Sewing the first prototype

Here are all the laser cut pieces laid out at the sewing company. Unfortunately, at this point I have no idea how they go together!

Joanna sewing the interior. None of the sewing is difficult, but the assembly pattern is incredibly complex and we are figuring it out step by step.

Adding the exterior.

This is the second try. It came out pretty good, but there are some things that need to be changed:
1. fold and sew guidelines need to be marked on the fabric during the laser cutting process.
2. my new interior fabric pattern doesn't work because it causes some awkward pulling. Need to go back to the original shape.
3. need to choose colors that are contrasting but work with one thread color. There is too much switching back and forth between interior and exterior sewing and switching between 2 thread colors adds a ton of work.
4. The wallet is nice and thin, but I wish it was a little stiffer. I'm going to try to make some folds that add material in places where it won't increase thickness, for instance on the top edge where there are no credit cards.

Here's the outside. The basic design works. Next step is to do the above tweaks and to see if I can make it 'cooler'. By this, I mean to play with the basic material relationship that's going on in the wallet, which is the interplay between the interior and exterior material. Maybe the encasing can be more explicit. Next step is to make the above improvements, try to play with the design a bit, and choose materials/colors.