This project has been sitting on my to-do shelf for about three months! It sat there for so long, because the fabric I wanted to use has sentimental value and I wanted to make sure I took the right approach. When I finally bit the bullet, it probably took less than 30 minutes to complete, hah!
Here’s what I started out with. A wristlet that I picked up from the thrift store, and a scrap from a woven baby wrap. (Tekhni Olympos Sapphire).
Position the wristlet on top of the fabric, with the right side of the fabric facing the wristlet. Leave about a 1/4″ to a 1/2″ seam allowance on the top, bottom and wriststrap side of the wristlet. Also note that I’ve unclipped the wriststrap.
Next, fold. the fabric over the wristlet and snuggly pin the sides.
Remove the wristlet, and sew both hems completely (we’ll get to the wrist strap hack in a second). Cut away any excess fabric, leaving about 1/4″ of fabric from the seam.
Next step, the wrist strap. There are probably more professional ways to do this, and if you have any recommendations, please comment below! Place the wristlet on top of the sewn pocket, and use a pen to mark the location of the wrist strap. Take a seam picker and undo those stitches between your marks. We’ll take care of the raw edge later.
Now for the fun part! Turn your pocket right side out and put your wristlet in. It’ll help to first thread the wrist strap through the hole you just made in the seam. To finish the raw edges, we’re going to use Arlene’s Tacky Glue, or some other fabric adhesive. Draw a bead of glue down the seam of the original piece. Fold the raw edge of the fabric over, and use binder clips to secure. Do this across the top, being careful not to get glue on the zipper, and also by the wrist strap.
Let the glue set for about 24 hours just to be safe. Remove the binder clips and off you go! If you decide to do this, I’d love love love to see your final results!
