Diaper Wallet Tutorial

They grow so fast, don't they? My little baby is spending the Sunday School hour in the nursery now instead of nestled in my lap. So its time to pare down what I carry, we really just need the necessities now in case of ... well, you know. I looked around for a diaper wallet tutorial but wasn't thrilled with the pouch style that I found. I thought I'd prefer the folding type I've seen so I had to wing it. But you don't, here is my spanking new tutorial for a folding-style diaper wallet:

1. Cut your main fabric pieces:

2 - 11x12 in. pieces for the inner pockets

2 - 11x14 in. pieces for the outer shell. It would be fun to have different colors for the inner and outer sides of the shell too.

Also, think about what kind of closure you would like to have (or if you want one at all). I made a tab with a button on the outside, but a magnetic snap or velcro would work equally as well. If you opt for a snap it should be inserted in step 2 (follow instructions on snap packaging) before the pockets are sewn to the shell.

2. Fold both pocket pieces in half lengthwise with wrong sides together; and press. Align the long raw edge (arrow points to this edge in the photo below) with the short side of one of the shell pieces; right sides facing. Sew around just the 3 sides that have raw edges with a 1/4 in. seam allowance. At the corners, leave the needle in the down position and pivot the fabric to make sharp corners. Leave the folded edge open as in the photo. Repeat for other pocket. It will look like this:

3. I decided on a rounded tab and button closure so I used this specialized tool for making the rounded edge. Actually, this is a gasket thingy from a sippy cup, but any round-ish object you find around your house would work too. Or you could make it square. Just trace around your special tool:

4. Extend the curved edge with a ruler so that it measures about 3 1/2 in. in length. Cut 1/4 in. from the line for a seam allowance:

5. Place the pieces right sides together and sew around 1/4 in. from the edge. Clip the seam allowance around the curve:

6. Turn the tab right side out and press. Pin to the pocket with the raw edges aligned. Place the other piece of shell fabric on top with the right sides facing. Like so:

Here it is with the top piece of fabric folded back a little to give you a better idea of what your fabric sandwich should look like at this point:

7. Pin all the layers together. As a reminder to myself not to sew all the way around I like to leave doubled pins where I should stop:

8. Now sew around the edge with a 1/2 in. seam allowance, stopping where the double pins are to leave a space for turning the fabric right side out. Clip the excess fabric at the corners and turn right side out. Gently poke the fabric at the corners so you have a nice rectangular shape and press. Topstitch around very close to the edge and your wallet will look like this:

9. Now just finish up with a button hole in the tab and sew a button to the opposite side (or use velcro)

See? Super easy. I think this would be a great beginner project. Let me know if you make one, I'd like to see.