Wallet Pattern Maker
A wallet is mostly a matter of what has to fit inside it: a handful of cards, some notes, perhaps coins. This one is sized from the card up, so the slots are made for the cards you actually carry.
Choose bifold or trifold, set how many rows of card slots there are and how deep, and add a note pocket or a zip coin pocket if you want one. It closes with a snap, a wrap band, a zip or nothing at all.
Make it yours: Change the number of card slots and rows, the card ease, the fold (bifold or trifold) and the closure.
Make this pattern in your size →What you can change
Size
- Closed width: 8–22 cm (3⅛–8⅝″). One panel, from the spine to the fore-edge, closed. At least a card plus ease.
- Closed height: 7–25 cm (2¾–9⅞″). Top to bottom, closed.
Sizes are typed in centimetres, millimetres or inches. The starting size is Closed width 10.5 cm (4⅛″), Closed height 10.5 cm (4⅛″).
Options
- Fold: bifold or trifold
- Closure: none, snap, band or zip
- Cards lie: across the panel or upright
- Bottom corners: square or rounded
- Switches: Note pocket, Zip coin pocket, Interfacing
- Measurements and counts: Stack thickness, Card long side, Card short side, Ease, Rows of slots, Slot depth, Coin pocket width, Coin pocket height, Corner radius, Zip tape width, Sew the zip on at
Starting points
These are sizes and settings to begin from, and every one stays fully editable. Type your own measurements, or start from the nearest one.
| Starting point | Finished size, cm | Same starting point in round inches |
|---|---|---|
| Bifold wallet | 10.5 × 10.5 cm closed · 3 card slots | 4¼ × 4¼″ closed · 3 card slots |
| Card holder | 10 × 10.5 cm closed · 6 card slots | 4 × 4¼″ closed · 6 card slots |
| Trifold wallet | 10 × 11 cm closed · 6 card slots | 4 × 4½″ closed · 6 card slots |
| Zip-around wallet | 10.5 × 11.5 cm closed · 3 card slots | 4¼ × 4½″ closed · 2 card slots |
| Long bifold with wrap band | 10.5 × 18.5 cm closed · 3 card slots | 4¼ × 7¼″ closed · 3 card slots |
Cutting list
At the starting size (Closed width 10.5 cm (4⅛″), Closed height 10.5 cm (4⅛″)) the pattern has these pieces. Fabric sizes include seam allowance, interfacing is cut to the stitching line, and pieces cut on the fold are shown opened out. Each size is the width and height of the piece as cut.
| Piece | Fabric | Cut | Size to cut | How |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outer | Main fabric | 1 | up to 23.8 × 12.5 cm (up to 9⅜ × ≈4⅞″) | Shaped: cut from the printed piece |
| Outer | Interfacing | 1 | up to 21.8 × 10.5 cm (up to ≈8⅝ × ≈4⅛″) | Shaped: cut from the printed piece |
| Lining | Lining | 1 | up to 23.8 × 12.5 cm (up to 9⅜ × ≈4⅞″) | Shaped: cut from the printed piece |
| Card slot strip | Lining | 3 | 12.5 × 9.2 cm (≈4⅞ × 3⅝″) | Rectangle: cut by measurement or from the print |
| Note pocket | Lining | 1 | up to 12.5 × 12.3 cm (up to ≈4⅞ × ≈4⅞″) | Shaped: cut from the printed piece |
| Snap tab | Main fabric | 2 | up to 5 × 6.5 cm (up to ≈2 × ≈2½″) | Shaped: cut from the printed piece |
| Snap tab | Interfacing | 1 | up to 3 × 4.5 cm (up to ≈1⅛ × ≈1¾″) | Shaped: cut from the printed piece |
| Snap reinforcement | Interfacing | 1 | 2 × 2 cm (≈¾ × ≈¾″) | Strip: cut by measurement |
You will also need: Snap; Thread. The cover page and materials list give the amounts for your size.
The maker’s fabric estimate at this size: Main fabric about 0.2 m of 112 cm fabric; Lining about 0.2 m of 112 cm fabric.
How it goes together
These are the maker’s own instructions at the starting size. They change with the options you pick, and the PDF carries the full set with the cover, cutting list and materials list.
- Fuse the interfacing to the wrong side of the outer. It is cut to the stitching line, so keep the seam allowance clear.
