Sewing a Travel Handbags and Wallet

I made this set for my mom last year. I had this half yard of (what I believe to be a Kaufmann) fabric that was begging to be used. The classic bird print combined beautifully with the more modern circle pattern I also had, the colors are a perfect match.

The set consists of a large zippered tote with handles, attached with steel rings There’s also an eyeglasses pouch, a keyfob and a passport wallet.

For the bag I used fusible fleece as interfacing and lined it with the circle fabric. The keyfob is made of the same webbing used in the handbag, and has a strip of the circle fabric sewn on top.

I am not sure of the name or designer of this fabric, I bought it on a clearance sale. The fabric is “Whispering Woods Songbirds”

By far the most difficult item to sew was the wallet. It had two slots for credit cards, one clear pocket for ID, one pocket for money, one for coins (closes with snap button), one for plane tickets and one for her passport. There was an elastic ring to hold a pen that had been covered inside the clear tube with the ring fabric. It looks as if the pen is printed with the pattern. I used heavy interfacing to keep it very stiff, like a wallet should be. It closes with a magnetic snap.

On the outside the wallet is covered with the bird fabric.

The eyeglasses pouch closed with an elastic loop and a button covered in the circle fabric. I used extra thick fleece interfacing to make it “fluffy” enough to keep the glasses from harm.

All of the items had my mom’s name embroidered on them. She really liked it, I am glad to say. A vast improvement from the days of macaroni art and hand-painted flowerpots.

Aunt Clara