Passport / iPhone Purse

My mom has had a cute little passport purse hanging from the door of her sewing room for about 4 years, now.  I guess she's waiting for the time when she can go back to Japan, so she can put it to use.

I decided it would be perfect for carrying around an iPhone, so I asked her if I could study it and make one for myself.  I inherited an iPhone recently, but have been reluctant to carry it around for fear of losing it.  This little purse will help me keep it close.  It's kind of like a mini-messenger bag.

From a 14-inch square (You actually need just a little more than 2 fat quarters.) I made this charming little purse with 2-1/2 pockets.  It's astonishingly simple, with just a couple of folds, and a few sewn edges. 

I have no idea where the pattern came from.  Ma learned it in a sewing class one day.  I haven't seen it anywhere else on the internet, so I wrote up this tutorial. 

Here are the simple instructions for folding / making one of your own :


[This actually IS square, but it's laying on a flannel board that is leaning at an angle, so it looks crooked.]
Cut 2 14-inch squares of fabric.    This will be for the body of the bag, with pockets.
Choose fabrics for the inner and outer squares (maybe 1 dark and 1 light).

Cut another set of fabrics  9 x 7-1/2 inches for the back flap [Not pictured.]  I used a slightly wider fat quarter for the brown fabric, and a craft store bandana for the blue/purple tie dye.


With right sides together, sew each square/rectangle 1/4-inch from the edges, all around.
Leave about 2 inches open for turning it right-side-out.

Turn it, and press flat.


Take the LOWER / BOTTOM edge, and fold it up so that 2 inches from the top is NOT doubled up, as shown in the photo above.    The brown will be the outside of the purse; the blue will be the inside.


Next, fold the LEFT edge so that it evenly covers the rest.
In other words, fold the LEFT edge so that it meets the RIGHT edge.

 
Now, take the top layer of the upper RIGHT corner and fold it back as shown.
It will reveal the pockets inside.

Top-stitch from the outer folded corner flap on the left (just the corner -- you don't have to stitch the entire side), down the left side, across the bottom, and up the right side. This will essentially hold the piece together.    Look at the next photo to see the stitching lines :

This is a paper version I made to help me remember how to fold it.   It's also easier to see where to stitch on the dotted lines.

 
Next, attach the flap to the top edge of your pocket purse. The flap is the 9 x 7-1/2 inch rectangle that was sewn and turned earlier.

 
Lay one edge over the edge of the purse body and stitch a zig-zag line over the top edge of the purse.   Don't worry about the ugly stitching line inside the bag, as this will be covered up by attaching the shoulder strap.

 
Here's what it looks like from the back side.  Here you can see a little better the top-stitching line along the outer edges doesn't go all the way around.  It's not quite half-way around.


 
Cut a strip 60 inches x 1-3/4 inches for the strap.
Press the long edges to the middle (or there-abouts).  
Feel free to cut this to a size that fits for you.  If it's too long, you can always make a knot to take up the slack.

 
Once this is pressed, fold in half, press again, then stitch down the length of the strap.   It doesn't have to be perfectly even.




Attach the strap to the purse, covering the same zig-zag seam that attached the flap to the purse body.  I used 2 straight seams along the edges of the strap. 

 
Where the straps met the edge of the purse body, I turned them up since they would naturally turn up in use.  But this step is optional.


Here's the 2nd completed passport / iPhone purse.


 

My original notes.
If you make one, please leave a comment and let me know how it went for you.
Thanks for visiting my corner of the Web!