Easy Starter Wallet

[tbmow]

The attached PDF is a wallet pattern that is easy starter project that will allow a user to practice several aspects of the craft. The wallet has four inner card pockets and one outer bill pocket. There are a total of four pieces of leather to cut out.

The pattern is full-sized. The line with two arrows next to the "1" on each page should be 1 inch tall when printing. Measure this with a ruler after printing to verify that it printed to the correct size.

Here are the steps:

1. Print out the design, and cut out the pieces to use as a template.
   
2. Cut the main body (nice easy straight cuts so that you will get a feel for cutting the leather).
   
3. Cut the two card pockets (smaller sized so if you make a mistake there is less wasted leather).
   
4. Place the inner pockets inside the main body and fold the main body over the card pockets.
   
5. Wrap the outer template around the main body and verify that it is long enough to reach around and cover the edges. This is because this piece wraps around the main body, and the folded main body and card pockets are now four layers thick, the length of the outer pocket may need adjusting.
   
6. Adjust the length if needed and cut the outer pocket — if you need to adjust the length for the outer pocket, cut the pocket square then center the pattern lengthwise to cut out the non-straight edge. If in doubt, make the outer pocket a bit longer and trim it later. There is less waste in making a small trim than there is in making a whole other pocket (a bit of experience talking here!).
   
7. If desired, dye the edges now (if using already colored leather), or the whole thing (if using veg-tan).
   
8. Glue the card pockets to the flesh side of the main body.
   
9. After the glue has dried, sew the center stitch line (above the word "card"). The stitch line is shown as a dotted line on the main body.
   
10. Glue the outer pocket to the main body. This is glued onto the opposite side of the pockets.
    
11. Groove stitching channels if the leather is thick enough.
    
12. Sew the outer and card pockets. Note that the stitching does not go all the way around the wallet, but it resembles two "U" shapes with the open ends facing each other. You do not want to stitch across the bend. (Search the forums for more info on this.)
    
13. If your outer edges are not even, trim them and do your preferred edging treatment.
    
14. Finish as desired or needed.
    
15. Take a picture and reply to this post and show us your work.
    

I made two of these from a $5 piece of gambler's choice leather from Springfield (would have been three except for the mistake about the outer pocket length). Not counting glue drying time (using Weldbond PVA), the first one took about 45 minutes and the second about 30 minutes to complete. Sewing was done using an awl and saddle stitching. These were my first projects in leather.

Some variations you can try are:

• Changing the style of the cutouts on the pockets (i.e. to straight lines).
  
• Lining the pockets.
  
• Adding another layer of inner pockets (do not forget to adjust the outer pocket length).
  
• Mixing leather colors/types/etc.
  
• Changing stitch lengths, thread colors, etc.
  

Please post your work so that I can see how others modify the design. I am studying how people learn and adapt information, and am curious how people do this as a hobby.

Wallet A.pdf

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Edited January 17, 2013 by tbmow

[veedub3]

Thanks for the pattern, definitely something I can work on as I learn leatherworking. Do you have a picture of the finished project? As a complete newbie, it would help a lot to see a pic of the finished design so that I will have an idea of what it "should" look like.

[tbmow]

Attached are pictures of the first attempt. The thread is a different color because I wanted to see how it moves/wears/etc. in a pocket. This is after about 3 weeks of use, usually in denim jeans. No pictures of the second attempt as it was a gift.

Here is the outside:

and the inside (the dark line from the side with empty pockets is a dye smear from the tannery):

As you can see, it is not meant to be "pretty" but functional.

[veedub3]

Thanks, the pic helps a lot!

Karina

[davidhackleremt]

Thanks for the pattern