Thursday, July 5, 2012

Tea Bag Wallet

One thing I remember about being a child is playing hard.  We would stay outside from morning until dusk, totally engrossed in a project or game. Sewing can be like that too.  Sometimes I just want to play and make something new, fast, and fun - like this tea wallet.

Check out how you can win one  at the end of this post.

I needed a way to carry my favorite tea blends with me
This is a serger project, which should take under a half hour to make.  You can also make this wallet using a standard sewing machine, but the construction will be slightly different.

In addition to fabric scraps, you will need velcro adhesive dots.  Fray check is optional.

Start with three 2 1/2" strips.  Cut them 12" long. 


Stitch them together on the long edges with a 1/4" seam.  Press



Cut another piece of fabric for a lining the same size as your pieced front.


Sew these two pieces right sides together along both short edges.


Turn right side out. Press.


Fold wallet in half and press to mark the center.


Unfold, and refold each short end toward middle about 2 1/4" - 2 1/2" as shown.  Check to make sure that your tea bags will fit.


Pin with four straight pins.


Serge across both sides. I serged mine twice to make sure it had a good finished edge.


I also applied Fray Check to each corner as an extra protection against unraveling threads.



With both halves of adhesive velcro dots stuck together, center on one half of wallet on inside.  Close wallet and apply pressure so that velcro is stuck to both sides of wallet.  Carefully open wallet separating velcro and make sure it is stuck securely to both sides.  You can hand stitch with invisible stitches if necessary.


 Voila, your new tea wallet!




Here are a few more I made, including one sewn from selvages.


I am giving away one of these prototypes.  If you are a tea drinker, or know a tea drinker, who would like one, leave a comment.
I will choose the winner by random drawing on July 12th.

Happy Sewing ♥

16 comments:

  1. Fun design! And it could be used for so many other things like coupons or cash!

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  2. nhlady_2006@yahoo.comJuly 6, 2012 at 6:44 PM

    Neat project! I am a tea drinker, for sure.

    Thanks for the giveaway!

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  3. What a great way to take you fave teas with you..Cute! :-)

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  4. Hola, le hq quedado muy linda!!! me gusto, es un buen proyecto para realizar el fin de semana....muchas gracias.
    Saludos

    Odette

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  5. I'm a tea drinker! What a great project.
    Dara.english@yahoo.com

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  6. I am definitely going to be making some of these as christmas presents this year!!
    Thank you for the well written tutorial :)

    homebirdeconomics.blogspot.co.uk

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  7. Love this, just discovered your blog and I'm the queen of tea. I'm English but live elsewhere in Europe where the tea bags are so week that I need to carry a constant supply of English brew... I think I'll start making one of these as soon as I can get to my machine! Thank you for the nice clear tutorial.

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  8. this is a great idea, and seems simple to make, very nice!!!!!
    Paula

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  9. Great and easy idea. A surefire winner of a tute.

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  10. Cute and a great way to travel with me favorite teas.

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  11. Great idea! Much cuter than the Ziploc I use!

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  12. What a great simple project! Going to try a different size for the premix coffee sachets too, hopefully before the kids wake up. Nice work!

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  13. Every October several of my high school friends come to my house for the weekend. (Don't tell but we graduated 48 years ago!)One of them always brings her tea bags with her - she has her favorite breakfast tea and wants to be sure she has it. I'd love to have one of these to give her! blessings, marlene

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  14. Such a wonderful tutorial for a great gift. Thank you so much! Of course, I'd love one of yours! Bettyjo0227@yahoo.com

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  15. This is awesome! As a tea-drinker, i think i need to have one of these. If only I had a sewing machine :) I like the fabric that you chose, also. Good choice! This is such a great idea!
    Tea Bag Wallet

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