Oh my friends, I’m so excited to share this with you….in fact, I’m so excited to share it with you that I’m going to shake things up if you will, and instead of telling you a story before showing you what I made, I’m just going to show you right now!!!!!!!
Friends……can you even believe that I made that lol?!? Never in my wildest dreams did I think making a zip around wallet was even a possibility, it just seemed way too hard, or too technical, or just not a thing at all but boy, was I wrong lol!
So I shared last week the new bag I made for myself, so once that was done…ummm, no that’s a lie, before I was even done with that, I’m already thinking ahead that I’m going to need a wallet….duh lol! Once the bag was done, then the actual wallet research begins, and I say research because I just felt like I wanted to try something different this time….the bag was a new style for me so I thought a new style of wallet was appropriate too, so the hunt began!
I started by just typing “wallet” into the search bar feature in some of my FB Bag Making Groups and it didn’t take long for me to realize that the impossible was not at all an impossibility, but rather a very real and possible thing and that it had been around for quite awhile lol! I was quickly introduced to the Classic Zip Around Wallet from Maggie55 Patterns, and I also quickly realized that all the cool peeps out there refer to it as the CZAW, and since you and I are cool peeps too, we shall also refer to it by that from now on too 😉!
This is the feature picture of the pattern….do you think I was “slightly” even more intimidated when I saw that, and then even more when I zoomed in and got an even closer look at the pure perfection of these wallets?!? You’d be a silly goose if you thought not lol! However, I kept referring back to the pictures I’d see in the FB groups and almost every single comment that accompanied those pictures went along the same lines of, “I’ve had this pattern forever and was too scared to make it until now, and now I’m wondering what took me so long, it was so much easier than I expected”!
The designer, who you might assume like I did is named Maggie, is Sue Cheek, a lovely Canadian woman, and let me tell you, she impressed me with her pattern writing skills as well as her clear and concise videos, which are included with the pattern purchase! I have to add that as she is Canadian, it was so refreshing to not have the additional dollar conversion on the pattern price! It was only $13 CDN which I thought was a great price and after I’d completed the wallet, when I thought of all the time and effort she put into that pattern and video with all her unique tips, well, the price seemed even better!
Ok, so pattern was purchased then time to decide materials. Sue suggests a fairly thin and kind of stretchy vinyl, or as is her preference, a real leather. If neither of those are possible, she suggests fabric. My first choice was to use a glitter vinyl that we used to carry in the shop but sadly it was too stiff and just wasn’t going to work for those rounded corners. Real leather is something I’ve never sewn with so that was out too, so a fabric it was! I have several pieces of upholstery material in my stash since I worked at Fabricland. We would get upholstery remnants in and when I saw something I loved and that I thought I could use for bags, I’d scooped it up! They were usually a pretty great price, I think like $10 for the whole piece which was usually almost a yard by 60″ wide! Over the years I’ve used most of them but this particular one that I ended up choosing, has just been sitting there patiently waiting to be used in something fabulous! I chose it because even though the prints are very different, the colours are similar enough that I thought they worked well together!
It’s a little bit heavier than a quilting cotton, but not quite as thick as a vinyl, but it did have good movement/stretch so I was hoping that would make it easier for me and those corners lol! I also chose 3 different cottons for my interior that I already had, one of them being the same print as my bag…see, I just always have to tie things together somehow when they’re a set, it’s a must lol!
Sue recommended a couple of things that I did not have, nor did I really even know what they were so after some googling and again searching the FB groups for alternatives, I ended up using things I had on hand and hoped they would suffice…..spoiler alert – they worked perfectly! I won’t bother boring you with the changes I made but if you’re interested in making the wallet and want me to share them with you, I gladly will!
In summary, here’s my final thoughts on this pattern…….IT’S AMAZING!!! Lol, but seriously, that’s how I really feel! She labels it as an Intermediate Level pattern but to me, that’s also a confidence thing…even if you haven’t been making bags/wallets for years, you can still give something a go, just try to use the suggested materials that are the easiest to work with!
I also feel like it could be a fairly quick make after you’ve done the first one and you kind of have a handle on what you’re doing! You might look at the pattern length and think I’m bonkers but Sue says right in her pattern description, “My patterns are not known to be short, as I include detailed instructions and hundreds of photos. I like you to think that I am standing over your shoulder, instructing you at every step of your project.”, which is exactly how you feel so I think that’s a great description!
And finally, before I show you my completed set, I will share one final tip that I think is very, very important……CHANGE OUT YOUR NEEDLE AFTER THIS PROJECT lol! The very unique construction of this wallet includes using quite a bit of fabric glue and double-sided tape. Depending on the varieties of these that you’re using, you can easily sew through them but there will still always be some residue left on your needle afterwards so change that needle….yes, technically you could just clean the needle with alcohol but I’m more of the type that likes to use a new needle fairly often, not quite on every project but pretty close!!
If you’ve made this lovely wallet too, I’d love to see yours, and if you have any tips to share, that would be amazing!
Thanks for reading along friends, I hope you all have an amazing week!
Shawna
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