- Make the slot strips: fold each in half on its fold line, wrong sides together, so the fold is the top of the slots. Press and edgestitch along the fold.
- Make the note pocket: press the top edge 1 cm to the wrong side, then again by the same, and stitch the hem close to its lower fold.
- Make the snap tab: put the two tab pieces right sides together (fuse interfacing to one first), sew the sides and rounded end at 1 cm, leave the straight end open, trim and turn. Press and edgestitch. Sew the snap ball at its dot.
- Lay the lining right side up. On each card panel, sew the slot strips on from the top row down, so the rows already sewn hang clear of the stitching: put the strip’s fold on the marked fold line (a little above the row’s top, so it overlaps the strip above), turn the raw bottom edges under 1 cm together, set them on the row’s bottom line and stitch close to the edge. The sides are basted inside the seam allowance. Sew each divider line from the bottom up to the top, backstitching at the top.
- Lay the note pocket on the last panel of the lining, right side up, its bottom and sides level with the panel’s edges and its raw edges inside the allowance. Baste the sides and bottom.
- Baste the tab to the right side of the outer at the notch in the right-hand edge, its straight end level with the raw edge and its rounded end pointing in.
- Put the outer and the lining right sides together, edges and notches matching, with the tab (if any) between. Sew all the way round at 1 cm, leaving the gap between the bottom notches open. Trim the corners (or snip the curves), turn right side out through the gap, and push the corners out.
- Press, tuck the gap’s edges in and topstitch round the whole outside edge, 0.3 cm from it, closing the gap. Then stitch the spine lines through every layer, from the top to the bottom edge.
- Shut the wallet and mark where the snap socket lands on the front. Sew the socket at its dot on the outer, with a reinforcement square inside behind it.
- Check it shuts: put in your cards and notes, and fold it. If it will not close, unpick the spine stitching and move it out a little, or use thinner slot fabric next time.
Fabric suggestions
Outer: Canvas, denim, waxed or laminated cotton, linen, cork or faux leather.
Lining: Quilting cotton or poplin; slot strips in a thin firm cotton so cards slide in easily.
Interfacing, padding or other layers: Medium fusible interfacing on the outer, or fusible fleece for a soft one. Keep the slot strips thin: eight layers of thick fabric in the folds make a wallet that will not shut.
How each fabric family suits it
- Stable woven: great choice. Thin, firm and easy to topstitch, so it stays slim.
- Heavy or stiff: possible, with care. Strong and wipeable, but thick folds stack up fast. Use it for the outer only, with a thin lining, and trim every corner.
- Stretchy knit: not recommended. A stretch fabric lets the slots sag and the cards fall out. If you try it, fuse every piece to woven interfacing.
- Slippery or fine: possible, with care. Cards slide out of slippery slots. Fine as the outer with firm interfacing.
The maker’s advice adjusts to the fabric family you pick in the Fabric tab.
Printing it
At the starting size the printed pieces take 3 A4 pages, taped together using the page labels, alignment marks and page map. For a print shop, choose a sheet from A0 to a 36″ roll: the pieces are packed onto as few sheets as they will fit on, and if one is too big for the sheet the maker says so. How printing, tiling and the test square work.
Frequently asked questions
How are the card slots sized?
From a card’s two sides plus the ease you set, in as many rows as you choose and as deep as you choose. Cards can lie across the panel or stand upright.
Why keep the slot strips thin?
Several layers of thick fabric meet in the folds. The maker’s own advice is a thin, firm cotton for the slot strips so cards slide in and the wallet will still shut.
What size can I make?
The wallet pattern takes closed width from 8–22 cm (3⅛–8⅝″); closed height from 7–25 cm (2¾–9⅞″). It starts at Closed width 10.5 cm (4⅛″), Closed height 10.5 cm (4⅛″), and you can work in centimetres, millimetres or inches. There are 5 starting points to begin from (Bifold wallet, Card holder, Trifold wallet, Zip-around wallet, Long bifold with wrap band). Every starting point stays fully editable.
Which fabric suits the wallet pattern?
Canvas, denim, waxed or laminated cotton, linen, cork or faux leather. In the maker’s fabric advice, stable woven is a great choice; heavy or stiff and slippery or fine are possible with care; stretchy knit is not recommended.