Friday, February 12, 2010

Shirt Cuff Wallet

Just wanted to share the upcycled wallet I made earlier this week.



I was using some of the fabric from an old button-down shirt for other projects, and the odds and ends (cuffs, collar, buttons) always tend to be the hardest bits of clothing to recycle. I had been wanting a wallet upgrade - just a simple, good-looking outer shell with a cash pocket, to hold a photo sleeve / card holder I already had. It turned out that these particular shirt cuffs were the perfect width for the holder. I loved this plaid fabric and was totally tickled that the size worked out.

I cut the cuff off above the hem, leaving it intact so I'd be able to use the button and buttonhole to close the wallet. Then I cut a rectangle from the front of the shirt, hemmed it, and sewed it to the cuff to serve as a pocket for cash and to hold the cards. (The top edges look a little frayed because I cut that part directly from the shirt - but I made sure to cut along the part where the cuff joined the sleeve so it wouldn't fray any further. I could have tidied it up with bias tape, but I kinda dig the weathered look.)



Less than an hour's worth of work, and bits and pieces of fabric I thought I'd have to throw away, and my cash and cards have a nifty new place to call home!

52 comments:

Unknown said...

that's a sweet refashioned wallet!

with a few stitches in different places, it could be a simple cell phone holder, too.

Veshengro said...

That is a great r5ecycling project. Very nice indeed.

Anonymous said...

How clever! I want to try that with a floral shirt now...I just have to find one i can cut up.

April said...

this is awesome, great idea!

Archaeologyknits said...

I wish my scrap shirts had cuffs like that so I could make one

Beth H said...

oooh, very nice! one of the coolest upcycled wallets i've seen. i'm currently using one made from an old map (bought at Urban Craft Uprising in Seattle), but i might need to make one of these...

Edgi said...

What an easy little project for recycling old shirts. Something that seems so simple but wouldn't have thought of it myself. Thanks for sharing!

the mama monster said...

that is rad! thanks for the great idea. off to hack a shirt now!

Betz White said...

Awesome! I have a similar project in my book Sewing Green plus an apron project that uses the rest of the shirt! :)

Unknown said...

Excellent idea! Thanks for sharing. Saw this in Craftzine & wanted to stop by to comment.

Kim Taylor Kruse said...

I freakin' love it! Repurposed projects are my favorite, and this one is incredibly clever. Nice job!

P.S. Thanks to Craftzine.com for featuring this post.

AmbreRose said...

That is a great idea, I'm forwarding this to my brother as we speak!

Unknown said...

Thats great and if you have cuffed shirts you can get about any kind in the thrift stores or yard sales for just a little bitt. I would like to try a leather shirt. Thanks

Amy said...

Great Idea. thanks for sharing!

abby kelly said...

Thanks everyone! It is great to see such a response. The possibilities are endless...(And as Betz points out, there are plenty of fun things you can do with the rest of the shirt, too!)

DawnMarie55 said...

This such a great idea. Now I have to go hunt up some shirt cuffs!

Anonymous said...

Way cool. I can see adding a zipper then you could fasten the cuff around your wrist for when you are jogging or bike riding and wanting to be hands free.

abby kelly said...

Hi Nancy,

It's definitely okay by us! Thanks for letting other people know about this project!

nanasknoll said...

IT WOULD BE GREAT IF YOU ADDED A FOL LOW GADGET TO YOUR BLOG, SO IT AUTOMATICALLY GOES TO MY BLOG DASHBOARD TO SEE WHAT YOU DO ON FURTHER BLOGS WHEN I FOLLOW YOU.
Great project - no more throwing out cuffs-will make gifts out of this idea.

Anonymous said...

..used to the dime store had them for .15 but alas, no more dime stores.

Anonymous said...

I was speaking of the clear plastic photo sleeve...guess you could make one from plastic or find one in an old wallet at a yard sale...

garagecouture said...

This is RAD. I'm doing it!

erinsapparel said...

This is RAD. I'm doing it.

Lisa said...

amazing post. i make some right away.

SJ said...

Wow, I look the way it has so much customizing potential- you could make one to match an outfit! Great idea for a personal gift too! Check out some of my recycled material projects on my blog at http://diydesignssj.blogspot.com/
Thanks a mil:)

internet hosting said...

from an old map (bought at Urban Craft Uprising in Seattle), but i might need to make one of these...

Unknown said...

The Shirt Cuff Wallet is an amazing wallet to have I think that the given pictures of it has make say wow about it and it is really a good one to have in to your pocket.

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oneperfectday said...

This is brilliant!
I've been meaning to make a wallet for some time now. Maybe now I'll finaly get around to it!

Unknown said...

just found this on sewmamasew and am in love! I'll be attempting this for sure!

Wendy said...

Seriously brilliant. I keep seeing these "fabric cuff bracelets" and I'm like, "Why?" But I love that you came up with a purposeful use for the cuffs---I'll give this a try for my sons!

Term Papers said...

The Shirt Cuff Wallet is really nice one to for usage I think this is a kind of wallet which has a different look and it is really nice one to have for its work.

Sunshine said...

My goodness, I got this just before finally throwing out 6 shirt cuffs after I couldn't think of anything to do with them! Thanks!

Unknown said...

what a great Idea, It is a new stylish Wallet, And looking very unique, I am very happy Because my old shirt's can be use for making my wallet. Thanks for giving this Idea.



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Certainly this is unique and stylish Shirt Cuff Wallet and we can easily make this with unused shirt.

Ron & CHD Maintenance said...

Very nice. This is very good information and beautiful art. I am going to show this to the class.

Apron said...

very pleased to find this site.I wanted to thank you for this great read.

a quoteson said...

I have seen bags from t-shirts or other things but a wallet from shirt cuff is a real recycling. It turns out to be quite stylish something like out of Burberries.

ohzie said...

love it :O)

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Anonymous said...

awesome; I take the sleeves off of thrift store button down shirts for my husband in the summer, (he likes the "Larry the Cable Guy" look in his country band) and make him matching head wraps (skull caps, do-rags) out of the sleeves, but I have all of these cuffs laying around. Now I know what to do with them! Thanks!

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the first years wave stroller said...

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Dublin University
The First Years Wave Stroller

Anonymous said...

What a great idea. My kids saved some of their dads flannel shirts when he passed away, I am going to make up one of these for each of them. What a cool thing to do with them!

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Bev said...

Check the thrift stores to find a shirt that works for this project if you don't have one. I'm going to make one for my teen age nephew! Thanks for sharing.