Just Passing Through; Passport Wallet

Hello to all and anywho still read (or who, maybe, have stumbled across this blog from somewhere on the web). Long time no post, ey? I know that's how so many of these blog posts start, but there is good reason for it this time. So, as you know (either because you know me or because you've read the previous posts) I've been working towards a degree. Well, I'm not now. Since last September I've been in my final year and after Christmas pretty much everything took second place to my degree. So this means that I have neither had the time to blog, nor the time to actually do any crafts to blog about. (As it happens I have this post and one other completed thing that I can blog about, but I don't currently have access to the photos. Yes, since February I have genuinely only completed two projects; oddly enough, they're both sewing not knitting.) That said, it was worth putting aside every single hobby of mine to work on my degree; I mean, it's not every day you walk out of university with a First Class Honours. So why the delay in blogs? Because I'm awesome.

Zip, zip, zipping away!

Anyway. It was my father's birthday back in July. Since I bought my sewing machine I've been buying a fair amount of craft/sewing books, and in one of them I found a pattern for a passport wallet. Recently, my dad has got a job that requires international business trips again, so I figured this would be a useful present, as well as a fairly simple way to improve my sewing skills.

Now, it's not just a passport cover, this. It's a bit bigger and has a load of different pockets to keep various important things in. So, passport, boarding passes, business cards, etc., etc.. There is even a keyring inside for hotel keys (although most hotels use cards now, don't they? Ah, well, good job there's a card slot on the front!). I'd known for months that I wanted to make this for my dad but didn't actually get started until the week before his birthday, as I wanted my mother's guidance (don't I always?) Unfortunately, trying to sew something for someone when you live with them, isn't the easiest thing, so lots of stealth was required. Fortunately (and I know he's going to read this) my dad isn't the most perceptive of fellows, and he never really noticed my mad dashes to hide the sewing stuff. That, or our living room is always in a perpetual state of 'mid-sewing project', courtesy of my mum and our re-enacting. I don't know. I suspect both.

Top is the outer fabric, bottom two are the lining
and the inner pocket, the black is the card pocket.

As with the vast majority of my sewing projects, I didn't go shopping for fabric, but instead raided the spare room. I needed three fabrics; an outer fabric, an inner lining and one for bias binding. There were some nice red cottons, but I eventually decided on a green brocade for the outside and a paler green for the lining. As for the bias binding? Well, I just bought some black bias binding tape instead. I'd never used bias tape before, let alone made it from scratch (and, to be brutally honest, the pattern was poorly written; I think I would have just got confused and ended up binning the project). I also needed a zip; originally I was going to go for black (to match the bias tape), but I had a green one left over from when I had knitted a pair of SackBoys last year. I had thought it wouldn't work well, being a different shade to the lining, but actually it compliments it (the photos do not do this justice).

Zippered wallet

Something interesting (at least, to me) was that the wallet contains plastic pockets. The pattern said to source plastic sheeting, the kind that would be used for table coverings; I, however, decided it was cheaper (and easier to source) plastic wallets. You know the kind teachers use at school? Big, A4 size plastic wallets, with plastic slidy zips at the top? Yep. I got some of those. I figured they would be durable enough for the wallet, given that they were essentially for transporting bits of paper anyway (which is, for the most part, what the wallet will hold).

Inner pocket with two plastic pockets.

Plastic is an interesting material to sew with. It's a lot hard to flatten, as it buckles quite noticibly, than fabric if not sewn perfectly flat. Furthermore, it's a pain if you have to unpick a seam, as once the holes are made, they're there forever. This can either look messy, if they're not covered up later on in the process, or, if they're not lined up properly, can make the holes of the next seam 'loose' (if the next holes are lined up so they partially overlap the first ones). That said, I think it really adds a sophisticated look to the wallet, making it not appear so home made (even if that is the charm of hand made gifts). Fortunately, the bias tape covered up the imperfections on the edges.

Pockets pre-sewing.

The wallet is essentially made up of different rectangles and squares in different materials. The largest rectangle forms the outside, then a slightly smaller one for the lining. Using the lining farbic again, a pocket is made that fits half of the inside. Then, on the other side, is a plastic, zipped pocket, followd by two open plastic pockets on top of the lining pocket. Finally, a small rectangle is added to the front to form a card pocket.

Lining/inner completed.

All of the fabric was backed with interfacing, to give the whole structure some rigidity. I added some to the card pocket, as per the instructions, but as I was using heavy weight wool and not cotten it really wasn't necessary, and, ultimately, just made more work for me. The use of so much interfacing did, however, make sewing difficult as there was often upwards of four layers to sew through (outer, interfacing, interfacing, lining; then often plastic, or another layer of interfacing and lining). I'll confess, some parts I did struggle with (and I think the machine did, too). I don't know what it is about my mum's Brother (aha, heehee, no, not my uncle), but I always seem to mess it up. For whatever reason the thread coming from the shuttle always gets tangled. I set it up correctly, it works and then, out of nowhere, the thread wraps itself around the shuttle and jams the machine. Literally, every project I have done with that machine has had this problem, and I honestly don't know why! My mother can't replicate it, even if she wanted to. Between this and the thick layers, there were times I wanted to throw everything out of the window.

Finished product! How swish!

Still, I got it all done in the end, even if I was a little late (I had to finish it on my dad's birthday, which meant he knew he was getting something hand made a few hours before he got it, as I had to kick him out of the living room. He thought he was getting Major Clanger, who, I have to admit, is still unfinished. Fully knitted, but needs putting together and his clothes making. Part of this, along with the reason mentioned earlier, is because I don't actually own any stuffing and haven't got around to buying any yet, so I may as well just pilfer mum's). My dad was really pleased with it, and, actually, so was I. I'd had great fun being really finicky and OCD with the bias binding tape and making sure none of the stitching was visible, even though it was just extra work for myself and not actually integral to the project. Mum had to do the last bit though (the sewing of the bias binding on the outside), as her hand sewing is far superior to mine; it meant not only was it less visible, but it also took a fifth of the time to do. The bias binding was also used to fix the keyring in place, and to make a pen holder between the inner pocket and the zip.

When I asked my father to comment on it, he responded with (and I quote), 'it's f***ing cool!' As only my father can.

When closed; card slot.

 Some facts then! The whole project took me three evenings. I could have done it in less time, but sewing it had frustrated me, and it was agreed that I needed to take time out (as in, finish it the next day/his birthday) to make sure I finished it well, rather than rush it and botch it. It measure 11"x11" (when open) or 11"x5.5" (when closed). The pattern was taken from 100 Pretty Little Projects, which is a great book for ideas, but not one I'd recommend to beginner sewers (not because the patterns are particularly difficult, they're just not very clearly written).