In my Feb 15, 2020 post, I reviewed the Travel Neck Wallet by Yarnspirations. It’s use case scenario is individuals traveling by plane or train. In this post I review the DIY Neck Wallet by Shabby Fabrics. It’s designed for individuals attending events. This is the first time I sewed a project solely from a video tutorial.

The video tutorial and a link to the free cutting guide PDF are available here:

Scrappy Fabrics – DIY Neck Wallet

Note this project is for personal use only.

For the purposes of my review, I’m going to summarize the tutorial, tell you what I did differently (if anything) and share my general thoughts about sewing the project.

The video tutorial beings with a photograph and a description of the project’s uses and features. Unlike a Travel Neck Wallet, this neck wallet is aimed at event/conference/festival goers who need to display their event/conference ID or badge. Another feature of this neck wallet is that the zippered pocket is only half the length of the wallet, making it easier to reach small items (like credit cards). Next are instructions for downloading the DIY Neck Wallet information sheet and a few words about which pieces have fusible interface and fusible fleece. In addition to the finished DIY Neck Wallet, the presenter also had several in-progress neck wallets (using the same fabrics) to demonstrate the steps.

Step 0 Prepare your pattern

The information sheet contains a label-style cut list of all the needed materials and a single diagram showing the sizes of each major piece. I used the measurements from the list and diagram to make pattern pieces out of scrap paper.

Step 1 Cut your materials

I see this DIY Neck Wallet as a multipurpose item so keeping it both slim and light was important to me. Instead of fusible fleece I used  medium weight fusible interfacing. I used some more fabric from my scrap bin and still had a length of double-fold bias tape leftover from making the Travel Neck Wallet.

My vinyl was thin so I cut a piece twice as tall as my pattern piece and folded it in half.

Step 2 Assemble the pockets

The presenter begins to describe this step at ~3:00 min into the video. I pinned my double-fold bias tape in place and sewed it with my universal presser foot.

Here’s a photo of my 3 pocket pieces.

Step 3 Assemble the front panel

This step begins at ~5:15 min into the video. Basting the layers together is the theme here. My teflon presser foot made it easy to baste the vinyl in place.

Here’s a photo of my finished front panel.

Steps 4 & 5: Attach zipper, Form pocket & attach back panel

This step begins at ~8:45 min into the video. The extra time spent demonstrating how to stack your zipper and pieces was excellent. Sewers who don’t have a lot of experience with zippers will really benefit from watching this section carefully before they sew their zippers. I used my narrow zipper foot to sew on my zipper, form the pocket (~13:05 min) and attach the back panel.

Step 6 Attach binding

This step begins at ~16:20 min into the video. There’s more basting and I used the two-step method to sew on my double-fold bias tape. The fixed length of the neck strap makes this an easy project to customize for individuals.

That’s it! There are only six steps.

Here is a photo of my finished DIY Neck Wallet:

Conclusion

This is the first time I’ve reviewed a tutorial that was solely a video. I’m not sure how I feel about having to play and pause a video in order to get all of the instructions. I even had to re-watch it to write this review. I’ve watched the video tutorials for other projects that I’ve sewn even when I relied primarily on the written and photographed instructions. The number of asides to talk about four sewing-related products that were optional for this project really stood out in a negative way for me. Also there was a lot less sewing in the tutorial than others I’ve watched. That being said, if watching and doing is how you learn and you have a computer, tablet or smartphone in your sewing space, this format may be great for you.

Comparing my DIY Neck Wallet to my Travel Neck Wallet, I see that they are both 5” wide and that the DIY Neck Wallet is shorter at only 6.5” (the Travel Neck Wallet is 10.5” tall). My DIY Neck Wallet has a longer strap and coincidentally the two neck wallets are the same length.

Overall this project came together quickly and easily. I really like how my DIY Neck Wallet turned out and look forward to using during my next event or trip. This is also a great project for using up larger scraps and would make a great gift.

Have you used a neck wallet? Did/would you sew your own or purchase completed ones? Comment below and/or Pin me for later!

Tanya

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