A little fear goes a long way! The Brandt's Boulevard, aversion Therapy!

I always assumed that if I could sew a bag I could sew a purse......for those of you in the USA a purse in the UK is what you call a wallet......smaller, for your money and cards.......
 

It follows suit that a purse would just be a smaller version of a bag??
 

Not so at all.........most purses or wallets have a lot of pieces in the patterns. They are smaller, more fiddly to sew, and hard to stop them becoming bulky with all the fabric inside......
 

I've had a few disasters so generally avoid making them if I can. My sewing friends.......ladies who I've never met but who I probably talk more with during the day that I do my family.....encouraged me to get involved in a sew along for a wallet style purse......what's a sew along? Well a whole bunch of ladies ........and gents if they are so inclined......sew the same project at more or less the same time, with one person who knows the pattern well sort of coordinating the sew........then everyone can ask for help, add comments that might help, post photos, ask questions etc.......all this happens on a Facebook page.......so it's a cyber sew.......lol
 

Once the challenge has been set, I'm afraid I can't back down..........so I get my pattern out and start hunting down the fabrics I want........I need two fabrics, one for inside, one for outside.......oooooohhhhh and some cork, a thumb lock...........
 

Carnage  reigns in my swing room when I'm looking for something......I know I have thumb locks but where I stashed them is anyone's guess.
 

Needless to say I finally found everything I needed.

The pattern only has one actual pattern piece to cut out, the rest of the pieces are simply rectangles and squares of different sizes, so with the aid of my cutting mat, rotary cutter and ruler, I set about cutting. I'm usually a 'cut my fabric then fuse to the interfacing' kind of girl.......this time I wasn't able to do that because the interfacing had to be smaller than most of the fabric pieces........double the work and double the time cutting that I would usually spend. If I can get this made then the effort will be so worth the extra time.

 

The pattern I'm following is by Chris W designs.........an Australian designer who's bags I have long admired but always been a little intimidated by, they are complicated looking bags, and many are for the advanced sewer........I'd give them a go, but I think I have time to go before I reach that level. Chris recently started a range of patterns called Easy Street.........less complicated designs for the confident beginner, middle range sewing......and that where we are. The  Brandt's Boulevard wallet is a snappy little number with a coin purse, four card slots and an ID pocket......room for your mobile, paper money and an unusual strap and catch to close it. There is also a wrist strap but I didn't make that it as I know I would never use one!

 Find the pattern here
 http://www.chriswdesigns.com/collections/sew-sell/products/brandts-boulevard
 

I want to say I read the pattern and followed it to the letter, but I'd be lying, yes I read it, I had too.........but I decided to add my own twist for my first attempt.....a cork leather closure strap......

 

Once all the cutting and fusing is done, it's fairly plain sailing, I actually followed the instructions and

my first wallet came together fairly quickly. Normally when I'm sewing something for the first time, I can see how something is going to finally come together, in this instance I couldn't second guess it.......

 

 

 

 I was so chuffed I almost burst, so decided to rush straight in and make another. The second one was a lot easier as I now have an idea of how the wallet works. I decided to change up the card pockets , that ID pocket is something ladies in the UK wouldn't use often ........without too much fuss, number two, three and four appeared.

 

So there we are, my fear has been quelled, I CAN do it.........The ladies who encouraged me to try have created a monster! Now to try some different purse/wallet designs.

 

This pattern is  well written, easy to follow with a lot of steps, every part is broken down into smaller steps for you to follow. Chris W Designs also has a Facebook page that you can join where you will be able to ask questions and get inspiration if you need it. https://www.facebook.com/groups/ChrsWDesignsPatternsGroup

 

 

 

 

 

 

Up Up and away in Kraft tex........how i did it!

 

I was lucky enough to be able to test the update for the new pattern by Liz at Moments.........for those of you who haven't seen it yet, I have a previous blog on the original design........go have a look. The update offers a two person version with a pocket for loose change on the other side. I decided I wanted to create one in Kraft Tex alone.

Let me just say here, I'm no expert, this is how I did it, nothing more, nothing less.

I've never written anything like this before, it makes sense as its going from my brain to my fingers, if it become mumbo jumbo from my fingers to this page......im not responsible.....its started fine in my head!

I use a 50 year old Elna Supermatic machine to sew, some  lightweight domestic machines may struggle to sew trough 4 layers of KT, if you are unsure if your machine can handle this, try cutting four strips of KT and sewing through them all at once, if your machine starts to hiss, whistle and bellow smoke, unplug, leave the room for a while, use copious amounts of Fabreeze to remove the singed smell and contact me, ill make you one!

 

 

 

 

I'm not going to give measurements here, other then to tell you about the bits that I did differently from the pattern, if you want measurements, please buy the pattern here

http://www.craftsy.com/pattern/sewing/accessory/up-up--away---passport-wallets/184625?rceId=1452296224055~5yss8zym&NAVIGATION_PAGE_CONTEXT_ATTR=PATTERN

 

In my first KT wallet I cut down the pattern pieces by 1/4 inch, thus removing the seam allowance, but found that to be a bit of a chore, so I experimented, and found that if I print the pattern at 93% on my printer, the pieces come out 1/4 of an inch smaller........clever eh??? half a rain forest was probably cut down for me to get to that though........so if a few of  you follow these instructions, I figure I'm in credit....

