SUPPLIES & TOOLS:
- Pencil
- Measuring Tape
- Scissors or Rotary Cutter, Straightedge, and Cutting Mat
- Black Vinyl - 1/2 yard
- Fuschia Separating Sport Zipper - 24 inches
- Mustard Cotton Fabric - 1/2 yard
- Cotton Batting - 1/2 yard
- Black Thread
- Mustard Thread
- Straight Pins
- Sewing Clips
- Sewing Machine with Zipper Foot
- Iron
DIRECTIONS:
- First, determine the dimensions you'll need to fit your laptop. Measure the width of your laptop plus the depth of the sides, then add 1 1/2" to that. Measure the length of your laptop plus the depth of the sides, then add 1 1/2" to that. Jot down this dimension for reference, and begin to cut your fabric pieces.
- Cut two rectangles of black vinyl.
- Cut two rectangles of mustard cotton fabric.
- Cut two rectangles of cotton batting.
- Pin one mustard cotton piece on top of one cotton batting piece and baste all the way around.
- Repeat for second mustard and cotton pieces. Set aside.
- Place zipper at the top of a black vinyl piece. Adjust the zipper so the top of it starts about 3 inches down the side of the vinyl. (Extra zipper length hanging past 3 inches down the other side of the black vinyl will be tucked into the case, hidden behind the lining.) Once the zipper is adjusted to begin 3 inches down the side, flip the zipper face down on the black vinyl and attach using sewing clips. When you get to the corner, make little snips into the zipper about every 1/4", being careful not to snip beyond where your sewing line will be. Pin this curve using straight pins, but be careful not to perforate the vinyl where it will be seen after the zipper is flipped out to its right side -- keep the pins at the zipper edge.
- With the zipper foot on the sewing machine, begin to sew 1/2" above the start of the zipper, and ending 2 1/2" down the opposite side. Remove the straight pins around the corners as you come to them.
- Next place a cotton batting/ mustard cotton piece on top of the exterior piece you just sewed, right sides together. The zipper should be sandwiched in between the vinyl and cotton pieces, and their orientation should be: vinyl face up, zipper face down, cotton face down. Attach sewing clips to this fabric sandwich as before, and insert straight pins around the corners as before. Sew it together, following the seam line you just sewed as visible on the vinyl side of the sandwich.
- Once it's sewn together, check to make sure the orientation of all the materials is correct, then trim the excess fabric from the corners and again add little snips every 1/4". Flip the fabric right side out.
- Take the second piece of black vinyl and place it right side up. Then take the fabric sandwich you'd just sewn, grab the zipper, and align its open edge to the black vinyl so that the zipper is face down. Secure it together with sewing clips and straight pins around the corners, like before, and also like before, make little snips into the curve of the corners, not too far in, just enough to help it curve easily. Sew the second vinyl piece to the zipper edge.
- Check to make sure all fabrics are oriented as they should be. Then, place the second cotton piece on top of the fabric sandwich so that the layers are oriented this way: second vinyl piece on the bottom, next the zipper, the first vinyl piece, the first cotton piece, and now the second cotton piece, right side down. Make sure that the second cotton piece edge is lined up directly with the zipper - nudge the first vinyl piece and the first cotton piece out of the way so you don't end up sewing them all together!
- Secure the second cotton piece as you did the layers before, and sew it following the seam line on the second vinyl piece. Turn right side out and double-check to make sure every layer is oriented in the way that it should be before turning it back wrong side out and clipping the excess fabric around the corners of the second vinyl and cotton corners. Turn it back right side out and double check everything again before beginning to sew the bottom of the case.
- Next, to sew the bottom and the interior, turn the case inside out so that the black vinyl pieces are facing each other and the cotton pieces are on the outside. Secure the cotton fabric up and out of the way of the two vinyl pieces that will get sewn together first. Secure the vinyl pieces together using the sewing clips and mark a curve using something nearby like a spool of thread at the corners to help guide your seam around the corners. Begin to sew together, with the zipper foot, starting from the center bottom and up one side, meeting up with the point where the zipper seam begins. Backstitch at this point for extra strength. Repeat for the other side. Flip right side out to check that everything looks right before going back in and clipping the excess fabric at the corners and making little snips every ¼" to remove bulk from the curved corners.
- _x000B_Finally, sew the cotton lining together: arrange the fabrics so that the two lining pieces are facing each other, right sides together. The vinyl pieces will need to be out of the way. You can use straight pins to secure the two cotton pieces together. Sew the cotton pieces together as you did the vinyl, except this time you will need to leave a large gap at the bottom so that you can turn the whole thing right side out at the end. Once the cotton pieces are sewn together, clip the excess fabric at the corners and turn the whole thing right side out, through the opening at the bottom. Once everything is flipped the right way, pull up the cotton lining, pin the opening together, and sew closed.
- Help the vinyl to sit a little flatter by ironing - set your iron to its lowest synthetics setting, grab a spare thin piece of cotton fabric to place over top the vinyl and press down around all the edges.