Bifold Wallet
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Make an
8-pocket, bifold wallet with your
child's or grandchild's favorite
design, then tuck a gift card inside
for an extra-special gift!
Make bright and colorful wallets
with hot pink or neon fabrics; or,
choose something understated with
darker fabrics and tone-on-tone
embroidery. |
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Supplies Needed:
**1/4 yard light-weight canvas
or twill fabric (for outer shell
and inner pockets)
**9 1/2 inch by 4 1/4 inch
piece of heavy weight canvas
(for the inner lining)
**Medium weight cutaway
stabilizer
**Temporary spray adhesive
(we use KK100)
**Air-erase pen (or other
marking tool)
**Extra-wide double fold bias
tape |
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Finished size of the project (when folded): 4 3/4 inches wide by 5
inches high. Note that this size fits in the back
pockets of most men's jeans. Five women at the
Embroidery Library tested the wallet, and four found
that the wallet was a nice, snug fit in the back
pockets. One person found that the wallet was too
large to fit in her back snap pockets. Feel free to
modify this pattern for smaller pockets (for smaller
children).
Designs Used:
Quick-stitching Simple Treasures designs (Cupcake and
Spider).
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First, prepare the fabric for the outer shell of the wallet.
Measure and mark (using an
air-erase pen or other marking
tool) a 9 1/2 inch wide by 5
inch high rectangle on the
lightweight canvas or twill
fabric.
Leave a couple inches of excess
fabric around the shape. |
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Create a paper template of the design by printing it at full size
using embroidery software.
Then, place the template on the right side of the shape and center
it with the top and bottom by
measuring equal distances
between the center of the design
and the edges of the shape
(there should be at least 3/4
inches of space between the top
and bottom edges of the design
and the edges of the shape).
The design template should also
measure 2 1/2 inches from the
right side edge of the shape to
the center point of the design.
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Once the template is in position
(using an air-erase pen or other
marking tool) poke a hole in the
center of the template and mark
the fabric.
Also, mark the horizontal and
vertical axis points on the
fabric. |
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Remove the template and draw lines to connect the axis points.
These lines will be used for
hooping. |
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Cut a piece of cutaway stabilizer a bit larger than the drawn shape
on the fabric.
Spray a piece of cutaway stabilizer with a little temporary
adhesive. Smooth the
fabric on top.
Hoop the fabric and stabilizer together by aligning the marks on
the hoop with the lines on the
fabric. Attach the hoop to the
machine and load the design.
Move the hoop so that the needle
is directly over the center
point on the fabric.
Embroider the design. |
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After the design has sewn out, unhoop the fabric and stabilizer and cut around the shape.
There's no need to cut the stabilizer from the back of the embroidery. We
will leave the stabilizer in
place to give the wallet body
and some stiffness. |
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Next, cut a piece of the heavy
weight canvas 9 1/2 inches wide
by 5 inches high � this is will
be used for the inner lining of
the wallet.
Lay the inner lining fabric
right side down and align the
embroidered outer shell fabric
on top with the design facing
up.
Pin in place |
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Sew a 1/8 inch seam around the entire outer edge of the fabric. |
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Then, mark the center (spine) of the wallet by measuring the top
and bottom edges and dividing by
two (ours measured 4 3/4
inches).
Draw a line connecting the marks.
Sew a seam along the line. This will help the wallet to bend
properly at the spine. |
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Now, we will prepare the fabric pieces for the inner pockets.
Using the lightweight canvas, we will cut a total of eight pocket
pieces (two of each size listed
below).
Pieces 1 and 2: 7 1/2
inches
wide by 4 1/4
inches high
Pieces 3 and 4: 6 1/2
inches
wide by 4 1/4
inches high
Pieces 5 and 6: 5 1/2
inches
wide by 4 1/4
inches high
Pieces 7 and 8: 4 1/2
inches
wide by 4 1/4
high |
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Fold each pocket piece widthwise and press the fold with an iron. |
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Sew a 1/8 inch seam along the folded edge of each pocket piece. |
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Cut two more pieces of lightweight canvas 9 1/2 inches wide
by 4 1/4 inches high (these
pieces will be the front and
back of the base of the inner
pockets).
Lay one of the base pieces you just cut, right side facing up.
Align the largest pocket pieces with the right and left sides of
the base piece with the seamed
edges facing in.
Pin in place, measure and mark 1 3/4 inches in from each of the
four corners along the top and
bottom edges. Draw vertical
lines connecting the marks.
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Sew a seam along the lines on each pocket. These seams make the
pockets just the right size. |
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Trim away the two layers of fabric on the raw edges of the pocket
right next to the seams you just
sewed (be sure to cut on the
side of the raw edges of the
pockets leaving the seamed edges
intact).
Cut through the pocket layers only and not the base fabric. Doing
this makes the wallet less bulky
and easier to sew for the
remaining steps. |
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Then, align the next largest pocket pieces with the right and left
sides of the base fabric again
with the seamed edges facing
in. Pin in place and measure
and mark 1 1/2 inches in from
each of the four corners along
the top and bottom edges.
Draw vertical lines connecting the marks and sew a seam along the
lines. |
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Trim the layers of the pocket fabric along the seams on the side of
the raw edges (from the pocket
you just added).
Again, be careful to cut through the pocket layers only and not the
base fabric. |
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Add the third largest pockets by
repeating the last steps above
(measure and mark 1 1/4 inches
in from each corner and draw
vertical lines to connect the
points.)
Next, add the smallest pockets (these pockets do not require a seam or
trimming) on top of the third
set of pockets.
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Align the back base fabric to the backside of the pockets and pin
in place. Tack the pockets in
place by sewing a 1/8 inch seam
along the top and bottom edges
of the pockets.
Sew from the outside in to prevent the edges of the pockets from
folding over as you sew. |
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Cut a 10 inch piece of bias
tape. Wrap the tape around the
top edge of the inner pocket
piece and pin in place |
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Sew a seam along the inner and outer edge of the tape then trim the
excess from the outer edges. |
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Now we will add the inner pocket piece to the embroidered outer
shell.
Lay the embroidered outer shell right side facing down. Lay the
inner pocket piece on top with
the bottom corners aligned (the
inner lining of the outer shell
should extend up past the pocket
piece about 1/2 inch).
Pin in place. |
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Flip the pieces over so the embroidered side is facing up.
Add bias tape to the outer edges by first folding the end of the
tape over about 1/4 inch and
wrapping the end around one of
the corners.
Pin the tape in place. |
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Sew a seam along the inner edge of the tape. This will bind
the tape to the wallet and will
also bind all of the layers
together.
Stop sewing about 1 1/2 inch before each corner. Then, pinch and
fold the tape at the corner,
wrap the tape around the next
edge, and then continue sewing.
For the last corner, trim the tape leaving about 1/4 inch of
excess. Fold the end under 1/4
inch and sew the end in place. |
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To finish the wallet, sew another seam along the entire outer edge
of the bias tape. |
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For added personalization, let
your child or grandchild choose
the design, and their favorite
fabric colors. |
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