Tea Wallet

Aside from writing and reading, I thoroughly enjoy sewing, especially useful little projects that can be whipped up quickly. This Tea Wallet fits in that category perfectly. I was trying to think of something little to give my sister for Mother's Day.  She's as bad as I am when it comes to carrying tea bags and sweetener around in her purse. I had seen one tea wallet for sell in a catalog some time ago but it was much larger than what I was looking for. So, Saturday night (the day before Mother's Day) I decided to make my own. This is the result. Unfortunately, the photos I have are from the prototype and is rather messy, but it will give you an idea of the placement.

Draw pattern. Be sure to add ¼ inch for seam allowance.

Cut two rectangles  11” x 6 ½”  (adding ¼ inch for seam allowance). These rectangles can be the same or contrasting as one will be the lining.

Cut two rectangles 3” x 2” (adding ¼ inch for seam allowance).  Cut from whatever you choose as the exterior fabric. This will be the flap.

Small square of Velcro®

With right sides together, sew the two small rectangles on both long sides and one short side. Clip the corners and turn right side out. Press.

With right sides together, sew the two larger rectangles together on two short sides and one long side.

Insert the flap between the layers of the larger rectangles, raw edges meeting. (The flap will be inside at this point.) Place it so the bottom edge if the flap is three inches from the bottom.

Stitch, leaving a small opening for turning. It’s best to leave the opening closer to the side that does not have the flap.

Clip corners. Turn right side out. Tuck in the raw edges from the turn. Press.

Fold bottom up two inches on either end. Pin in place. Edge stitch on long sides, careful to keep the flap free and to catch the pressed edges.

Cut a small piece of Velcro ®. Sew the soft side to the inside of the flap. The stiff side will be sewn to the outside of the wallet. To figure placement, close the wallet, wrap the flap, leaving some slack, and pin or mark where the stiff piece should be.  Stitch in place, careful not to catch the inside pocket of the wallet.

Fold the wallet in half vertically and mark the centers. Stitch from the folded edge to the edge of the pocket. Repeat on the opposite side. 

Add tea bags and sweetener close it up and pop in your purse. (I also added a coffee bag, just because I could!)

Here are a few photos from my prototype – complete with errors. Once I worked it out, I made several for gifts and gave them away before thinking to take photos. I learned the curved edge on the flap wasn’t going to work for me and the rectangles were much better. 

~ Tara

Placement of Velcro(R)

Tea Wallet opened

Closed and compact

Got a favorite?

I hate to admit it, but it’s true – I have an addiction. Tea is my drink. Black, green or white. Hot or cold. Regular or decaf. With milk or not.

There have been ceremonies and rituals dedicated to drinking tea, with the Japanese and British occurrences being the most widely known.

In both ceremonies, it’s not so much the drinking of the tea as the preparation of it. The Japanese tea ceremony is over 1000 years old has very precise steps, and can take 10 years to learn them.

No matter how formal the British tea appears, it is much less so than the Japanese. It is also a relative newcomer compared to the Chinese and Japanese, not having established trade routes (and a steady supply) until the late 1670s. While we tend to use high tea and afternoon tea interchangeably, they are quite different. High tea is basically a meal, with meat, cheese, bread, and of course tea, served at a ‘high’ table such as a dining table.  Afternoon tea, started in the early-mid 1800s, has the sweets and savories many of us associate with a tea. The Afternoon Tea was created to foster friendships: the hostess would invite her closest friends for tea and a visit.

This is perhaps why I identify with the British tea so much. I can drink gallons of tea myself; have no trouble doing so. But it is so much nicer to share with a friend. I particularly have two tea friends whom I meet with at different times. One, we meet at a local Starbuck’s and spend way too much time catching up on our lives. The other is an older friend and we have been at each other’s homes more times than I can count. Tea is always involved no matter what else there is or isn’t. When our kids were little, they used to measure the visits in terms of our tea. If we finished too quickly, one would invariably say, ‘have another cup.”

Tea itself is refreshing. I can’t think of a more welcome drink on a hot summer day than fresh brewed unsweetened iced tea. For the other three seasons of the year, I have to have my hot tea. I even bought a tea kettle specifically for my office at one time. My office mate and I gauged how busy we were by the time we managed to have our first cup of tea.  Tea by 9 was  slow morning, by 10 was average and if the morning tea didn’t come until 1:00, the whole day was pretty our of control.

I like so many teas in so many variations I couldn’t even list them.  But know this: by 10 in the morning, I will lift my cup of tea to you and salute – encouraging you to join me.