So it's been a while. I was really busy with school ending, then helped my mother redo her sewing room, and then was in Scotland and Ireland for two and a half weeks, so the blog took a back seat. I'm going to do better!
Before I went away, I started looking for a travel wallet - one that would fit a boarding pass and my passport and all the other normal wallety things. And I came to the realization that they were all one of two things: 1. Really, really ugly or 2. Really, really expensive.
So I found a pattern online that I liked made by Crooked Sister (not to be confused with Twisted Sister). Here's the stock image and the link:
http://crookedsister.blogspot.co.at/2011/08/adornamazing.html
I like this wallet because it has space for your boarding pass, passport, license, bills, coins, and credit cards.
The pattern was pretty easy to follow. You have to have a copier that can blow up the size of the pattern 155%, which is a lot to do on a standard printer. I ended up printing out four pages per template (there are only three large ones, so it wasn't that big of a deal).
I didn't even have to go buy fabric because I had bought some fat quarters that I loved at Olde City Quilts without a plan in mind for them, and they became my wallet.
A couple of comments about the wallet:
You need to use a fusible on almost every piece of fabric. I used a fusible fleece because I wanted it to be soft. This was a mistake - you should use something stiffer as my finished project ended up a little to floppy.
I chose not to put the pen holder elastic in the center. I figured I didn't need it and didn't want to carry a pen in my wallet (I always have one in my bag anyway).
Sewing on vinyl (license pocket) is annoying. It shifts very easily and it's hard to see (imagine that). It can also be difficult to judge if you are pulling it too tight or leaving it too loose (you want your license to STAY PUT)! The pattern suggested using post notes to cover the vinyl or to use a teflon foot, neither of which I did, but my vinyl pocket came out ok anyway.
I'm a rebel when it comes to following directions (it's genetic - thanks Mom!) and like to do things my own way. Usually it turns out fine (I like to think that I know what I'm doing), but occasionally I really screw up. So, because I'm dependent on my mother for snap insertion into my projects, I wrongly assumed that she could put my snaps in for the big closure when I was done. This was not the case, and I ended up having to use velcro on the closure. It worked, so I wasn't overly concerned about it. I put a button (ACMoore) on the outside, and voila! A wallet completed just in time for my trip (yes, I finished it the day before we left).
The trip was amazing, and my wallet kept all my documents and money neat and orderly and ready to go.
Here's a picture in Northern Ireland. Be jealous!
Cheers!
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