It’s theĀ Bake, Craft & Sew Along —the sewing edition! Don’t forget to skip on over to According to Kelly to see some fun crafty non-sewing gifts and to A Southern Fairytale for edible goodies that will be perfect this holiday season.
I know this is a handmade gift series but Char from Crap I’ve Made shows how to make a simple and cool laptop sleeve that I must make for myself! It would make a great gift too! Don’t miss all the lovelyĀ things (crap) she makes on her blog!
Char writes…
Iām Char from Crap Iāve Made. I donāt like pudding or hugging. I love Diet Coke and naps. I readily admit to fake crying in an attempt to get out of sewing class in the 9th grade. My teacher didnāt buy it, and the rest is history. And, Iām thrilled to be here participating in the Holiday Bake, Craft, & Sew Along.
Hereās my tutorial for a zippered laptop sleeve. Since itās measurement based, you could adapt it to fit an iPad or other electronic gadget, too.
How to Make a Zippered Laptop Sleeve
Supplies:
Outer fabric
Lining fabric
Fusible fleece
Zipper (approximately 4ā longer than your laptop)
Embellishments
Measure your laptop, wrapping your tape measure all the way around.
Mine measures 18.5ā X 24.5ā. (Yes, itās tiny.)
Split both of those measurements in half. In my example, that would be 9.25ā X 12.25ā. Add 1.25ā to both of those measurements. In my example thatās 10.5ā X 13.5ā. Weāre finished with the math. Cut 2 pieces from your outer fabric this size. Cut 2 pieces from your lining fabric this size. Cut 2 pieces of fusible fleece this size. I then trimmed 1/2ā off all around my fusible fleece because I didnāt want the bulk in my seams.
Embellish one of your exterior pieces as desired now. Iām including directions for exactly how I made mine, but feel free to change that up to personalize your laptop sleeve.
Cut a strip of fabric 3.5ā wide and then press under 1/4ā on the top and bottom edges.
Position on the front of your laptop sleeve and stitch in place along both edges.
Cut a strip of fabric 3ā high by at least twice the width of your laptop case. Fold under 1/2ā on both long edges and press.
Run a long gathering stitch (do not backstitch) about 1/4ā in along both long edges. Pull your bobbin threads to gather evenly. Position in the middle of the larger strip and stitch in place.
(I made the decorative flower using these directions on WiseCraft. Itās attached to a pin and is removable so you wonāt see it until the final pictures.)
Iron your fusible fleece to the wrong sides of both pieces of outer fabric, following the manufacturerās instructions.
Take your zipper and place it face down and centered along the top edge of your front piece. You should have excess zipper on both ends.
Pin the zipper in place in the center. In order to get the zipper to go around the corners nicely, youāre going to make a few shallow snips along the part you need to bend.
Keep on pinning around both corners. I like to use A LOT of pins.
Baste the zipper in place. I used white thread so it would show up better for photographic purposes.
Position your lining fabric directly on top of your front piece, right sides facing.
Sew just inside of your basting line. Turn your pieces right side out. Press your exterior and lining fabrics away from the zipper.
Close the zipper. Position your other exterior piece on top, so the sides are even. Slide it up until itās even with the zipper and pin. Unzip and repeat the zipper installation steps for the back half of the case.
Hereās what youāve got nowā¦nice neat zipper and ugly unfinished seams everywhere else.
Pull your exterior fabrics over so the right sides are facing, like this:
Keep turning until youāve got both exterior pieces facing and both lining pieces facing.
Donāt be alarmed by the hot mess it appears to be right now. Youāre *almost* there!
Reach up between the exterior layers and undo the zipper a few inches (big enough to fit your hand through and reach to undo the zipper the rest of the way later).
Youāre going to sew ONLY on the exterior pieces. Fold, pull, and otherwise maneuver the lining pieces out of the way. Youāll be sewing from one end of the zipper to the other.
In the above picture, youād sew from one pin, down around the bottom edge and then up to the other pin.
Repeat with the lining pieces, BUT leave a 4-5ā hole in the bottom (again, big enough to fit your hand through).
Stick your hand way up in there and grab the bottom seam on the exterior fabrics.
And pull it out through the hole.
Close up the hole in the lining. I usually pull it all the way out and machine stitch close to the edge, but you could hand stitch if you prefer.
Aaaaaaaaaaaand youāre done!
Can you tell us where you found the lovely fabric? Muchas gracias!
I’ve been wanting to make something almost exactly like this for a while now, I was just too lazy to figure it out on my own! Thanks!!
Wonderful tutorial! Just want I needed. My husband’s birthday is coming up and his new laptop needs a new cozy hope. Can’t wait to make it! Thank you for sharing.
I love that Cindy! I need to make one for my new laptop š So pretty!
XOXO
Jen
The detail on this is so pretty. Can’t wait to try it.
I absolutely love this.
And you could add some wee handles onto the outside fabric as well, so if you wanted to carry it by hand you could.
Very very classy. Looks super and I am going to make the effort.
Thank-you for yours,
Cheers.
Brenda J.Moore
Very pretty. Thank you.
Great tutorial! I can’t wait to try it.
That is so beautiful and clever – just what I needed for my new laptop. What fabric did you use?
Thanks!
Another awesome tutorial. Thank you! I’m truly enjoying these!
Wow, this is awesome! Love that it has not just ruffles, but a flower too. So pretty!
Good design but have you considered using something to protect the laptop rather than batting? Head liner fabric has become my favorite and really protects in a fall.
That’s so pretty!! I linked to your tutorial over at Craft Gossip Sewing:
http://sewing.craftgossip.com/tutorial-make-a-zippered-laptop-sleeve/2010/07/29/
–Anne
I think I may just have to make this!! Thank you!