Useful Sewing - A Wallet for Matt

I enjoy sewing, but have reached a point where I almost don't feel like I can justify making more and more dresses.  I mean, it doesn't stop me since I enjoy making dresses so much, but....it is nice when life hands me a truly necessary sewing project.  Like when Matt's wallet was falling apart earlier this year and he requested a new one.  I can do that.  His only special request was that it be really, really sturdy.  Okay.  I can do that, too.

Matt bought this wallet at Pike's Place Market when I took him out to introduce him to my sister, oh, ten years ago.

I had an old pair of Carhartt pants in my stash in the sewing room that seemed like perfect material for the project.  (As an aside:  These pants were once mine, but became Matt's when I stopped wearing pants.  As such, the pair served us both well for more than a decade, but had gotten quite worn out across the thighs and seat, necessitating their retirement.)  I carefully cut out the pattern pieces from the sturdiest remaining parts of the pants.  I also dug around in my collection of patches and came up with one for a band we both really enjoy--The Dark Star Orchestra--to use as the focus point.

I used the same pattern as for my own wallet, but somehow Matt's ended up both wider and taller.  Not much, but a noticeable amount lager than mine--and larger than his old wallet, too.  I thought this was going to be a deal breaker for Matt.  I told him I'd take it for my own if, in the end, he didn't care for the size.  Since 99% of the time my wallet is in my backpack (whereas for Matt it is in his pocket) it made little difference to me if it is half an inch taller.  But, he got used to it and now finds the wallet just hunky-dory.  It makes me proud when he shows it off to people, I have to say.

And I will leave out the bit where I threw the whole darn thing across the room, like a child, because my sewing machine was just not having the thickness of all those layers of Carhartt.   I mean, the important part was that I eventually walked over and picked it back up again, right?  Persistence is key.  Persistence and patient friends who not only tolerate such fits, but offer wine and words of encouragement, too.

(Update 9/19/2016:  The universe is so funny.  Just days after I finally got around to writing about Matt's wallet he got a new one for his birthday.  It is remarkably slim, made from some schnazzy metal infused paper.  He loves how small this new wallet is and immediately swapped out.  So.  I got a Dark Star Orchestra wallet after all.  Gosh.  The universe is funny...)

(Update 10/15/2018):  The saga continues.  Matt wore out the metal infused paper wallet so I sewed him up a new wallet out of regular ol' quilting cotton.  And then he stretched out the pockets by overfilling them with cards that the cards would fall out when he opened his wallet.  And he didn't like that.  And I couldn't blame him.  So, I bought him a high-grade Red Oxx wallet for Christmas this year...and then gave it to him this week because he was so clearly bummed about the state of his wallet, cards flying out willy-nilly.)