TEA WALLET

I was gifted the open tea wallet some time ago, but never got around to making another. You can buy them readily enough on Etsy, but they look too easy. I had wanted to find a read-made pattern, but all the links to them in Pinterest led nowhere. So, he's my version.

Materials: fabric, thread, snaps or velcro, sewing machine, small bit of iron-on interfacing 

Cut 1 piece of cotton fabric 18.5" long and 9.5" wide for the body of the wallet.

Cut 1 piece of cotton fabric 4.5 x 9.5" wide for the top pocket.

Cut 2 pieces of fabric 3.5 x 3.5" square for the flap.

I used a plastic snap for a closure, but the original tea wallet had a velcro closure.

Unless stated, the seams are 1/4".

Directions:

Using the 3.5" square, round off the top edge. If you use a plastic snap closure, fuse a small piece of interfacing to the wrong side of either piece. With right sides together, sew 1/4" seam on 3 sides, leaving the bottom edge open. Clip the curves. Turn right side out. Press.

Mark the center of the flap. Mark the center of the body fabric in half along the 9.5" side. Place the tab on the right side of the body fabric, matching center lines and raw edges. Stitch the tab to the body fabric. (The rounded edge of the tab will be facing the inside of the rectangle.)

Fold the body fabric in half, right sides together, to make a rectangle 8.25 x 9.5. The tab will be inside the rectangle. Stitch around the rectangle leaving an opening to turn. Trim corners. Turn right side out. Press. 

On the folded edge of the body section, mark a spot 3" from the bottom and centered on the 9" side. This is for the snap placement. It's easier to put 1/2 of the snap on now rather than after the bottom edge is turned up to make the bottom pocket. The round 1/2 of the snap will go on the inside of the body fabric. The female or male section of the snap goes on the outside of the body fabric. Test that you have the snap sections going on the correct side by folding up the bottom 2". The snap will be inside the fold.

Once you have the snap attached, fold up the bottom edge 2". This will form the bottom pocket. Pin or clip in place.

*Make the top pocket before securing the bottom pocket.

With right sides together, stitch around the top pocket fabric leaving an opening to turn. Clip corners. Turn right side out. Press, folding in the opening. Stitch across the side of the pocket that had the opening as close to the edge as possible.

Place the top pocket along the top edge of the wallet, matching the edges of the pocket to the edges of the body. Clip or pin in place.

Stitch around the entire wallet securing the turned up edges of the bottom that forms the bottom pocket and the top pocket. Stitch as close to the edges as you can.

Fold the wallet, left side in, right side in, and bottom up. Carefully press to form the lines to make the lines to separate the pockets into 3 sections. 

Open the wallet, and stitch along the press lines through the wallet and pockets.

Fold the wallet up again, and mark where to place the second half of the snap on the flap. Secure the snap on the flap and you are ready to fill your wallet with your favorite tea bags.

Snap Bag 

Materials:

Co-ordinating fabrics (scraps are great)  ½ inch longer and wider than the finished bag

Metal retractable ruler for cutting into sections

Interfacing or Floriani no show mesh…or something comparable for a pocket

Sewing machine, thread

Crafting scissors to cut the metal ruler, masking tape

optional: 2- 4 inch square for pull tab (not shown)

Directions:

Cut 4 rectangles the same size – 2 for outside and 2 for the lining. These should be about 1/2 inch bigger than the finished bag. Scraps of fabric could be sewn together to make your rectangles.

Cut 2 rectangles the width of your rectangles x 3.25 inches (we’ll call this the band)

OPTION: Cut 2- 4 inch squares for pull tabs. Fold each square into triangles by folding 2 opposite corners together and then fold the 2 layer triangle again to make a 4 layer triangle. Place the raw edge along the top of each outside rectangle, overlapping the edge a bit so it gets caught into the seam between the outside and the band.

With right sides together, sew 1 outside rectangle to 1 band, matching the widths.

Sew 1 lining to the opposite end of that same band, right sides together.

You now have a large rectangle that includes a lining, a band, and an outside.

Repeat this for the other side.

    (If you are adding a pull tab, top-stitch the tab along the seam between the outside and the band.)

Matching seams and with right sides together, sew together the two sections along one long side. Open flat.

Cut a piece of interfacing or I used Floriani no-show mesh to hold the ruler in place. This will be called the pocket. The pocket should be 1 ¼ wide and the same width of the bag, but check the width of the ruler to make sure it’s wide enough with at least 1/8 inch leeway to easily slide the ruler inside.

Working on the wrong side of the bag, place the pocket edge next to the seam where the band is stitched to the outside sections.  Do not sew the short edges of the pocket closed. Sew the pocket along the seam where the lining pieces are stitched to the band. Then stitch again to close the opposite side of the pocket. You now have a pocket into which the ruler will slide to keep the ruler inside the band section.  If you want the ruler to be along the top of the bag, mark the band with a line that divides the band in half from one side to the other and place the edge of the pocket fabric closer to that line. Stitch both long sides, but not the short sides.

Use your crafting scissors or a metal cutter to cut two pieces of the metal ruler. Both pieces will be 1 inch shorter than the width of one side of the bag. Round off the edges of both rulers. Wrap masking tape or painter’s tape around the cut edges for safety.

Slide rulers into the band making sure that the rounded side of each ruler faces the outside sections and are away from the open edges of the pocket. You can fold the bag in half, wrong sides together to make sure that they are facing the right direction to pop out to open the bag.

Place the right sides of the bag together, match seams and sew around the bag leaving a large opening in the bottom of the lining section. Clip corners to reduce bulk. Be sure to push the rulers toward the other side of the bag while sewing.

Turn the bag right side out through the opening in the lining.

Fold the lining opening in and sew or hand stitch the opening closed. Tuck the lining inside the bag.

   I’ve made snap bags before, but the ruler was added from the open edge of the band and then stitched closed.  This makes the bag easier to sew and cleaner on the outside. I used 3 different fabrics, but I was just trying to make use of scraps and an applique design I had created.

When my original ruler was used up I bought a narrower ruler. It doesn't seem to have the same "snap" as the regular width ruler if your snap bag is larger.