 

First I need to say I used brown KT, unwashed, straight from the pack........you could wash it , but I was too impatient to use it

 

 I cut two of the main panel pieces ...one for the inside one for outside, I decorated outer panel with a gold sharpie pen, just a random abstract pattern but you can do almost anything to decorate KT......as you can see I have a sort of tuck in fastening,  to make this I cut a strip 1'' wide and two inches longer than the full length of the wallet, and sewed that centrally from one end to the other onto the KT.......I use Topstitch thread on the top of my machine and a plain brown sewing thread on the bobbin, longest stitch on my machine. I added a couple of dots of Fabritac http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fabri-Tac-113-Medium-Bottle-Clear/dp/B00178MNFO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1453482899&sr=8-1&keywords=fabri-tac to hold the strap in place as it was sewn. 

 

 

I folded the wallet as it would be folded once complete to work out where the fixing bar needs to be sewn and stitch that on too.

 

For the pockets I used the following pieces from the original 'Up Up and Away' pattern file, also printed at 93%

 I cut one of each of the following-

 

POCKET PIECE 1

POCKET PIECE 1 LINING

RECTANGLE PIECE FROM THE BOTTOM OF POCKET PEICE 2 (from the line that says fold line 2)

 

These three pieces form the pockets to the side of the wallet

lay the smaller panel on top of the larger panel then add the rectangle on top of that.

 

 

 I lined them up then added a tiny spot of Fabritac to the edges to stop them sliding about when I sew, I positioned the pockets 1/2 inch from the edge of the lining panel,  then did a double row of stitching approx. 1/8'' apart around the edge.
 

From this point on I didn't follow the pattern pieces. For the pocket I cut a rectangle of KT as wide as the wallet and 10.5 inches long........at this point we leave nice photos and enter into the world of odd doodles......... you will have to excuse my drawings they really are for guidance only and to help me explain what I want to say......

So you have your rectangle of KT.......

Your going to make some folds in your KT, those dotted lines are to show you where to fold........good eh?

 

 

Two folds, one 1/2'' from the end then another 5'' from the other end. If you fold the longer end over first, then the shorter side this will be your pocket...........I know I know,,,,,we need a zip

 

Unfolding your folds again, you will need to mark a rectangle  centrally on the KT (see diagram)
 7'' long by 5/8'' wide, (if you are using a shorter zip than 8'' you will need to make this rectangle shorter)  I made mine at 3/4''  from the central fold but you can put it where you feel you want it........there isn't a right or wrong position, if you want it nearer to the top of the pocket......go for it...... I use a craft knife to cut out the rectangle I'm not tidy enough with scissors.  This slot becomes the 'welt' for you zipper. The side of the KT you are looking at, with the folded ends pointing towards you, is the inside of your pocket, I tend to position my zippers from the inside......so the zip goes face down onto the slot........but you can do it from the other side with the zip behind the KT is its easier for you.......im sure you don't need me to tell you, make sure its central . I use Fabritac to keep the zipper in place and help me to position it..... once your happy with the position, sew very close to the edge of the slot, I use a zipper foot most of the time, but if I'm in a hurry and cant find it.........happens all the time........I just move my needle as far to the left as I can and sew. Be careful of the zipper pull, your foot may catch on it if you don't use a zipper foot and will cause your stitching to go badly off line. In most other situations that would be annoying but salvageable with a seam ripper......not so with KT, you get holes that will  not heal. One chance to get it right only!

 

 

Now you need to refold those folds, remember to fold the longer side in first then the shorter one. I use the side of a ruler to press those folds in and make them sharp. I top stitch along the top fold nearest to the zipper.

To position the pocket I fold the lining panel in the way it will fold when its closed, this gives you an idea where the pocket needs to sit I place the pocket 1/3'' from the fold in the lining panel (you can see that on the photo above)  line up the outer edges of the pocket with the edges if the lining panel,  clip it into place so it doesn't move.  a line of stitching right across the bottom of the pocket will secure it to the lining panel it also closes the bottom of the pocket.

 

Your lining is now done, all that remains to do is join both panels, inside and outside together.  this is the easy bit......just place the two panels together WST (wrong sides together) I put a few spots of Fabritac to stop them slipping about and I clip heavily too with wonder clips. once your happy that the two parts are totally lined up with each other...........top stitch around the entire outside of the wallet. Your top stitching will close in the ends of your pocket so its now totally enclosed.

Last but not least, I trim off the corners on the long strip we sewed to the outside panel. I worry ill cut it too short if I cut it before this point so I leave that until last....lol

I used Mink Oil on mine to seal it, but I've used bee's wax before and found that to work well too.......but sealing it not necessary.
 

Eh Voila!........one wallet.......