My orange ripstop wallet has served me well for two years. However, the elastic was getting too worn out. So I decided it was time to try a new design, this time using velcro instead of elastic. I guess time will tell how this new one holds up
as the elastic wore and stretched out, I tried shortening it by making the tab you can see in the upper right, but even that wasn’t enough after a while. It still worked fine as a wallet, I just didn’t want it to be so loose.
The new wallet started out almost identically to the orange one, except I left some extra material on one end to form a velcro tab. I also made the panels a little wider so the finished wallet would be taller. My previous wallet exposed the tops of my cards a little too much.
left: forms the middle layer
right: forms the outermost and innermost layer
fold over and sew what will become the top edges of all the layers
middle layer sewn to the inner and outer layer
When the wallet is finished, the stitches that connects the middle layer to the inner/outer layer actually sits on the inside of the wallet. In the orange one, they were on the outside, which made them more vulnerable to wear. Hopefully these stitches here stay stronger longer.
two sets of stitches divide up the fabric to form the card pockets
The tiny bar tack stitch at the top of the pocket divisions isn’t really necessary (the old one did fine without them). But I think they look like a cleaner way to end the stitch then with a few back and forth straight stitches. (if people have other suggestions for clean ways to end stitches, do share!)
with the wallet flipped inside out, I sewed one end shut (the one without the velcro tab) and trimmed the excess. I also ran a lighter over the fabric edge to minimize fraying.
with the wallet still inside out I sewed the triangular shape of the velcro tab and trimmed the excess
I ended up needing to fold over a random edge to try and hide the cut edge. I used some orange tape to temporarily hold it in place. Probably if I were better at planning sewing projects, I would have a better way of resolving this edge.
I stuffed the wallet and traced the tab to see where I should place the mating velcro patch
!
the finished product, maybe two years later I’ll have to do another post talking about a replacement for this. then again, maybe not.
Amy Qian 