This is the trifold wallet I sewed by using the flower applique couching that I embroidered earlier on. You can get the pattern and tutorial on the embroidery work here.
Design and sew this triFold wallet only took me a night to complete (with the embroidery face ready), but being a novice in Illustrator, drafting and finalizing the pattern took me days. It was fun playing around with Illustrator that sometimes I discovered and tried on other tools and got distracted from drawing the TriFold wallet pattern.
Finding possibilities to create and develop is my hobby and passion, that’s why I love creating handmade so much 🙂 By the way, you can get the free 5 pages of printable pdf pattern for this floral trifold wallet here. Be sure to set your printer paper setting to letter (8.5″ x 11″) and don’t scale it, otherwise, the dimension won’t be correct. There are dimensions written in the pattern, so you can check with a ruler if you are not sure if you are printing the correct size.
Tips on cutting and ironing fusible interfacing
One thing I would like to point out in this trifold wallet tutorial and also on other purse sewings, always cut the interfacing in a right angle against the direction of the fabric. For example, for lining A, the 4 1/2″ edge is along the warp direction and 9 1/2″ is the weft direction, when you cut the fusible interfacing, make sure to reverse the warp and weft, with 9 1/2″ on the warp and 4 1/2″ on the weft. This method will make the structure of the fabric hence the purse more stable and won’t go out of shape after using for a period of time. This is because you have both directions as warp after the interfacing is fused on the fabric.
If you are not sure what heat level on the iron needed to fuse the interfacing to the fabric, always test it on a piece of scrap fabric before you go for the real work. Basically, the lighter the weight of the interfacing the lower the heat needed. If the interfacing shrink, the iron is too hot, if the interfacing won’t stick, the iron is too cold. Start pressing from one side and slowly glide to the other side to reduce bubble creation. Check the bonding after it cools down and repeat or redo the work as necessary.
Trifold Wallet Sewing Pattern
This is the trifold wallet I sewed by using the flower applique couching that I embroidered earlier on. You can get the pattern and tutorial on the embroidery work here.
Finding possibilities to create and develop is my hobby and passion, that’s why I love creating handmade so much 🙂 . By the way, you can get the free 5 pages of printable pdf pattern for this floral trifold wallet here. Be sure to set your printer paper setting to letter (8.5″ x 11″) and don’t scale it, otherwise, the dimension won’t be correct. There are dimensions written in the pattern, so you can check with a ruler if you are not sure if you are printing the correct size.
Enjoy sewing them!
Download and print separately: SEWING PATTERN
Materials
- Polka-dot fabric: Fat Quarter (18″ x 22″)
- Flora print fabric: Fat Eighth (11″ x 18″)
- Dark Brown fabric: 11″ x 11″
- Fusible Interfacing: medium weight (18″ x11″)
- Plastic Sheet: 2.5″ x 4″ (transparent plastic sheet for projector or photocopier)
- Velcro: 1″ wide, 6″
- Zipper: 4″
- Decorative twill tape
- Heatnbond for applique
- Embroidery flosses
Tools
- Bias tape maker, 1″ size
- Iron
- Sewing machine and kits
- Printer that able to print a letter-size or A4 size paper
- Acrobat Reader (to open the pdf document)
- 5 sheets of letter-size or A4 size white paper
Instructions
MORE DETAILS ON HOW TO SEW
TRIFOLD WALLET
- Download the printable trifold wallet pattern by clicking the picture above or here, remember to set your paper size to letter and don’t scale the printing. The pattern is in color but you can use a black and white printer to print in grayscale.
Cut the fabrics and fusible interfacings according to the sizes and quantities needed. I love to cut the fabric a little bigger for this project so that I can trim it to the correct size with a clean raw edge before sewing the binder tape.
Iron the fusible interfacing to the wrong side of the corresponding fabric with low to medium heat.
Embroidery the top of the wallet, get the detail here.
- Position the zipper and sew each side to the fabric with a zipper foot. The zipper should have a width of 1/2″ to make the total width of the purse 9 1/2″.
- Sew one side of the zipper pocket to the zipper edge of the flora side. Turn to the right side and topstitch near the zipper.
Turn back to the wrong side, fold the other edge over to the other side of the zipper, pin, turn to the right side, and topstitch near to the zipper at the embroidery side.
