Patchwork Abundance Wallet

I frequently get pulled into the vortex of scarcity mindset. While I can see clearly how it holds me back, I still get stuck in the classic "I am not enough" thought pattern which goes along with "I do not have enough" (thanks you to the incessant advertising of capitalism for this one). I am actively trying to heal from this and move beyond that feeling of not enough both in myself and in my life. I want to feel like I'm enough and like I have enough because I am and I do.

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I didn't really consider how symbolic making a wallet would be. I thought just needed a new one because the one I had made before was pissing me off with its bulkiness as well as it had lost its snaps and was just plain dirty. It turns out, I think this project comes at a very important time in my and Josh's life as we make plans and set goals for the next phase of our lives.

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I knew I wanted to add positive energy for abundance and richness (not just financial!) so I went looking for a tarot card affirmation on the Light Seer's Tarot website. I don't have this deck myself, although I love it and really should procure it someday, but I love simply going on the site and reading the card interpretations and affirmations. I thought I was going to use an affirmation from a pentacle card, since that suit is associated with money, Earth, and tangible things, but none of them truly spoke to me. Instead, I went with The Empress card, which is about creation in the physical world and is a card that I have felt a closeness to for my entire tarot journey, so that is the affirmation I ultimately went with.

I will lay out this post a bit like a very loose tutorial. If you have questions about any steps, please leave them in the comments and I will do my best to answer them, or you can check out the video at the bottom of the page for visuals!

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Step 1 - I couldn't find the tutorial I used to make my original wallet, so I took the old one apart, measuring each piece and documenting how they were sewn together.

Step 2 - I designed a little patchwork pattern for the outside of the wallet and chose and cut out fabrics for the patchwork as well as all the other pieces. PLEASE NOTE: 1/4" seam allowance is included in all of these measurements.

Step 3 - Using fabric I had in my stash, I put together the patchwork for the outside.

Step 4 - I added interfacing (that I also already had!) on half of each card slot piece and half of the inner pocket piece. (I used medium-weight interfacing because that's what I had - if you have featherweight you can likely interface the entire thing without adding too much bulk.) I also fully interfaced the outside patchwork.

Step 5 - I folded the card slot pieces in half longwise, right sides together. With the fold facing away from me, I stitched a 1/4" seam along the right side of the slot. I turned the fabric right side out and stitched a 1/4" topstich along the top edge.

Step 6 - I folded the inner pocket piece in half longwise, wrong sides together, and laid the first card slot piece down flush with the left-hand side and 3/4" from the top fold. I stitched 1/4" from the bottom edge and 1/8" from the right-hand side. I repeated with the following two card slots (6/8" below the top edge of the slot above) before stitching down the center of all three slots (4" in from the lefthand side).

Step 7 - I added a 3" zipper (the only thing I had to purchase for this project, btw!) to the outside of the wallet following the zipper portion of this tutorial.

Step 8 - I had the perfect colors in my embroidery floss collection, so I added viney floral embroidery to the outside and stitched the outside to the lining along the top edge, right side together.

Step 9 - I opened the outside and lining and laid the pocket with card pockets onto the lining (aligning with the left and bottom edges) before closing the outside over, making a little sandwich. I sewed a seam along the left and bottom edges.

Step 10 - I pulled the wallet through the opening on the right, turning it from inside out to outside out, and folded the open side of the tube in on itself before stitching right along the edge to essentially seal the tube.

Step 11 - I embroidered an abundance affirmation/spell on the inside card pocket. It is intentionally hard to read to be subtle and personal, but it says "I give birth to my abundantly rich future". I also embroidered a running stitch in red along the top of the inner pocket.

Step 12 - I used unflavored dental floss to attach two large snaps by hand.

And there you have it - a very cute, very functional, very personal, wallet - all for the cost of a zipper!

I hope you have a beautiful rest of your day and thank you so much for being here!

💖, Katrina

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