Completed – Passport Wallet

My son is the new Youth Pastor at Mesa Hills Christian Church in Colorado Springs, CO and he’s going through the details of getting a passport for upcoming missionary work in Haiti.  I recall when Lladybird made a passport wallet for her trip to Paris so I thought I might make him one.  Why does someone need a passport wallet?  Well, because (and take it from one who knows first-hand) you want somewhere to keep the Customs Form you get on arrival so you have it handy when you are in the airport on the trip home.  I lost my form on my last trip to Playa del Carmen, Mexico and what a MESS that was at the airport!  And… it’s really nice to have that valuable piece of documentation protected in a nice wallet from mom on a trip too.

Teethy McGee Digital download from Etsy.

A couple of years ago, he asked me to make him a replica Goruck Gym Bag and it was made from a new fabric called Cordura.  It’s a super high-end military grade synthetic fabric that’s darn near tank-proof and I was surprised at how it easy it was to sew on.  Its like a light weight, plastic coated canvas and he liked the bag so much that I thought it would be good material for the wallet.  I wanted something that would slide easily in and out of pockets or be found quickly in a carry-on so there wasn’t an inconvenient tug factor when taking the passport out for Customs.  I ordered a yard in Smoke Gray for his wallet.

To give the pattern a try, I decided to make a wallet for his wife out of some beautiful quilting fabric I got from Fat Quarter Shop.  It’s Town Lake Morning Walk by Leah Duncan.  She lives up near Austin and the designs are inspired by her morning walks in South Texas.  (I just ordered that Portside Travel Set pattern from Grainline Studios on the FQS blog!)  Quilt fabric by a Texan that aren’t cowboy boots and cows?  You betcha’!  Don’t get me wrong – I have both of those …cowboy boots and cows… but we Texans are so much more than what the media decides to put on TV.  Like beautiful morning walks in God’s Country.  Just sayin’.  🙂
I love this wallet because it has a place for credit cards.  I don’t put credit cards there though, but Texas has a card that can be used for local border crossings that is the same size as a credit card.  Its for frequent border crossings and takes the place of a passport.  It came in handy before the border became too dangerous for this blondie to cross even in the daylight.  I think I’ve used it once since I got it in 2009.  But you never know, one day the shopping might be safe again.

I’ll be honest, my first wallet attempt was a fail.  I used the wrong type of interfacing (fusible fleece – don’t ask, I can’t say why), I didn’t leave enough room to turn it right-side out and ripped the stitching, and my final seam didn’t turn in properly (fleece issue).  So I gave it another shot and TA-DAA!  Success!  I also trimmed my time off of completion by 20 minutes.  I hope she likes it.
I’m looking forward to the Cordura fabric getting here so I can make one for my son and one for hubs.  🙂  We still travel to Playa del Carmen occasionally or take a cruise here and there so he’ll use it eventually.