- Place lining A (polka-dot) under the top of the wallet with the wrong side facing each other. Sew along the perimeter of the wallet with 1/8″ from the pattern outline. As I cut the fabrics bigger than they needed for the wallet, you can see that the edge is bigger than 1/8″, I trimmed away the extra fabric to get a fresh raw edge in my next step.
- Trim away extra fabric if you cut your fabric bigger than it is needed.
If you cut exactly to the dimension, ignore this part as you don’t have extra to trim.
This is the “outside” of the wallet.
- Sew pocket and flap. With the right sides together, sew the 3 sides. Clip the corners and turn. Topstitch 3 sides of the flap and the top edge for the pocket.
Sew velcro loop on the pocket and hook on the flap.
Position the flap and pocket to the dark brown lining B. Sew sides of the pocket to the lining.
Prepare dark brown binder to a 1″ tape by using a bias tape maker or follow your method. Fold it to the long edge of the plastic sheet and double topstitch. Position it onto the dark brown lining B too.
Place the polka-dot lining B under this dark brown lining with the wrong side facing each other. Sew along the perimeter with 1/8″ from the pattern outline. Trim away extra edge if you have allowed.
- Sew velcro hook to the inside of the wallet, and loop to the outside of the wallet.
You can add a printed twill tape at the inside of the wallet as a receipt or note holder.
Sew polka-dot and floral binder tapes to the top edges by using your method or follow the instruction below.
- Now you have done the outside and inside of the wallet, it’s time to assemble them to become a wallet with the binder tape.
Stack the “inside” on top of the “outside” align at the bottom, place the polka-dot binder tape on top of them, pin.
Sew along the folding line of the binder tape.
- Fold the tape under and make sure the edge is aligned. Double topstitch 1/8″ from the edge.
Repeat the same to the top edge of the wallet.
Cutaway the extra length of binder tape at the ends.
- Repeat the same to the side edges, but this time fold the ends in and sew before binding the side edges.
Fold the wallet into 3 parts and you are done!
Notes
Tips on cutting and ironing fusible interfacing
One thing I would like to point out in this trifold wallet tutorial and also on other purse sewings, always cut the interfacing in a right angle against the direction of the fabric. For example, for lining A, the 4 1/2″ edge is along the warp direction and 9 1/2″ is the weft direction, when you cut the fusible interfacing, make sure to reverse the warp and weft, with 9 1/2″ on the warp and 4 1/2″ on the weft. This method will make the structure of the fabric hence the purse more stable and won’t go out of shape after using for a period of time. This is because you have both directions as warp after the interfacing is fused on the fabric.
If you are not sure what heat level on the iron needed to fuse the interfacing to the fabric, always test it on a piece of scrap fabric before you go for the real work. Basically, the lighter the weight of the interfacing the lower the heat needed. If the interfacing shrink, the iron is too hot, if the interfacing won’t stick, the iron is too cold. Start pressing from one side and slowly glide to the other side to reduce bubble creation. Check the bonding after it cools down and repeat or redo the work as necessary.
Shannon Beringer
Saturday 17th of June 2017
Hi! I am going to try this pattern today. I am pretty new to sewing so I hope this will not be too difficult. Just wanted to let you know how beautiful it is Thank you so much for sharing.
Mary
Thursday 4th of May 2017
Hi. I LOVE your pattern. Beautifully designed and put together. With lining B, which fabric do you put the interfacing on? Thanks.
Craft Passion
Friday 5th of May 2017
Hi Mary, I iron the interfacing on the wrong-side of the dark brown fabric.
Marie-Dentelle
Thursday 24th of March 2016
Bonjour, magnifique porte-feuille, merci pour ce tuto génia, il me plait énormément <3 Bisous de France
Translation (by Google): Hello, beautiful wallet, thank you for this tutorial Genia, it pleases me enormously <3 Kisses from France
piplup
Monday 20th of April 2015
Hi, what is the dark brown tape for? Is it a pocket? Which step is to sew the floral bias tape?
Craft Passion
Thursday 30th of April 2015
Hi piplup, may I know which "dark brown" tape are you referring to? I don't seem to have dark brown tape in the tutorial. The instruction to sew the floral bias tape is on smaller tutorial picture #7. Hope this help.
mutlu firuz
Thursday 9th of January 2014
hi, what a nice site! I was searching a nice wallet for my sister, this will be a great gift... thanks a lot from other side of the world :))