Wallet DIY — How to Sew a Bifold Wallet

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Looking for a fun and easy DIY that doesn't require a lot of supplies? Wallets are great beginner-friendly sewing projects because they don't require a huge time commitment. With just a few supplies and a small amount of fabric, you can practice your sewing skills or even teach someone else to sew! That's right — this is a fantastic teaching project. Watch our how-to video to see how easy it is to sew your own wallet.

Materials List:

Cordura^® 1000D 60" Fabric in color of choice (we chose Pacific Blue #122914)
Sample of Plastipane 30 Gauge Vinyl Window Material #103439 — "Order Sample"
Sailrite^® Woven Sew In Tags (2Pk) #121627
Grosgrain Polyester Binding Black 1" #105421 — 6 feet per wallet
Tex 70 Black Polyester UV 4oz #105425

Tools List:

Clear Acrylic Ruler 6" x 24" #102400
Rotary Cutter 28mm #139900
Self Healing Rotary Cutting Mat 24" x 36" #120257
Chalk Pencil Cartridge Set #121669
Thread Clipper “Kuroha” #121908
Sailrite^® 1" Swing Away Binder #100103
Sailrite^® Fabricator^® Sewing Machine, Table & Workhorse™ Servo Motor #400500
Gingher^® Scissors Right Hand Lightweight 8" #101017
Tempered Cutting Glass for Hotknife #121915
Sailrite^® Edge Hotknife Package #103800

First, let’s talk about the materials you’ll need. The wallet is sewn from Cordura^® 1000D bag fabric. This durable, water-repellent fabric is the toughest bag-making fabric we offer. It’s a great choice for a variety of outdoor, rugged DIYs including backpacks, luggage, outdoor gear, duffle and tote bags, footwear and much more.

The smallest amount of yardage we sell of our fabrics is one yard, which makes 21 wallets! Consider making multiple Cordura wallets for birthday or Christmas presents. Keep them on hand as party favors, or use this tutorial to teach kids how to sew! This is a great DIY to introduce the next generation to a new and fun hobby. It’s fast, easy and every kid loves a wallet!

You only need a small amount of clear vinyl window material for the credentials sleeve for inserting your driver’s license. Window material can be expensive, but luckily, we sell sample sizes of all our fabrics and materials. All you need is a sample of a 30-gauge window vinyl to make this wallet — another reason this is a great, inexpensive DIY. All that’s left is some thread, 6 feet of binding per wallet, and the optional Sailrite sewn-in tag. Only a handful of materials make this wallet!

We’re sewing our wallet on the industrial, straight stitch Sailrite^® Fabricator^® Sewing Machine. However, this DIY can easily be sewn on any heavy-duty sewing machine — including the Ultrafeed^® — that can handle binding and vinyl window material. The raw edges of your binding might fray, so a great use of the Sailrite^® Edge Hotknife is to carefully seal those raw edges to prevent them from raveling.

Watch our short video to see how easy it is to sew yourself a practical bifold wallet! You can sew multiple wallets in an afternoon. If you want to make several wallets, make sure to order enough binding and vinyl window samples. And be sure to post photos of your finished wallets in the comments section below or on social media using #Sailrite. We want to see what you’re making!