3/13

DIY Quilted Laptop Sleeve

Budget: $$, Crafts, Homemade Gifts, One Day Project, Sewing
By Mandi Johnson

Make this simple and stylish laptop sleeve- it's even padded and water resistant!I remember when I got my first laptop—I was pretty paranoid about denting or scratching it, but I couldn't find a case cute enough to bring to design classes. Well, none in my price range anyway! (Ah, college student budgets—Some things never change after graduation!) I ended up scoring a great vintage leather briefcase that was the perfect size at the thrift store and bought an ugly foam sleeve for added protection inside the briefcase.

Make this simple and fashionable laptop sleeve- it's even padded and water resistant!Well it's been almost ten years since I first stepped foot in college (Yikes!), and my ripped up leather briefcase says I'm ready for something new. I wanted a laptop case that would look more like a fashion accessory this time around. Something cute, compact, and padded. After just about an hour of sewing, I had this great little laptop sleeve, plus the itch to make ten more!

Make this simple and fashionable laptop sleeve- it's even padded and water resistant!Materials:
-patterned fabric- I bought one yard of indoor/outdoor upholstery fabric.
-nylon or water resistant material in same yardage
–quilt batting
–interfacing (medium-weight, sew-in, not fusible)
–snap kit
–bias tape (I only used one pack, though two are shown.)
-thread

Tools:
-straight pins (quilting pins work the easiest for this project)
-fabric scissors
-sewing machine
-pen (not shown)

Make this simple and fashionable laptop sleeve- it's even padded and water resistant!Step One: Cut a piece of your patterned fabric similarly as shown above, being able to wrap all the way around your laptop plus some extra fabric, and also about a two inch border on each side. I cut the end of the fabric into a point, but if you wanted, you could do a different shape or round off the point.

Step Two: Cut out a piece of batting and your lining fabric the same size and shape as your patterned fabric.

Make this simple and fashionable laptop sleeve- it's even padded and water resistant!Step Three: Pin together the layers of fabric, sandwiching the batting in between the fabric as shown above. Wrap the pinned layers around your laptop to get a better sense of how it will fit. Trim off excess fabric from the length, leaving about an inch and a half of extra length. Mark where your snaps will line up and then take apart the layers of fabric.

Step Four: Stitch interfacing behind where you marked the points for the snaps. Cut out the slits that you marked in the above step (see image 3) and slip the snap through the holes, folding down the tongs of the snap onto the back piece of the snap.

Note: Attaching the snaps might seem intimidating, but is much easier for me than doing zippers, and it's a pretty fast step— really!

Make this simple and fashionable laptop sleeve- it's even padded and water resistant!Step Five: After you've added the snaps to the lining and exterior fabric, pin the layers of fabric together again, making sure the right sides of the fabric (with the snaps) are facing outward.

Step Six: Use the pattern of your fabric as a guide to sew quilt lines across the width of your fabric. If you don't have a horizontal pattern to follow, you will want to sketch lines with a fabric pencil as I did in this quilted project.

Note: This quilting step will secure the batting which pads your laptop sleeve, and it also adds to the style of the case. You could technically skip this step, but I wouldn't recommend it.

Make this simple and fashionable laptop sleeve- it's even padded and water resistant!Step Seven: Now that your layers are all connected from the quilting lines, you'll want to trim away the excess fabric. I left about 3/4" on either side of the laptop, but trimmed up the length of the fabric so that it stopped right at the top of the laptop. See the image above for a reference.

Make this simple and fashionable laptop sleeve- it's even padded and water resistant!Step Eight: Pin a strip of bias tape to the flat end of the fabric layers (opposite of the pointed end).

Step Nine: Stitch the bias tape, pulling away the pins as you go along. Keep your needle very close to the inside edge of the bias tape.

Make this simple and fashionable laptop sleeve- it's even padded and water resistant!Step Ten: Fold the laptop sleeve as shown above, making sure the pocket of the laptop sleeve fits the laptop perfectly. Pin the edges into place, then stitch them together. Make sure you keep the stitching pretty close to the edge of the fabric. The bias tape needs to cover the stitches.

Step Eleven: Pin bias tape all around the sides and flap of the laptop sleeve, covering the stitching from the previous step. The bias tape can bend around curves, but at the points and ends, you'll need to trim it, leaving about a half inch overhang to flip underneath before stitching the tape into place.

Make this simple and fashionable laptop sleeve- it's even padded and water resistant!I know the directions can get a little wordy, which might be intimidating, but anyone with beginner sewing skills should be able to just look at the pictures to see what to do. If you need more in-depth visuals on the snap part of the process, check out this purse project I shared recently.

Make this simple and stylish laptop sleeve- it's even padded and water resistant!I'm really pleased with how this laptop sleeve turned out! I'll probably spray it with Scotchgard for added protection when the weather warms up (man, those fumes!), but for now at least I know it's a bit water resistant with the nylon lining. Peace of mind for your prized technology and a fashion statement! Not too bad for an hour with my sewing machine, eh? –Mandi

Credits // Author and Photography: Mandi Johnson. Photos edited with Stella from the Signature Collection.

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