Creating a DIY Laptop Sleeve or IPod Case: A Step-by-Step Guide

To start creating your own laptop sleeve or iPod case, begin by gathering all the necessary materials and tools. This includes three main pieces of fabric, which will be sewn together to form the outer shell of the case. Additionally, you'll need a lining fabric, batting, elastic, and thread. It's also helpful to have a sewing machine and scissors on hand.

One of the key steps in creating your laptop sleeve or iPod case is to sew the three main pieces together at the top. The first piece is a rectangle that will form the back of the case, while the second piece is a triangle that will serve as the flap. The third piece is another rectangle that will attach to the flap and provide additional protection for the device. To begin sewing these pieces together, start by placing the three pieces on top of each other with the right sides facing outwards. This means that the good side of one fabric should be facing up and the bad side of another fabric should be facing down.

The next step is to sew around the edges of the case, leaving a small opening at the top for turning it right side out. To do this, start by sewing along the edge of the rectangle piece, then turn the case right side out through the opening. Make sure to press the seam with an iron as you go to ensure that it lies flat.

Once the case is turned right side out, flip it over and press the seams again. This will help create a crisp fold in the fabric and give your case its shape. You'll also want to pin the top edge of the case in place to prevent it from stretching or distorting while you sew.

Now that your case is starting to take shape, you can begin adding the lining and batting. Place the good side of the lining fabric down on top of the case, followed by a layer of batting. This will provide additional protection for the device inside the case.

After adding the batting, place the main fabric over the batting, making sure that the good side is facing outwards. You'll want to pin this in place to keep everything secure while you sew.

The next step is to add a top stitch to the edge of the case to create a finished look. This will also help hold everything in place as you add the elastic and close the opening at the top.

To complete the edges, you can use a blind hem stitch or a whipstitch to secure the fabric in place. You'll want to make sure that there is enough room for your device to fit inside the case comfortably.

Now it's time to add the elastic. To do this, take a piece of elastic and tie it into a knot at one end. Place this knot on top of the good side of the lining fabric, making sure that the bad side of the elastic is facing down.

Next, take your main fabric and pin it over the elastic, making sure that the good side is facing outwards. You'll want to leave a small opening at the top for turning the case right side out.

Finally, sew along the edge of the case, using a zig-zag stitch or a stretch stitch to accommodate the elastic. Make sure to leave enough room at the top for turning the case right side out and closing the opening with a button.

To close the opening at the top, you'll want to fold the edges under and press them in place with an iron. Then, sew along the edge of the case using a blind hem stitch or a whipstitch to secure the fabric in place.

The final step is to add a button to close the opening at the top. You can use two buttons, one on either side of the flap, and attach them using a sewing machine or by hand. Make sure that the buttons are evenly spaced and match each other in size.

Turning your laptop sleeve or iPod case right side out will reveal that it's working perfectly. To finish off the edges, you'll want to roll the seam under and press it with an iron. Then, sew along the edge of the case using a blind hem stitch or a whipstitch to secure the fabric in place.

With these final steps complete, your DIY laptop sleeve or iPod case is now ready to use. Make sure that everything is secure and functional before you start carrying it around. With a little patience and some basic sewing skills, you can create a custom case that fits perfectly to your device.

Tips and Tricks:

* To ensure that your case lies flat, make sure to press the seams as you go.

* Use a blind hem stitch or a whipstitch to secure the fabric in place at the edges of the case.

* Leave enough room at the top for turning the case right side out and closing the opening with a button.

* Make sure that the buttons are evenly spaced and match each other in size.

* If you're using a sewing machine, use a zig-zag stitch or a stretch stitch to accommodate the elastic.

Conclusion:

