Simple Cutoff Phone Wallet

I have been charged with leading a craft for a ladies' night with a group from my church. I've not ever done something like this before, so I was trying to think of things that would be simple and fun and useful. I think I am going to have us making little felt clutch wallets, but in the process of looking up ideas online, I found cute little felt phone wallets, too.

I don't have any felt lying around, but I do have some leftover legs from some denim cutoff shorts I made a while back. I used some of the denim to update some basic coffee coasters. Today, I used the old jeans to make a couple cute little phone wallets.

The first one I made was all denim. I didn't leave myself enough room, so my phone doesn't actually fit in it. Bummer... So of course I had to make a second one! I used denim for the phone pocket and the little front pocket, and some blue linen (I think?) fabric from a thrift store for the card pocket. All the fabric edges are left raw so they will fray with time, but that's the fun of cutoffs, isn't it?

Materials: 

• Old jeans or other fabric scraps, if desired. 
• Scissors. 
• Heavy duty needle.
• Embroidery floss. 

Step 1: Size the phone pocket. Trace around your phone and give yourself about 1/4 inch extra on all sides. Cut 2 layers of denim for the phone pocket.

Step 2: Decide how you want your cards and bills pockets to lay out. I tried it two different ways. Cut them to fit the whole length of the phone pocket, and then shorten them by cutting the angles.

Step 3: Blanket stitch the layers together. Make sure you are catching all the layers. If you don't know how to blanket stitch, never fear! There are so many good tutorials online. I used one from Holiday Crafts and Creations, because it had been a while since I'd used the blanket stitch.

Step 4: Load it up. If you are giving this is a gift, tuck a gift card to your favorite coffee shop or local store.

You want the phone to be snug, but not difficult to slide in and out. This could be a handy way to keep your phone and cards together when you are hauling around your larger purse, or when you need to toss a little wallet in a backpack for a dry day hike.  If you are worried about things falling out, you could a strap and button or snap closure over the top of the wallet, or run a piece of elastic vertically around it. Or, just be aware that the denim will stretch with time and don't carry it around upside down. Ha. 

I think this is a really cute, imperfect little wallet. The denim will fray a little and will gain character with time. I don't sew well yet - I'm still learning, but I think this is a good project for trying something new. I also like that it uses up the odds and ends of things you might have laying around in your craft box. 

Enjoy!