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Home » Sewing » Free Patterns

Easy Diy Card Holder Wallet Pattern

Feb 6, 2022

See how to make a card holder wallet from faux leather, vinyl, or faux suede. It is a super popular trend for men's wallets and it can be used as a minimalist front pocket wallet for men or women - scroll down to Step 1 to get the free diy card holder wallet pattern and sew an easy card wallet in minutes!

diy card holder wallet finished

This post contains affiliate links, thanks for your support. If you are here for more wallet and pouch projects, check out these:

  • Aiden phone pouch - a great pattern to use up faux leather scraps!
  • super quick pencil case
  • faux leather makeup bag - free template
  • this Sophia Foldover Clutch is great with faux leather

It took me years to make this one! My partner had asked for a really minimalist card wallet. But life got in the way. I was busy with other projects, and in time, I'd forget about it. Then yesterday, I saw a scrap piece of faux leather, a leftover piece from a bag project.

Then it hit me - it's been 4 years since I'd promised to make a simple card holder!! That much about keeping my word.

Well, then it took me exactly 5 minutes to sew up one - I simply modeled a leather piece against a credit card, the next thing was cutting a rectangle, then two more, plus making two seams. 5 minutes! Done.

Do you want to sew a minimalist card holder wallet too?

diy card holder wallets in faux leather

Free Card Holder Wallet Pattern

Good news! Just in case I'd need to make a few more, I drafted a simple card wallet pattern. So nobody else has to wait for 4 years before getting a front pocket wallet as simple as this one!

Sleek, simple - and so easy to sew!

homemade card holder wallet in green faux leather

It can be used as a minimalist front pocket wallet, a simple credit card holder, as a diy business card holder, or as a gift card holder. Oh, and before I forget, I've also got a different, fabric gift card holder pattern from a while back, it's constructed differently but feel free to use it too.

Supplies to Sew A Diy Card Holder Wallet

You'll need

  • a scrap piece of either faux leather, faux suede, also vinyl or craft tex will work great - use something that does not fray. (in total, 6" by 8" in scraps)
  • matching thread, sewing machine, sewing clips, scissors

Good Tools to Have:

  • rotary cutter
  • quilting ruler,
  • self-healing cutting mat (I have 5 of them, all these by Olfa)

How To Make a Diy Card Holder Wallet

Here are the steps you'll need to sew a card holder wallet:

Step 1 - Print the Free Card Holder Wallet Template

I’ve created a diy card holder pattern that you can download for free. To download the FREE Diy Card Holder TEMPLATE, click the button below:

Click HERE For Free Template

OR do you want a printable copy of the WHOLE tutorial? Scroll to the bottom of this tutorial for more details!

Step 2 - Cut your materials

Now that you've printed out the free card holder wallet template, use faux leather to cut:

  • one Divider piece on the fold
  • two Outer Pieces (two identical pieces, NOT mirrored - both facing the same direction)
pieces cut to sew a minimalist card wallet pattern

You'll notice you can either cut both Outer pieces with the slanted corner on the left or on the right. Either way you choose, the two Outer pieces need to be identical. I've made a few card holders facing in either direction to see if there's a difference, but there is actually no change in the ease of use. For example, I cut this brown faux suede version the other way:

faux suede pieces cut for a front pocket wallet on a pink cutting mat
Pieces cut, with Outer piece facing towards the left.

Bottom line, 3 pieces cut, two of which need to be identical.

Step 3 - Prepare the Divider

divider sewing on a card holder pattern

Fold the Divider Piece in half with wrong sides together and edgestitch along the center crease. This will stabilize the top of your front pocket wallet.

Step 4 - Add The Outer Pieces

how to make a card holder wallet

Hold your divider piece and align the two Outer pieces each on one side of the divider, with the slanted part at the top edge. I added the numbers 1 and 2 in the photo above for you to notice these are two sides of the card wallet.

Use sewing clips to keep the four layers in place, do not use pins as they would leave visible marks in the faux leather.

Step 5 - Sew Layers Together

sewing a card holder wallet in green pleather

Using a ¼" seam allowance (6 mm) and a longer stitch length on your sewing machine, stitch from one top edge down, continue over the bottom (short) edge and up on the other long edge.

IMPORTANT: Make two or three backstitches at the beginning and end to secure your stitches. Using a stronger thread like Gutermann Topstitching thread will make your seams look better and more stable. In this tutorial, I used my regular, all-purpose thread, which works fine too.

Step 5 - Square Up the Raw Edges

finished card holder wallet

Add a finishing touch - square up all your edges, the easiest way for me to do so is using a quilting ruler and a rotary cutter. Easy and quick, and no wavy edges!

Quick Sewing Tips For Faux Leather

Use a longer sewing machine stitch for neater stitches. This is a good tip for sewing with any thicker material, be it decor-weight, leather, vinyl.

Using a walking foot will make your sewing so much easier, and it will prevent the layers from shifting, again resulting in neater seams.

sewing a front pocket wallet
Using a walking foot makes sewing easier.

If you want a more professional finish on your diy credit card wallet, you'll probably need to use real leather as well as some edge coating. Since leather requires special tools, a heavy-duty machine and equipment, I prefer to use faux leather with my home sewing machine. Easy to cut into and easy to sew. The only thing I do recommend is using a Schmetz jeans needle. These are amazing, and I rarely use any other type.

In Conclusion

Simple, easy, quick. It's a compact wallet that is convenient to carry in your front pocket. I have just put one of these card holders into my Aiden Cell Phone purse. No bulk, all I needed.

Or you can use it in a set with the Nelto crossbody purse, the casual yet unique bag design you can find in my pattern shop.

Now it's your turn: make a bunch of these useful minimalistic card wallets, use up all your pleather scraps and you'll end up getting a pile of practical diy gifts both for men and women.

Don't forget to save this tutorial to Pinterest - best to your diy gift sewing folder so you have it at hand when you need it!

free front pocket wallet pattern

Once I publish an additional slim wallet design I'll put this freebie in my shop. It will stay free, just more designs will be added - make sure to sign up for the free newsletter so you don't miss out on them!

Do you want an ad-free, printable copy of this online tutorial? Find it here for just $3. You won’t need to access the internet every time you want to make it. ------ Or get the BUNDLE with ALL the Printable Tutorials - current and future ones!

link to printable pattern bundle

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Or …check out the popular Aiden Cell Phone Purse in our shop. Guess what's on the back of this cool phone bag!

Get Aiden pattern HERE.

Easy Diy Card Holder Wallet Pattern

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Clare

    January 30, 2022 at 6:00 pm

    This is perfect as often these days I only need my driving licence and a debit card when I go out - plus a few coins in the car for parking. I have a stash of Kraft-tex which should do nicely. Thanks Damjana for this freebie. So kind!

    Reply
    • Damjana

      January 30, 2022 at 6:08 pm

      Glad it's helpful. Happy sewing!

      Reply
  2. Nancy

    May 28, 2021 at 3:42 pm

    This wonderful card wallet could also be used as a holder for a for a gift card--place the gift card in one side and a little note with warm wishes in the other side. Two gifts in one!

    Reply
  3. Kay

    May 28, 2021 at 1:11 pm

    Such a cute card case holder. I will be making one for my young granddaughter. Thanks for sharing

    Reply

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