Phantom Tollbooth Wallet

I just finished another great book: The Phantom Tollbooth.



Now, I know that most of you probably read this book back in third grade, but I must have been too busy with Goosebumps.  Its a whimsical story about a little boy named Milo who travels to a mysterious land via the mysterious tollbooth that appeared in his living room.

The detailed map inside the front cover is a crucial tool for following Milo's adventure through the vast Sea of Knowledge, the looming Mountains of Ignorance and all of the quirky stops along the way.  After reading about his journey, I'm itching for my own adventure to somewhere exciting.

While driving through the Doldrums, Milo's meets his travel companion, Tock.  Tock is a 'watchdog', meaning that he is part dog, part stop watch.  As the voice of reason, he saves Milo from all kinds of trouble.

Inspired by his love for promptness and efficiency, I made a clock applique to to sew on the wallet as a reminder not to be late.

I dug through my big box of fabric for felt scraps and patched them together to create this handy little travel wallet.  Ties made from black ribbon hold everything in place with a sweet bow.

You will need:

- felt (navy blue, white, and gold)

- needle and thread

- embroidery thread (navy blue, white, gold, and black)

- black ribbon

This very basic wallet was created from just one segment of felt that is folded and sewn. 

To begin, cut your felt section. It should measure 8.5" x 3.75" The diagram below shows where your felt will eventually be folded (along the dotted lines) to create the wallet.

Cut two circles from felt for the clock face, sew the roman numerals in place and sew onto the felt rectangle.

Flip your felt segment over and fold the sides in as shown below. Measure and pin them in place. Sew the four sides closed (where you see the blue lines).

Wrap the ribbon around the wallet to tie it and you are finished!

Its just the right size to tuck in your pocket filled with only your most important things like bus passes and parking vouchers.  Sometimes, I just don't feel like carrying a purse around.

Want to try a different style? Check out this very similar Arrow Wallet DIY.