Monday, May 23, 2011

Too Cute Card Keeper with clear vinyl pockets Tutorial


This project was born because I wanted to make something for the young women I work with at church.
I thought a small wallet for them to keep their ID in and a pocket version of a pamphlet that reminds them of their standards and values would be nice.
After I finished sewing 20 of them I decided they would work perfectly to carry business cards in as well
and/or
gift cards
credit cards
club cards
So many options....so little time!



And they are so so simple to make. 
Seriously,
I sewed 20 in a little over an hour!
No Joke!
Really the only tricky part is sewing on vinyl but I have a super secret technique to share that makes it simple as can be.

Would you like to make one too?
Or possibly 20?

Lets get started.


Supplies
  • Fabric scraps - 2,  6" x 4 1/2" pieces
  • Clear vinyl - 2,    3 3/4" x 2 1/2" pieces
  • Thread (coordinating)
  • Scissors
  • chalk pencil or something to mark fabric (optional)
  • scotch tape (not optional)
  • blind hem pressure foot (for sewing machine)
  • pins
  • iron
  • chopstick or blunt pencil





Pin fabric right sides together
Sew all the way around the perimeter using a 1/4 seam allowance.
Leave a 2 inch opening near the middle of one of the long sides.
Trim excess fabric from corners.



Turn right side out.
Use a chopstick to push out corners.

Press with an Iron, making sure opening edges are turned in and even.

With the outside of your card keeper facing up find the center of the rectangle (should be about 2 3/4" in) and draw a line across using your chalk or pen. 

Top stitch over the center line you drew (lengthen your stitch for a cleaner looking top stitch).
Fold the rectangle in half along the center stitch line and press.


Now for my Super Secret, Super Tricky Vinyl Sewing Technique!

Scotch Tape.

Yes you heard me.
Scotch Tape.

Sewing on vinyl can be hard because it sticks to your pressure foot and then your fabric tries to go through normally but the vinyl stays were it was and you have a big ol' uneven mess.

But
if
you
put scotch tape on the bottom of your pressure foot covering the metal the vinyl won't stick to it.
I've read that a Teflon pressure foot will do the same thing but this works for me and is much less expensive.

So in the following picture I cut a small piece of tape and lined it up and stuck it to one side of the pressure foot and then trimmed off the excess. Then I did the same thing to the other side.
I made sure to leave  an opening where the needle could go through without having to go through the tape.
This pressure foot is my Blind Hem Foot (which I love for top, edge stitching).



To sew the vinyl pockets on you simply line up the edges of the vinyl with the edges of your fabric rectangle. 
Use the metal bar in the center of your pressure foot as a guide. 
Move your needle all the way over to the left position.
 Lengthen your stitch and top stitch the vinyl into place.
Each piece of vinyl will be stitched down on three sides leaving the center sides open to insert your cards.


Voila'! 
You're done!
Not too bad. Right?


I also made another version.

It's an all vinyl card holder with a fabric slipcover.

I'm going to try and have a tutorial up for this one in a day or two.




Happy Sewing!

Update!

The second tutorial is up and running.













18 comments:

Jessica said...

These are adorable! You should sell them!! ;)

Megan said...

These are so cute! I love them... I'm going to have to try it. Thanks so much for the tutorial!

Sally said...

Love the idea of using tape on the bottom of presser foot. Very cute business card holder.

Karen said...

Hahahahaha...you don't have leprosy...hahahahahaha. LOVE the little nuggets on the side bar. Awesome cute project, too. Thanks!!!

Rebecca@This Present Life said...

Love this idea! I bought something similar from a vendor at a craft fair but it's falling apart and I'd love to make a new one. Guess it was meant to be that I saw your tutorial on UCreate! Definitely bookmarking this project!

Bethany said...

Probably a stupid question but where do you buy the plastic you used for these card holders? Love the idea - just need the materials. Thanks!

VickiT said...

Hello ~ I found your blog and this tutorial via UCreate email today. What a great tutorial and idea. Thank you very much.

I will add a hint to sewing with vinyl which will prevent any sort of sticky residue being left on the bottom of the foot from the tape. This is something I learned about 7 yrs ago when learning to use my embroidery machine when I bought that. There is a paper which comes on a roll very similar to how adding machine tape is sold but it is much thinner. It's called Heirloom stabilizer but it's pretty much like tissue paper. By laying this tissue type paper over the area you are going to sew it will prevent the vinyl from dragging on your foot and if sewing with the vinyl on the bottom, it prevents the vinyl from dragging on the machine bed by placing it underneath the vinyl. Of course, your tape trick means no purchasing tissue papers or heirloom stabilizers. At Christmas time however if you are going to do projects with vinyl grab lots of the white tissue paper in the after Christmas clearance sales since you can usually pick that up really cheap after the holidays. I suppose you could use any color of tissue paper really, not just white. I just normally use white just to be sure of no color bleeding or rubbing off on my sewing machine. Anyway, once you're done stitching the vinyl the tissue paper rips right off very easily.

Thank you again for this awesome little project. One can never have too many little storage things for thier purses. I wonder if there is some way to add more vinyl pockets to this to create a picture holder. There's another idea for you to play around with since you are clearly more imaginative than I am. ;) I'll be looking forward to the other tutorial you're going to post too.

Quilted Cupcake said...

Thanks for this great tutorial. I've wanted to make something like this, but couldn't get past the sticky plastic. Your solution is brilliant! I've pinned it to my board on Pinterest!

Anonymous said...

useful tutorial!!!
you have done a creative work i appreciate your hard work...
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NaDell said...

I love your tape idea. I bought some heavier vinyl that my machine just doesn't like that I'll have to try it on. Yea for great tricks! Thank you for sharing.
I'm over from Make it and Love it.

Simone De Bruyn Kako said...

Love it!! Thanks for this great tutorial!

Nikki said...

Hi! I made this for my business cards and love it! I have 2 cards for my job so it's perfect. The only suggestion I'd make is to use a heavy piece of interfacing to make it a little sturdier. When you're finished, you fold it in half, press with a steamy iron, and then put something heavy on top till it cools. Then it'll retain the crease and stay closed!

Mustaneer Ali said...

These all collection looking to much pretty and reflect great idea of a creative designer.

Mustaneer Ali said...

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RedSparrow said...

Your tip for sewing with vinyl just saved my life. Okay, well maybe more like my sanity. THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Joseph said...

You can add plastic on one side of holder which is transparent.
Scratch Cards

Muhammad Atif said...

These simple design are very easy to develop.
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Hank Hendricks

J Adams said...

Thank you for the tut. I'm going to spend a little time today making a passport-sized fauxdori cover, and this would be a great pocket insert to slip in under the elastic.
Do you have any tuts on making vinyl zippered pouches?