Creating a DIY laptop sleeve or iPod case is a fun and rewarding project that requires some basic sewing skills. By following these steps and tips, you can create a custom case that fits perfectly to your device. Remember to take your time and be patient as you work through each step, and don't hesitate to ask for help if you need it. With practice and patience, you'll be able to create a professional-looking case that protects your device in style.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhello I'm here today to show you how to make a DIY laptop sleeve you can make it in any color you want any fabric it's reversible and you can make it for any device you want like an iPad or your laptop so this is how you do it so the first thing you're going to need all your basic sewing materials as well as a hair tie and two random buttons sewing machine is not required and the fabric I chose this turquoise color for the lining and this geometric pattern for the outside and also batting for the padding on the inside and you're just going to need half a yard of each but if you don't have batting or don't want to buy batting you can also use a felt felt works okay a couple layers of felt depending on how thick it is and last thing you're going to need is your device so laptop iPad MacBook whichever you'd like so your first step is you're going to measure around your device once you put it on your fabric on the height of your device plus half an inch or two centimeters all the way around your device so this is going to be your bottom mainly layer and that's your rectangle and then you're going to take your other two fabrics and lay them underneath the piece you just cut out I already cut mine out roughly so that I didn't have to deal with all the loose material so you're going to pin it and make sure it's pretty exact because this is where things go wrong if you don't cut your fabric perfect to begin with that's where you'll end up with it not working so once you've cut out that you're going to do the exact same thing but add a flap on the top so take your lining your main material and you're batting again new piece you're going to do the exact same rectangle but this time you're going to add a top flap so just the amount measured to about midway through your device and that'll you'll be able to see how big you want your flap okay and then once you cut out both of those so you're going to have your three pieces of a plain rectangle and then you're going to have your three pieces of a rectangle plus the little triangle flap at the top so we're going to take our rectangle first just going to relayer it for prepping for sewing we're going to start with the lining and if you if your lining has a good side mine doesn't have a good side but if it does make sure the good side is up then you're going to put down your main fabric good side down so that those two good sides are together and then you're batting on top and you're going to pin just the one long edge of that and sew a line don't be afraid if you don't have a sewing machine because you can watch this other video here mmm here you can watch another video here to teach you how to do a quick so if you don't have a sewing machine it's going to take a little bit longer but it's worth it so once you've sewn a straight line it's going to look something like this so you're going to have it all together your one rectangle piece just at the top and then we're going to do is flip over the good fabric so that the it looks like the case ship with the batting in the middle and you're going to try to line up the top so it kind of looks like a nice seam and we're going to add a top stitch on top of that so that it all looks finished and pretty what I did was I earned mine so that everything was flatter and it was easier to sew you can also pin it if you think you need to before you sew it so you're going to go ahead and add that top stitch is what we call it okay then you're going to get back all your material again so you have your one piece that's all together it looks like it's coming together and then you have your three pieces that are still separate with the triangle tops or the flap what you're going to do is reorder them so you're going to start with your rectangle plus flat piece and you're going to lay down the lining of that good side up and then you're gonna take the piece that we just sewed so sue sewed with the 3 pieces all connected at the top you're going to put the lining down the main fabric up with the seam at the top part towards the flap and then what comes next is main fabric good side down followed by your batting so to review its lining your three pieces we just sewed together with the lining down the good piece facing up followed by your main fabric good face good facing down and your batting last then we're going to do is pin all the way around except for about a what is this five inch opening ten centimeters opening on the top flap I know it seems weird but just do it I promise it'll work out leave that open and the final step before we sew is we're going to get our elastic and I tied it in a knot I just took a normal hair elastic it can be any color you want whatever matches your fabric you can get a realistic if you want but I didn't want to go and buy that so you can just find a hair tie from around the house and tie it I tie it in a knot and you could cut off the bottom but just in case it ever unravels this would keep it all together so I just tied it in a knot in the middle and then put the good side in the fabric so you want the bad part hanging out the part you can see is going to be the bad part the knot and everything and then put the good side the loop on inside your fabric in between the liner and the main fabric okay and then if you pin that into place it'll stay while you sew align all the way around the edge except for that one place I talked about all right this is the fun part seeing if it actually all worked out you're going to turn it all inside out really gently by pushing all the edges through and popping it flat you'll see that hopefully it ends up with um none of your scenes showing through and your batting is all in the right place and it looks good but we still have one two last steps so what we're going to do to close the hole at the top you're going to roll in the edges so that it kind of looks like the seam that you already made and then you're going to I ironed mine first just so it was flatter and easier for me to sew and then you also might want to pin it so it's easier to sew and what you're going to do is sew a top stitch along that whole top flap just like we did before so once that's done it should look something like this okay and that also just secures in your elastic because I'm always afraid the elastics going to slip up and then that kind of ruins everything yeah so the last thing you have to do is put on the button the easiest way to do this is to have a button with the same amount of holes and then you put so like two holes or four holes and then you just put your device in you put the flap over and you see where the button should line up and where it should go once you've done that I put a pin through it took out my device and I was able to line up the two buttons on either side and then I just took a needle and thread and I went in an avid until it was secure and that is the end that's all you have to do to make and your DIY laptop sleeve or ipod case I know it seems like a lot of