than the decorative circular closure you’ve created. Insert it into the opening of the decorative circular closure and smooth flat.

(8) Tuck in the open edges of the decorative circular closure so they are both on the same side of the Timtex. Press. Insert the end of the Velcro strap through the opening. Sew around the decorative circular closure using a mere 1/8” seam allowance. This seam will attach the Velcro strap to the decorative circular closure.

(9) With a contrasting thread, machine stitch a design on your circular tab closure. You could also add hand stitching, beads, or buttons.

Finish the Velcro closure

)10) Lay the binder cover, with its lining face up, on a flat surface. Open your binder and lay it flat in the center of the binder cover. Fold the cover’s edges around the binder and close it. Place the Velcro strap on the middle edge of the back cover, pinning it in place.

(11) Using the pinned Velcro strap as a guide, place the soft Velcro piece on the front cover.

(12) Sew the strap and the soft Velcro piece in place.

Last steps

(13) Lay out the binder on the binder cover, lining face up, as in step 10. Fold the cover’s edges around the binder and pin the edges in place. Remove the binder.

(14) With a 1/8” seam allowance, stitch along both long edges of the binder cover, securing the folded-over cover edges and closing the opening that you used for turning.

Et voila! You just saved another piece of plastic junk from the trash can and made a unique and useful back-to-school fashion statement.