Cleo Everyday Wallet – Wrist Strap Hack

As gorgeous as the Cleo Everyday Wallet is on her own, I know many of you will be wanting to add a wrist or shoulder strap to your Cleo (why not I say!). To save you a bit of ‘thinking’ time, I discussed this ‘hack’ with the lovely Aimee from The Little Bird Designs and together we arrived at this cute wee solution!

Not familiar with the Cleo Everyday Wallet? Not a problem! You can find the pattern here.

Aimee quickly set forth and wrote up a tutorial for you all to follow to add this gorgeous wee hack to your own Cleo Everyday Wallet – what a gem! So, without further ado, please welcome the super talented bag maker Aimee to the two pretty poppets blog!

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When it comes to carrying things, I love things with straps, especially wallets, and Cleo was no exception! With this gorgeous wallet, I knew things had to be done a little differently because of her ingenious design!

Here are the steps you can take to carry your Cleo wallet two ways! BONUS: I have an extra tip on how to make the strap wider for bigger swivel hooks/d-rings at the end so don’t miss it!

You will need:

• 1 strip of fabric, 2″ x 6″ (5cm x 15cm)
• 1 strip of fabric, 2″ x 13″ (5cm x 33cm) (or longer if you’d like!)
• 1 strip of lightweight interfacing, 1″ x 13″ (2.5cm x 33cm)
• 2 swivel hooks, 1/2″ size (1.3cm) (I got mine from Emmaline Bags, however you can also buy them from Betty Box Pleat and Bobbin Girl (UK)!)
• 2 D-rings, 1/2″ size (1.3cm)
• General sewing supplies including a rotary cutter, ruler, pins/clips and marking pen.

Let’s begin! You will first need to have made your Cleo Everyday Wallet up to step 25 so you have one finished outer and one finished lining piece as shown.

First we are going to fuse the interfacing centred down the middle of the long piece of fabric, on the wrong side. Fold the ends in 1/4″ (0.6cm) to the wrong side and press. Only add interfacing to the long piece of fabric – the short piece doesn’t need it!

For both the long and short pieces of fabric, fold them in half, wrong sides together, along the long edge, and then fold those same sides into the middle as shown.

Top stitch around all four sides of each piece using 1/8″ (0.3cm) seam allowance.

Take your 6” (15cm) length and cut it in half so you have two pieces. Slide on the D-rings and clip in place. Baste using a 1/4″ (0.6cm) seam allowance to hold each end closed (or use clips!). Mark 1” (2.5cm) up from the fold and set aside for now.

Take your long piece of fabric and mark 1” (2.5cm) up from each end. This is where the swivel hooks are going to sit – slot one swivel hook onto each end. Clip in place and stitch to secure using two rows of stitching to be sure it doesn’t come loose!

Take the outer part of Cleo that you’ve already assembled (the piece with the flap), and clip your D-ring loops in place on either side of the flap. Use the 1” (2.5cm) mark as a guide for the edge of the fabric/foam. The excess overhang allows you to control the loops when you are sewing them so they don’t go crazy on you! Clip and baste in place using a 1/4″ (0.6cm) seam allowance.

Now assemble Miss Cleo as per the pattern, continuing at step 26. I like to backstitch over the loops for extra stability when top stitching around the outer of my wallet! Clip your strap onto those D-rings and you’ve got yourself a new wallet complete with wrist strap!

The cool thing about having the double hooks means you can also carry the wallet with a side strap!

Now before I run off with Cleo, here’s a bonus tip if you want a wider strap for your wallet but get stuck with the measurements. In the photo below you can see the inside measurement of the swivel hook is 1/2″ (1.3cm).

To get the perfect width for your strap every time, simply multiply that measurement by 4. This will give you the correct width for the folding that is needed to hide the seams inside, and yes it works for D-rings, rectangular rings and more!

So what do you think? Will you be adding a strap to your Cleo? I know all mine will be getting them because I have a problem with putting things down when I shop… 😉

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Thank you Aimee for sharing your wonderful tutorial with us!!! I love the result and I’m sure other bag makers will too!

You can see more of Aimee’s amazing bags via any of her social media below –

• Website – www.thelittlebirddesigns.com
• Facebook page – www.facebook.com/Thelittlebirddesigns
• Instagram – www.instagram.com/lilbirdsdesign
  

Click here to find out more about the Cleo Everday Wallet pattern and until next time, happy sewing!

Lisa x