Back in December I asked George to help me do some jobs in the garden, mainly clearing some leaves. He wasn't keen, so I said I would give him £1 if he helped me and did a good job. He cleared every leaf on the lawn and was really pleased with himself. I gave him his pound and he said "I can buy that flamingo umbrella I saw at the farm now". Like any four year old, he sees stuff in the gift shop and asks for everything he sees. I settled for a pencil and rubber and had forgotten all about the flamingo umbrella. I said that the umbrella was £14 so he would need £13 more to buy it. With that he went and made a list of jobs he could do to help. They included picking litter, tidying his room and setting the table. With all this pocket money he planned on earning, I thought I better make him a special wallet to keep it in. I had been sent some Age of the Dinosaur fat quarters from the Craft Cotton Company so, this was the perfect project for them.
The Age of the dinosaurs is one of the most recent collaborations with the Natural History Museum. There are 5 prints with realistic looking dinosaurs and their names on them. It is perfect for a 4 year old dinosaur fan so I used a few of the prints in the wallet.
YOU WILL NEED
White Felt
Bosal Double Sided Fusible Foam
Sewing Machine with zipper foot
Iron and Ironing Board
Scissors
8" Zip
1m 1.5" binding
Popper or KAM snap
METHOD
1. Cut fabric, the sizes are shown width x height.
White -
6" x 9"
Circes -
8" x 3" (fold in half and curve into the shape you prefer) x2
Green -
8" x 6"
2" Square
Grey -
8" x 7"
8" x 2" x2
8" x 3.5" x2
8" x 9"
Foam
8" x 12"
2. Fold the small green piece of fabric over the end of the zip. Fold the edges in and top stitch into place. Repeat on the other side.
3. With the two 2" x 8"grey fabric pieces, sandwich and pin the long edges to the zip, right sides together and sew with your zipper foot on.
4. Repeat on the other side with the larger grey pieces. Now sew the opposite edges with right sides together. The zip will be enclosed inside. When this is done, turn it out and give it a press. See the picture below for reference.
5. Get your large white dinosaur material and place it face up. Now you need to layer up a few of the others. Fold the green and the grey in half, place the larger one on first with the edges lined up. Place the green one on top of that. On the opposite edge, put the zip compartment you have just made. Pin it all into place. Hopefully, the picture below will help.
Cut some triangles out of felt to make the teeth and pin them along both edges.
6. Top stitch all the way around.
7. Now stitch the flap to the top edge. Press it flat.
8. For the front of the wallet, sew the other flap to the front piece. You could make this one piece if you prefer but I didn't want my dinosaur's upside down on this bit, so I sewed it on separately. You should have a foam piece the same size. Trim it to form the curved flap.
**If you don't have foam, you could apply some interfacing to the outside piece to add some strength and use wadding. I like the sturdiness and strength that the Bosal foam adds to bags and purses.
9. Layer up the outside piece, foam and inside pockets so everything is facing the right way. If you are using fusible foam, iron it into place.
I have top stitched the grey pocket down at this point. It falls on the centre line so helps it close, but you could do this before you layer it up if you prefer the stitch line to be hidden on the back.
10. You could make some bias binding or use some pre made. I have made my own using the 45-degree mark on my ruler to cut diagonally across some green fabric. Make 1m of 1.5" wide strips. Press them in half long ways. Fold one edge into the centre and press it again.
11. With the edge that is not pressed, sew it around the edge of your wallet. The rounded edge is why you need to cut the binding on the bias. It allows the fabric to be manipulated around the curves without puckering. Press the binding round to the other side and either top stitch or hand stitch into place. I have decided to hand stitch.
12. To finish just add a fastening of your choice. I have gone with a green KAM snap.
I have made this with George in mind but with some swapping of fabrics and upgrading the fastening to something more grown up, this would be a great purse for young and old. If you give it a go, I would love to hear from you!
I also thought you might want to see George with his well earned flamingo umbrella. Have you ever seen a more proud face? Complete with hot chocolate smile! We were able to visit Tattershall Farm Park in between Christmas and New Year before we got locked down again. It was really quiet and they have loads of outdoor space. I would highly recommend a visit if you are in the area.
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