Just Another Hang Up: Gift Card Lil' Wristlet

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Gift Card Lil' Wristlet

I have two little friends, Dani & Grace, who happen to be sisters with birthdays in the same week. When I was young I always loved a little change in my pocket, so I thought I'd give them a couple of gift cards for their birthdays, but I wanted to "wrap" the gift cards in something special that they could use over and over again, so I made a small wristlet just big enough to hold the cards. Since we all give gift cards at one time or another, I thought I'd share this pattern that I created for this purpose.

The finished dimensions of these wristlets are 7 inches wide by 4.5 inches tall with a 5.5 inch long strap. It's smaller than my other wristlets, but still big enough for the essentials for an adult (cash, a debit card, a license and keys), or in this case the valuables of a little girl!

You will need to cut out pieces of fabric in the following dimensions. (Please see photo below.) Remember all measurements are in inches.

Strap - cut one 12 inch x 2 inch piece.
Lining - cut two 8 inch x 5 inch pieces.
Outside back - cut one 8 inch x 5 inch piece.
Zipper "ends" - cut two 3 inch x 1.5 inch pieces.
Outside front - cut one 3 inch x 5 inch piece and one 6 inch x 5 inch piece.

Also, you will need (not shown in photo):

One 9 inch zipper & thread.
Interfacing - cut two 8 inch x 5 inch pieces of fusible fleece.

I allow for 1/2" seams. Once you have the fabric cut out, you will need to round the bottom corners of your outside edges. You will only be rounding one side of each of your outside front pieces because you will sew those pieces together. You can do this by taking a small cup, meeting the side and bottom selvages and drawing a line around the cup, like I did on this piece of paper...

Then, trim the bottom edges around the pen line. This will provide a curved edge at the bottom of the wristlet.

Pin the 5 inch sides of the outside fronts together and sew with a 1/2 inch seam. (Make sure you are sewing the straight edges together, so the curved bottom edges will be on the outside edge.)

Now go to Flossie Teacake's fabulous tutorial, follow it, and get 'er done! I add a strap to mine. Just tuck it into the seam before you sew around the outside edges. Then go here to "Emily's Little World" and follow this fabulous tutorial on how to make the flowers! I attach mine with fabric glue. And... you're done! You've got a place to hide some gift cards and the receiver has a wristlet to carry around long after those cards are spent!

Have a great day!