Wrangling Wallets

For some reason, which now escapes me, I decided to work up a pattern for a wallet. Since I don't particularly care for wallets without some form of closure, I designed it as a snap wallet. I added a small snap pocket inside for good measure.

Voici mon prototype numéro 1:

I clearly needed to get a different interfacing, and while I thought I had left enough room on the bottom for the snap, I didn't. Putting in a snap piece in the bottom would make the bottom card slot unusable, at least for cards.

Thus, I went out and bought a yard of interfacing to try. Being unfamiliar with this particular type of interfacing, I tried it on a simpler project first. I drew up a pattern for a minimalist card wallet and sewed it up.

The end result was this:

It's surprisingly functional (Is it bad form to be surprised when my prototypes actually work out?), though I think I will move the snap a bit closer to the edge on the next one.

Satisfied that the interfacing was suited to the purpose and that the snap would successfully go through it, I redrew the pattern for the main wallet, adding a touch more length for the snap and throwing in a fourth card slot behind the snap pocket.

Voici mon prototype numéro 2:

Obviously, I still need to add a snap for the main closure and the interior pocket for it to become a snap wallet. It is functional, though I need to tweak some of the interior measurements for optimum usability. The exterior fabric could use an even stiffer interfacing. The main issue, though, is that the sewing machine is really not thrilled about the many layers in the card slot section, so the stitching is not coming out as neatly as I would like. I'll give another go and see if I can't adjust my technique for a cleaner result.