Tired of having multiple things to keep track of when your about to travel? I know I was! I created this passport wallet to be able to hold everything in one place and allows you to have one less thing to worry about.

This wallet has a passport slot / or a notebook slot, 2 card holders and a hidden flap for you to keep longer items like a boarding pass.

Step 1: Tools and Materials

ButteroTools:

Mallet
Stitching Irons
Leather Needles x2
Sharp Knife
Metal Ruler
Burnishing Tool
Metal Wing Divider
Glue Spreader
Sandpaper
Scratch Awl
Edge Beveler

Materials:

Thin vegetable tanned leather (I went with a 1.4mm Epi leather for the exterior and a 1.2mm Buttero)
Thread - Any Nylon or Polyester Thread will work for this project.
Glue (Any leather glue will work, personally I prefer a water based since its non-toxic, but if you choose a chemical glue make sure to work in a well ventilated area.)
Burnishing Gum

Step 2: Preparation

1. Download the attached pattern, for best results print on a thicker paper stock, you can also glue regular paper onto poster boards, so it offers more support when it comes to marking the leather to be cut.

Tip: Using your knife with the ruler as the guide will help make straighter cuts.

2. Cut out the pattern, having a sharper knife makes this step easier and less errors in your pattern.

Note: In the PDF you'll notice 2 lines, a solid and dotted. The solid will be your cutting line and dotted will be your stitching reference.

Step 3: Cutting Out the Pattern

1. Place the pattern on the backside of your leather and mark it using a scratch awl

Tip: Making several passes with the scratch awl will make the lines more visible for when your going to cut out the leather.

2. Using a sharp knife with a the metal ruler follow the lines and keep the blade as straight as possible to have cleaner cut lines.

Tip: It's best to aim to cut more towards the outside of the pattern as you can always sand down edges. You won't be able to add more leather to something that's already cut.

3. Remove the cutout and save the leftover pieces for a future project.

(Optional Step)

You can choose to burnish the backside of leather to have a smoother feel with the burnishing gum if you choose to do so now. Just apply the burnishing gum and using a rag or burnisher and apply friction, the heat will compress the back end of the leather for a smoother feel.

Step 4: Punching Stitching Holes

1. Adjust your wing divider to the stitching line provided in the pattern (3mm)

2. Using the edge of the leather as a guide, mark around all pieces shown with a dotted line in the PDF except for the red line.

3. Using your stitching iron follow the lines that you just marked with the wing divider and punch the stitching holes.

Tip: A multi tooth iron will be easier to create straighter punches if you reuse previous punched holes for a guide on your next set of holes.

Step 5: Building Out the Card Slot

1. On the piece of leather that looks like the PDF with the red line you'll now want to mark that center line to be ready to be punched. Since this part of the leather is going to be separate from the outer cover we'll want to stitch this part first.

2. Using something sharp, either needles or the scratch awl you'll want to use the previous punched holes as a guide to line up the 2 pieces of the card slot.

3. Once it's all lined up saddle stitch the center line which will divide the two card slots.

4. Since this wallet will also have a hidden pocket for longer items we will also saddle stitch the top of the card slot at this point.

5. Using a mallet hammer down on the thread that was just sewn for a less bulky look.

6. At this point we should have 3 total pieces, the outer cover and 2 interior pieces ready to be glued and sewn together.

Step 6: Putting It All Together

1. Starting from the right side you'll want to glue the right side pocket onto the outer cover, apply glue on the outer edges of the side pocket and the outer cover.

Tip: By scratching at the leather the glue tends to adhere better.

2. Since this wallet will have an opening we'll want to start the saddle stitch from the top left before we glue together the card slot.

3. Once we've stitched all the way thru the other end of the top of the wallet we can apply glue on the edges of the card slot and the outer cover and glue them together.

4. We'll now have a wallet ready to have the edges finished

Step 7: Finishing the Edges

1. Using sandpaper, you'll now want to go over the edges of the wallet, at this stage you can sand down any high spots that would make it not look even.

2.Using your beveler, you'll want to go around the edge of the interior of the wallet to give it that beveled edge look.

Tip: By using a light consistence pressure with the beveler you'll be able to get more even results.

3. After going thru with the beveler at this point you'll want to apply the burnishing agent to the outside edges of the wallet and start using the burnisher to smooth out the edges.

Tip: You can use a fine grit sand paper and go over the burnished edges and repeat the burnishing step until your satisfied with how your edges turned out.