DIY- PASSPORT WALLET

Soon I will be heading overseas for the first time (YAY!!) so I have decided to pay my passport a bit more attention. Although my passport already has a plastic wallet which it was issued with when I received it, I though why not make something much more fun and unique?

The following post will show you how to make a simple passport wallet using about a 40x40cm piece of transparent plastic and 30x30cm piece of fabric of your own choice. I am using the Japanese Tissue Fabric I mentioned in a earlier post.

Step 1

Create the template for the passport wallet. I did this by tracing the original passport wallet and then adding a seam allowance. (Note: originally i only added a seam allowance of 2 cm on the two exposed edges, however, after some testing i found that the bottom edge had to be made deeper, thus changing the seam allowance to 4 cm along that edge. Therefore, do not take note of the measurements seen in the pictures of this post.)

The 'internal slip' refers to the two flaps the will hold the passport in place in the wallet by providing a slip for the front and back cover- think of covering books. The 'external cover' is what is seen from the outside of the wallet.

Step 2

Cut out the pieces for the fabric and plastic. You will need:

plastic

- 2 x external covers

- 2 x internal slips

fabric

- 2 x external covers

I found it was easiest to bluetac the templates to the plastic.

Step 3

 

Now it is time to place all the pieces together. This project is so simple as they all sewn together at the same time. The order is as follows:

- one of the fabric external covers

- one of the plastic external covers

- both the internal slips situated on either side of the plastic external cover (see picture below)

- the second plastic external cover

- the second fabric external cover

 

You should end up with a pile like this.

 

Step 4

Sew around the edge with a 1 cm seam. Leave at least a 5cm gap, however after some experimentation I would recommend leaving a whole side open as the plastic can make it quiet hard to turn the wallet the right way out.

 

 

 

 Step 5

Trim the seams so they are about 3mm wide then turn the wallet the right way out. Make sure to push out the corners the best you can.

 

 

Step 6

Fold in the open edge and topstitch around the entire wallet. I did it about 5 mm in from the edge, however it could be less than this.

 

 

THEN YOU ARE FINISHED!

 

 

This project took me approximately an hour to make. So quick and simple! I can't wait to put it to action in 2013! However I did find this project challenging in regards to sewing the plastic. I pretty much had to manually pull it through the sewing machine and even then the stitch length varied greatly and it was hard to keep a straight line. If anyone has any tips they would be much appreciated!

 

The Bridge Crosser x