Double Zip Wallet

We celebrated Christmas with my in-laws at Thanksgiving and my mother-in-law surprised me with a stack of new sewing books.

One of the books was Handmade Style by Anna Graham (aka: Noodlehead – you might remember several of her bag designs I’ve made previously like the Super Tote and Envelope Clutch wallets here, here, and here). She is my very favorite bag designer – her patterns are so thoughtful which make for incredibly useful purses and wallets.

This book has been on my wish list for a while so I was over-the-moon to finally have it. I have been carrying the book around with me non-stop since Thanksgiving, marking all my favorites with sticky notes.

After a few semi-unsuccessful garment sewing adventures, I wanted to end my winter break on a happy note so I decided to make myself a new bag (since my sewing experience began with bags / bags are one-size-fits-all, I figured this would be a safe zone to retreat to).

I inventoried my zipper stash to help with deciding which bag to make. The Double Zip Wallet won!

Since this project kind of stemmed from my avoidance of finishing the Veronika skirt {free pattern from Megan Nielsen} I’d cut [but was too intimidated by the idea of my first zipper installation / was scared I’d have yet another semi-unsuccessful garment to add to the pile], it seemed fitting for me to use the scraps for the wallet.

I picked up this gorgeous floral print corduroy from Hobby Lobby after my friend Amber recommended it to me at our quilt guild holiday party {I can’t seem to find it online anywhere 😦 }.

I had some of this bright pink upholstery fabric lying around and it coordinated great with the floral corduroy so I used it for the interior. I also love how the mustard color zippers link the print as well.

The construction of this wallet was unlike any bag I’ve made. Even constructing the card slots was slightly different. It was a nice opportunity to grow my bag-making skill set.

All-in-all, the construction was quite neat! I re-read the instructions several times before starting each step to be extra careful since this was my first attempt at this project (and because I wanted to avoid adding to the semi-unsuccessful pile!). I particularly like how the zippers turned out – there was no puckering in the corners like I usually have with my zipper pouches.

But I did accidentally attached the card slots upside down (the card slots are supposed to be on the bottom with the bill flap at the top, but mine are backwards).

I like the bias binding that is attached to the top of the bill flap (bottom of the picture above). I feel like it helps to hold the flap a little more securely. Being the perfectionist that I am, it bothers me that the flap is not lined (you can see the fusible interfacing I used on the underside. This is likely not a problem for most since I added the interfacing on my own volition because I like sturdy card slots 🙂 ). Next time I am going to try to make the card slot piece longer so that I can fold it at the top to make it “lined”. I may also attempt to add an extra row of card slots.

Having two fairly large zipper pouches in one wallet is fabulous! Between the card slots and bill flap, I had all the space I needed to hold my usual wallet fillers. Both zipper pouches are empty right now because I’m still debating what I want to house in each. I’m leaning towards lip balm and such in one and loose change in the other.

Originally I thought the Rainbow Clutch would be my favorite wallet from the book, but it’s going to be hard to beat the Double Zip Wallet!

Up next on my “to make” list

I can’t wait to make a Market Bag – I’m debating between using some of my Liberty of London or Cath Kidston stash as the accent fabric.

I’m thinking the Zip Top Tote might make a nice everyday work bag [but you know my love for my Super Tote for work!].

I also ordered button studs so that I could make Anna’s latest design – the Carkai Gatherer Crossbody Bag {free pattern!}. I can’t wait to give that one a try!

PS: If you want a sneak peek at the projects in Anna’s book Handmade Style, check out this beautiful post.