sewVery: Perfect Petal Purse & Pirates Treasure Wallet + Giveaway!

Now that my daughter, Ella, is in school and has a dress code, I'm finding that I don't have as much to sew for her anymore. Makes me so sad, but I'm finding new ways to make little things for her and for her older brother--accessories! When Fenna from Fabulous Home Sewn announced a pattern tour for her Perfect Petal Purse and Pirate Treasure Wallet (affiliate links), I jumped on board to make both for my children!

The Perfect Petal Purse is the perfect size and style of little purse for my 5 year old. She loves to stash her money, lip gloss, and other treasures inside the little zipper pouch.

Flowers are one of her favorite things (to pick and to draw), so this design has definitely been a big hit with her! She loves butterflies, too!

The Perfect Petal Purse pattern was very easy to follow and would make a great project for someone just learning to sew in a zipper.

The instructions explain how to make a long fabric strap, but I decided to use a piece of an old silver/black woven belt cut to a wristlet length. The silver in the belt matches the silver plus signs in the pink Cotton + Steel fabric. I also used silver metallic thread for the topstitching.

Be sure you come back Monday to see the amazing coat I made Ella using the same Cotton + Steel fabrics.

Since my son is ten years old, he sometimes wants to carry a wallet when we go to the mall (especially the Lego store). He's had a Spiderman wallet for ages, but he's really grown out of that phase. When he saw the mustang and green with gold plus signs fabrics from Cotton + Steel, he said he wanted his Pirates Treasure Wallet sewn with them. I was so excited to make him something, especially with these fabrics! It is very rare that I can sew him something that he wants!

The Pirates Treasure Wallet is definitely more involved than the Perfect Petal Purse, but it's not difficult at all. From my experience in sewing lots of other purses and one other wallet, I chose to add Pellon Shape Flex interfacing to pretty much every piece of the wallet even though the instructions didn't specify it on every piece. Since I was using quilting cotton fabrics to construct the wallet, I knew it would need more support and structure.

I pieced the front flap of the wallet with a piece of gold lambskin leather to give it a little extra sparkle and shine! I also used gold metallic thread for all the topstitching. My son's favorite color is gold, so he loved all the extra bling I added to his wallet!

I fused a small piece of Pellon 420 Fashion Fuse to the back of the leather to stabilize it since it is a very thin leather and prone to stretching. I used more of this gold leather on a bag I recently sewed for myself. Check it out HERE.

The wallet is a tri-fold style wallet with a small zipper compartment on the left, a vinyl pocket in the middle, and three credit card slots on the right. It also has a pocket for paper money and closes with a strip of velcro.

The Pirates Treasure Wallet was fun to sew, and I learned a new trick with the pleats on the zipper pocket. The pleats give the pocket a little room to expand when you fill it up with coins.

Connor loves his new wallet and has used it on a few shopping trips to the store already! Since it is a tri-fold wallet, it is a little bulky, especially when filled with money and cards, but I think that is pretty true of any tri-fold wallet.

The pattern has lots of details and photographs that help you with each step of the construction. My only issue is with the seam at the bottom. When you turn everything right side out, the bottom seam is very thick and pulls a quarter inch or more from the other side. I had to add a strip of fabric to the bottom of the dollar bill pocket (which is also the back of all the compartments) just to make it wide enough to sew to the outer . I cut all my interfacing without seam allowance so it would not add bulk to the seams. So, when you make your Pirates Treasure Wallet, but sure to add about an inch to the width of one of the inner wallet pieces. You'll probably then have a little extra to cut off.

Fenna is celebrating the release of both the Perfect Petal Purse and the Pirates Treasure Wallet (affiliate links) patterns with a pattern tour and giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Be sure to follow along with all the participants for some great ideas. You can also purchase both patterns through Fabulous Home Sewn's pattern shop on Craftsy.

September 28 Nosy Pepper