work but it should probably only take you one to two hours depending on how good you are at sewing yeah I think that's it subscribe for more back to school videos I promise I'll do more videos with Becky because I know I'm sure you miss her oh goodnesshello I'm here today to show you how to make a DIY laptop sleeve you can make it in any color you want any fabric it's reversible and you can make it for any device you want like an iPad or your laptop so this is how you do it so the first thing you're going to need all your basic sewing materials as well as a hair tie and two random buttons sewing machine is not required and the fabric I chose this turquoise color for the lining and this geometric pattern for the outside and also batting for the padding on the inside and you're just going to need half a yard of each but if you don't have batting or don't want to buy batting you can also use a felt felt works okay a couple layers of felt depending on how thick it is and last thing you're going to need is your device so laptop iPad MacBook whichever you'd like so your first step is you're going to measure around your device once you put it on your fabric on the height of your device plus half an inch or two centimeters all the way around your device so this is going to be your bottom mainly layer and that's your rectangle and then you're going to take your other two fabrics and lay them underneath the piece you just cut out I already cut mine out roughly so that I didn't have to deal with all the loose material so you're going to pin it and make sure it's pretty exact because this is where things go wrong if you don't cut your fabric perfect to begin with that's where you'll end up with it not working so once you've cut out that you're going to do the exact same thing but add a flap on the top so take your lining your main material and you're batting again new piece you're going to do the exact same rectangle but this time you're going to add a top flap so just the amount measured to about midway through your device and that'll you'll be able to see how big you want your flap okay and then once you cut out both of those so you're going to have your three pieces of a plain rectangle and then you're going to have your three pieces of a rectangle plus the little triangle flap at the top so we're going to take our rectangle first just going to relayer it for prepping for sewing we're going to start with the lining and if you if your lining has a good side mine doesn't have a good side but if it does make sure the good side is up then you're going to put down your main fabric good side down so that those two good sides are together and then you're batting on top and you're going to pin just the one long edge of that and sew a line don't be afraid if you don't have a sewing machine because you can watch this other video here mmm here you can watch another video here to teach you how to do a quick so if you don't have a sewing machine it's going to take a little bit longer but it's worth it so once you've sewn a straight line it's going to look something like this so you're going to have it all together your one rectangle piece just at the top and then we're going to do is flip over the good fabric so that the it looks like the case ship with the batting in the middle and you're going to try to line up the top so it kind of looks like a nice seam and we're going to add a top stitch on top of that so that it all looks finished and pretty what I did was I earned mine so that everything was flatter and it was easier to sew you can also pin it if you think you need to before you sew it so you're going to go ahead and add that top stitch is what we call it okay then you're going to get back all your material again so you have your one piece that's all together it looks like it's coming together and then you have your three pieces that are still separate with the triangle tops or the flap what you're going to do is reorder them so you're going to start with your rectangle plus flat piece and you're going to lay down the lining of that good side up and then you're gonna take the piece that we just sewed so sue sewed with the 3 pieces all connected at the top you're going to put the lining down the main fabric up with the seam at the top part towards the flap and then what comes next is main fabric good side down followed by your batting so to review its lining your three pieces we just sewed together with the lining down the good piece facing up followed by your main fabric good face good facing down and your batting last then we're going to do is pin all the way around except for about a what is this five inch opening ten centimeters opening on the top flap I know it seems weird but just do it I promise it'll work out leave that open and the final step before we sew is we're going to get our elastic and I tied it in a knot I just took a normal hair elastic it can be any color you want whatever matches your fabric you can get a realistic if you want but I didn't want to go and buy that so you can just find a hair tie from around the house and tie it I tie it in a knot and you could cut off the bottom but just in case it ever unravels this would keep it all together so I just tied it in a knot in the middle and then put the good side in the fabric so you want the bad part hanging out the part you can see is going to be the bad part the knot and everything and then put the good side the loop on inside your fabric in between the liner and the main fabric okay and then if you pin that into place it'll stay while you sew align all the way around the edge except for that one place I talked about all right this is the fun part seeing if it actually all worked out you're going to turn it all inside out really gently by pushing all the edges through and popping it flat you'll see that hopefully it ends up with um none of your scenes showing through and your batting is all in the right place and it looks good but we still have one two last steps so what we're going to do to close the hole at the top you're going to roll in the edges so that it kind of looks like the seam that you already made and then you're going to I ironed mine first just so it was flatter and easier for me to sew and then you also might want to pin it so it's easier to sew and what you're going to do is sew a top stitch along that whole top flap just like we did before so once that's done it should look something like this okay and that also just secures in your elastic because I'm always afraid the elastics going to slip up and then that kind of ruins everything yeah so the last thing you have to do is put on the button the easiest way to do this is to have a button with the same amount of holes and then you put so like two holes or four holes and then you just put your device in you put the flap over and you see where the button should line up and where it should go once you've done that I put a pin through it took out my device and I was able to line up the two buttons on either side and then I just took a needle and thread and I went in an avid until it was secure and that is the end that's all you have to do to make and your DIY laptop sleeve or ipod case I know it seems like a lot of work but it should probably only take you one to two hours depending on how good you are at sewing yeah I think that's it subscribe for more back to school videos I promise I'll do more videos with Becky because I know I'm sure you miss her oh goodness\n"