Aug 20, 20226 min read

Sew Saturday: How to Use Vegan Cork Leather Fabric to Make an Easy, Long Lasting Bi-Fold Wallet

Cork Leather is a wonderful fabric to make accessories including wallets, purses, earrings and so much more.

I have so much fun using cork fabric I keep inventing different projects using this great fiber.

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Items needed:

1. Medium weight cork fabric works best--less bulky when folded. Rustic cork from sallietomato.com or fabricfunhouse.com carries a large selection of rustic cork. The surface cork can be used but tends to be slightly thicker. Also, I have used this natural cork seen in the picture--really soft feel to it--kinda velvety. (If you order from sallietomato.com use code MONARAE for a 10% discount.)

2. I like to line the inside cash section with a light-weight cork fabric. sallietomato.com has a nice selection and is cheaper than the medium and heavier weighted cork fabrics and Amazon is a nice variety: Olive Green, Red Paisley, Crocodile Print, Brown, and the list goes on--just need to type in cork fabric on Amazon and the selection is amazing. Just remember you need a thin sheet for the lining.

I like this butterfly print. But I used this brown one from sallietomato.com--overall nice color, weight, and works well for the lining.

3. Rotary cutter with sharp blade, ruler & self-healing mat. I like my cuts to be precise for most of my projects expecially ones that have exposed edges. You can purchase each one separate if you already one of these--if not here is a set (rotary cutter with blades, ruler, & mat. Saves you some money if you purchase a set. Found this deal on 10pk of blades for >$15--thats a deal. Even in Walmart a pk of 5 is almost $20. I bought some--great price. I am always changing blades--cork tends to dull your blade more that regular cotton fabrics.

4. Clips instead of pins. Use clips when sewing with cork. If you use pins the puncture marks will remain visable and leave a pernament tiny hole. As I have mentioned in a previous blog--I am a sucker for cute tins. I purchased these clips the first time for the tin but I have purchase more because these are great clips for a great price. Out in the sewing world you may hear about Wonderclips--I have never used them because they are so expensive. This little tin hold 100 clips for <$10.

As I am browsing--I see they have two new tins out--makes my heart happy.

Just so you know--these do break occassionally. or I simply loose them when they hit the floor and I sweep them up into the trash--hence why I need to replace occassionally.

Also, I have many projects going and many are clipped together--therefore, they are in use. I like having lots :).

5. Good Strong Thread: I dont ever use the polyester spools you get at Walmart. I like buy thread on larger spools and made out of cotton like Sulky--but use I something different for my industrial sewing machine that I found on Amazon. These are made out of polyester but are really strong and most of all very pretty. I havent spoke of using an industrial sewing machine but I like using mine for sewing multiple layers together--leaves a really nice stitch line. However, your regular sewing machine should be able to sew through all layers without problems. If you notice skipped stitches or your machine is seems to be working a little too hard you may need to upgrade. If you are interested in looking for a new machine I recommend SewingMachinePlus. They have a huge selection and carry many name brands--also offers financing.

6. Sewing Machine Needle--you can use an 80/20 or a 90/15 should be fine. Anything larger leaves large holes in your cork fabric.

7. Optional--I like to use MaxMatt edge glue and edge paint the raw edges--tends to look more professional. Even though cork doesnt fray--my opinion, just looks better. You can use a stiff small paint brush to appply the glue and the paint--no need to buy anything expensive.

NOW TO THE FUN PART--CUTTING AND SEWING

I created my own pattern so I will give you the measurements to cut out your pieces:

Medium weight Cork Leather Fabric you will need: Try to cut these as precise as you can otherwise your end reselt will be a little wonky.

2 pieces: 8.5" x 3.25"--tip--I use a 8.5" wide ruler, so I ensure one edge is cut even, align the ruler along the even edge--cut the other edge. Then cut 6.5" then cut in half again.

6 pieces: 4" x 2"

Light-weight Cork Leather Fabric

2 pieces: 8.5" x 3.25"--cut these the same as above using an 8.5" wide ruler

I like to edge paint the 4" side of the credit card (all 6 pieces)--top only--gives a little more look of durability and the top of all 4 8.5" x 3.25" pieces--this includes the lightweight cork as well. Edge paint comes in a variety of colors and has its own brush. However, I dont use the brush due to so much paint is embedded into it. Like I mentioned I like a stiff small brush or this handy LEATHER EDGE DYE TOOL--absolutely love it. Doesnt hold a lot of paint and rolls along the edges smoothly--make sure to rinse out with warm water immediately after use.

Set aside to try--15 minutes or so.

Meanwhile you can set up your sewing area, select your thread, wind your bobbin, insert a new needle.

Select a medium with coated section at the top

Place a 4" piece 1/4" from the top of the medium weight fabric lining up along the edge--for demonstration purposes I used contrasting cork fabric and thread. Normally you would sew the the 4" pieces to the outside of the medium wt cork.

Once you have 2 pieces placed 1/4" from the top--sew the bottom edge to the medium wt cork appx 1/8" like below. Using clips to hold pieces where you want them to be.

Next place your second row appx 5/16 for the top of your first row and sew 1/8" like you did the last row.

Last row should be 5/16 from the top of your previous row but I usually only ensure the bottm and side edges line up as neat as possible. You may need a really sharp pair of scissors to even out some edges--no matter how perfect I cut--I always end up with some oddball piece sticking out--grrr--but easily fixed. Make sure your scissors are really sharp.

Now to sew the inside so they are actually card pockets--I have forgotten before--very frustrating. But fixable with a seam ripper--a very well used tool in my realm.

Next sew an inside piece to this piece at the top a 1/8 of an inch like shown above picture.

Take the other 2 remaining pieces and sew them together at the top. As you can see in the video you can see where a little bit of edge glue can seal those edges--sometimes I just paint them and sometime I glue them depending on the gap. If there is a slight gap--paint with seal it up nicely.This one I wouldnt worry about.

Now take the 2 sewn pieces and place the light-weight together so the medium wt cork is on the outsite. The light-weight becomes the case pocket.

Sew down both sides and the bottom.

Trim off excess--you can call it done at this point or you can edge glue and pain your edges. I always glue up my edges when there is several layers. Then follow-up with a matching paint or one of your choosing.

I hope I explained this well enough. I forget how hard it is to put in enough information so someone else can duplicate what I am showing. If there is something that is confusing or simply wrong--message me. I have been sewing for decades and tend to forget some steps when trying to demonstrate.

Thank you for following along and hopefully you have learned something here today. Leave me a message.

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