Easy 30 Minute DIY Passport Holder Sewing Tutorial With Pocket for ID

Know someone who loves to travel? This easy 30 minute DIY passport holder sewing tutorial makes a lovely handmade gift for anyone who has the travel bug!

I have been sewing up a storm over the past couple of months. I think I have sewn more in the last two months than I did all of last year! My sewing machine is on fire! I accredit my sewing surge on two things– 1. My new craft room/office has a giant island that is big enough for cutting my fabric, using my sewing machine and ironing on (all at the same time!!!). 2. My new Cricut Maker. (You can read about why I think every sewer will love the new Cricut Maker here).

The Cricut Maker has taken my least favorite part of sewing (cutting) off my hands and it’s also given me a fabulous platform for designing my creations in Cricut Design Space. Now if you don’t have a Cricut Maker, don’t run away yet, add the Cricut Maker to your “wishlist” and in the meantime cut this pattern by hand.

We do a lot of travelling across the border to the United States. I grew up in Washington State and my parents and sister still live there. We have Nexus passes, which means that we have been pre-screened for crossing the border, so our trip across is usually fairly quick and easy. We do need to carry our passports and Nexus Cards with us every time we cross the border though and so having a pretty passport holder to carry our passports and Nexus passes makes things easier.

I like having each of our passports and Nexus passes in their own holders, separate from the rest of the family. On occasion I will cross the border by myself, or with just one of the kids, so having each of our passports and Nexus passes in their own holder rather than having to split them up each time we travel without the entire group makes the process of packing up and getting out the door faster. And this mama likes things fast and easy!

Last year when my sister was in labour with her son, I got up at 4:00 in the morning to cross the border and get to the hospital. We all have matching passport holders so I grabbed what I thought was my passport and Nexus pass and dashed out the door. It wasn’t until I pulled up at the border crossing booth that I realized that I had mistakenly grabbed my daughter’s passport holder and not my own. The border guard let me across, but warned me that I would probably need my passport to get back across into Canada again. Since I had my daughter’s passport, The Hubs had to find someone to watch the kids so he could come down and “rescue” me by delivering my passport to me.

We have been making do with just 3 passport holders since my son was born and putting both of the kids passports into one holder, but my passport mishap, combined with our recent trip to Disneyland seemed like a good excuse to whip up a few new passport holders!

What I love about my DIY passport holder is that it only takes 30 minutes to make AND each member of the family can pick their favorite fabric so that it’s easy to tell at a glance which passport belongs to which family member!

These would make a great handmade gift idea for anyone who loves to travel. Ready for my 30 Minute DIY Passport Holder Sewing Tutorial? Read on!

30 Minute DIY Passport Holder Sewing Tutorial

Materials: 

-One 12.5 inch by 6.5 inch piece of fabric for the outside of your passport holder (This fabric will be referred to as print A) I used fabric from the Cricut Riley Blake Designer Fabric On Trend Line for this project.

-One 12.5 inch by 6.5 inch piece of fabric for the lining of your passport holder (This fabric will be referred to as print B)

-One 12.5 inch by 6.5 inch piece of fusible fleece for inside your passport holder to give it a bit of structure

-Two 3.25 inch by 4.5 inch pieces of fabric for the outside pocket (you can do both pieces the same print of fabric or do one the same as the outside of your passport holder and the other the same as your passport holder inner lining)

-Sewing Machine (this is the one I have)

–Iron

-Thread in coordinating colors (this is one of my favorite brands)

-Fabric Scissors, pins and pin cushion or Wonder Clips (You’ll love this sewing kit from Cricut that has all the tools you need to start sewing)

Optional if cutting your fabric with the Cricut Maker:

–Cricut Maker

–Cricut 12X24 Fabric Grip Adhesive Cutting Mat

–Cricut Rotary Blade

–My Free Passport Holder Design File

Directions: 

Step 1: Cut out your fabric either with scissors, a rotary cutter and cutting mat or with your Cricut Maker.

Step 2: Lay the fusible side of your fusible fleece facing up on your ironing surface. Lay the 12.5 by 6.5 inch piece of Fabric A (the fabric you want on the outside of your passport holder) on top of the fusible fleece with the printed side facing up. Line up all the edges and then iron following the instructions on the packaging until the fleece has fused to the fabric.

Step 3: Lay the fused piece you just ironed on your work surface with the printed side facing up. Lay the 12.5 by 6.5 inch piece of Fabric B (the fabric you want on the inside of your passport holder) on top of the fused piece with the printed side facing down. Line up all of the edges and then pin or wonder clip in place.

Sew around all 4 edges of the rectangle using a 1/4 inch seam allowance and making sure to leave a 1 to 2 inch gap between where you start sewing and where you end sewing so that you can flip your project right side out.

Step 4: Clip your corners with a pair of scissors (this will make your corners turn out nicer) and flip your project right side out so that the printed fabric is on the outside of your project. Press out your edges and corners and iron your project so that it is flat.

Pay special attention to the area that wasn’t sewn shut. Turn in your edges at the hole and press into place.

Step 5: Take your two small 3.25 by 4.5 inch pieces of fabric for the pocket. Lay the pieces on top of each other, lining up the edges with the printed side of the fabric, in the middle, facing each other. Pin or wonder clip into place.

Using a 1/4 inch seam allowance, sew the pocket pieces together, sewing on the two long sides and the top short side. You want to leave the bottom of the pocket unsewn.

Clip your two top corners and then flip your project right side out so that the printed fabric is on the outside of your project. Press out your edges and corners and iron your project so that it is flat.

Sew along the top of the pocket using a 1/8 inch seam allowance.

Turn in the bottom raw edge of your pocket by 1/2 inch and press into place.

Step 6: Now it’s time to figure out where you want your pocket. Fold your passport holder in half and lay a passport inside. Fold the short edges of the passport in to create a little pocket for the edges of your passport to rest in. The area folded over on each side should measure roughly 2 inches. I like to press the folded edge so that it’s easy to determine where your fold was after you sew on your pocket so you don’t have to repeat this step.  Remove your passport.

Flip your passport holder over so the back is facing up. Position your pocket and pin in place.

Open your passport holder back up so that it is one long flat rectangle (don’t worry, you’ll be able to easily determine where your folded over the edges for the next step because you pressed them.  Sew on the pocket using a 1/8 inch seam allowance sewing down one of the long sides of the pocket, across the bottom of the pocket and up the other long side of the pocket.

Step 7: Lay your passport holder flat and using a 1/8 inch seam allowance sew along the two short edges of the passport holder (you can see this finished in the photo above on the inside edges that are now folded over). Lay your passport holder so that Fabric A is facing down. Fold your two outside edges back in towards the center using the ironed edge that you pressed before as a guide (see photo above) Pin or wonder clip into place.

Sew around all 4 edges of your passport holder using a 1/8 inch seam allowance.

Viola! You’re finished! Tuck your passport inside and you have a beautiful 30 minute DIY passport holder with a pocket for ID!

Have fun customizing them for each member of your family and all of your friends!

Tell me… Who do you know who would love a DIY passport holder as a handmade gift? What kind of fabric would you use for your project?

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Also make sure to check out our other 1 hour or less sewing projects here!

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Disclosure: Some of my materials including my Cricut Maker and fabric for this post were provided to me free of charge. As with every post on Hello Creative Family, all thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. 

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