Zippered Laptop Sleeve Tutorial

Keep your laptop scratch-free in a handmade zippered bag.

Personalized laptop sleeves are ideal for students or anyone who likes to put an individual slant on their possessions. Since laptops are expensive possessions, having a cover that's a little padded helps to protect it from knocks and scratches. Felted wool makes an attractive cover, and it's a thick enough fabric not to need additional padding. Either buy felted wool from the fabric store or make your own by felting old sweaters.

Things You'll Need

• Tape measure
• Felted wool fabric
• Scissors
• Zipper 4 inches longer than your laptop
• Pins
• Basting thread
• Sewing needle
• Sewing machine
• Zipper foot

Instructions

Prepare the Fabric and Zipper

1. Measure the depth of your laptop by wrapping the tape measure all around the body of your closed laptop the shorter way around. Add 1 inch to this measurement. Measure the top of the long side of your laptop and add 2 inches to the measurement.

2. Cut a rectangle of felt fabric using these two measurements.

3. Lay the fabric flat on your worksurface, and then lay the zipper across one of the short ends of fabric so it overlaps by two inches at both sides. Mark both ends of the zipper in two places, the first mark 1 inch from the end and the second mark 3 inches from the end. Make four short, perpendicular snips between the two markings at either zipper end to allow the zipper to bend around the corner of the laptop bag.

Sew in the Zipper

1. Lay the fabric, right side down, on your work surface. Lay the closed zipper, right side down on top of the fabric edge. Make sure the teeth of the zipper lay alongside the edge of the fabric. The snips in the zipper should be centered over the fabric corners.

2. Pin the zipper in place, starting from the middle and working out toward the corners. When you reach the corners, open the zipper then overlap the snips in the zipper fabric to bend the zipper around the corners. Baste and then stitch this side of the zipper in place using the zipper foot on your machine.

3. Fold the felted fabric in half lengthwise, right sides together, then pin the other side of the open zipper into place on the wrong side. Take care not to pin through both layers of fabric. Fold and pin the zipper round the corners as before. Baste the zipper and remove the pins.

4. Turn the fabric the right way out, and then close the zipper to make sure the sides are even. Open the zipper again and sew into place on the sewing machine. Remove the basting stitches.

Stitch the Side Seams

1. Open the zipper and turn the laptop bag inside out.

2. Pin the side seams, placing the pins in line with the zipper to create a continuous seam down the side of the bag. Baste the seams and check the appearance by turning the bag the right way out.

3. Turn the laptop bag the wrong way out once more, then stitch the seams closed using the sewing machine.

Tips & Warnings

• Neaten the corners on the right side of the laptop bag by carefully rounding them off, close to your stitching, with scissors.