Am I the only one with this problem?
It’s just insane the number of cards we have to keep track of. None of these are credit cards, they’re just the loyalty cards that retailers offer to give you discounts and cash back on purchases. Oh, and my library card. My friend Melinda had a great idea to tame them, which I’ve been using for years.
So much neater, and I haven’t lost a card. But there’s still a couple of small problems. When I visit the gas station, I have to remove the card from the ring. I also have a couple of cards that are printed on heavy paper, which wouldn’t last long getting tossed around in my purse. To compliment the ring system, I needed a pocket to store them in.
Is that more red leather? Why, yes it is! After shortening my coat and making a new bag, I still had some leather left, so I thought it would be perfect for this. I was even able to reuse one of the buttons I cut off the coat.
To make this, you’ll need a piece of leather or other heavy fabric for the outside (old jeans would work well), fabric to line the inside, a button and a 3” piece of elastic.
Cut the leather 4” by 8”. Cut the lining the same size. Sorry for the dark pictures, but I’m a night-crafter.
Fold the leather lengthwise with right sides together. Stitch down both sides with a 1/4” seam. Do the same with the lining, but leave a couple of inches open in the middle of one side.
Turn the leather piece right side out. Slide it into the lining so they’re right sides together and the top edges are even.
Stitch the ends of the elastic together to create a loop. Slip the loop between the leather and lining, centered between the seams. Stitch around 1/4” from the edge, adding extra reinforcing stitching over the elastic.
Turn right side out through the hole in the lining.
Stitch the opening in the lining closed. Push the lining into the leather and stitch around the upper edge.
Stitch the button on the front, opposite the elastic loop. Insert cards, pull the loop over the top and hook around the button.
This fits perfectly in the pocket in my new bag next to my cell phone.
I still haven’t used up all that leather, so I made a zipper pull using the rest of the zipper I cut off to make the pocket inside the bag…
…and a Coffee Cup Sleeve, of course. I even had one more button left from the coat to use on it.
I feel like I’ve more than gotten my money’s worth out of this coat. I still have a couple of pieces of leather left, so I can’t promise this won’t pop up again. But, for now, I think I’m just going to enjoy all of this.
