Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Laptop Bag DIY Project

I recently purchased a new 17" laptop not realizing how difficult it would be to find a bag to fit it. I was carrying it to work in a tote bag I made in my leather class at The Make Den but it was awkward and dangerous in the rain. I was looking for a new project to work on at the same time and came across a great laptop bag tutorial and decided to make one for myself and share the make with anyone else who needs a bag as much as me! I used the tutorial here as the base for my bag, but will go over as much as I can to help you out.



Supplies you will need:
  • 1yd self fabric (I used a light canvas)
  • 1yd lining (I used another light canvas)
  • 1yd leather/synthetic upholstery
  • fusible fleece
  • zipper (mine was a nylon 20" so I could sew over it)
  • 1"-1.5" webbing (enough for the kind of strap you want)
  • matching thread
  • walking foot is preferable for working with leather



I also bought a tri-glide and square rings because I had initially planned on doing a shoulder strap but found it would be too awkward with my large laptop on my hip and opted for handles instead. I tried to find fabric I liked on Queen St. but decided on ordering everything from Joann Fabric and Craft Store that had everything I needed.

Making your pattern




Same as the tutorial I followed, I measured the dimensions of my laptop and added 3" to the height and 3" to the width in order to create the basic shape of my bag (this included my seam allowance). I had decided that I wanted leather as the bottom piece and as pockets on the front of my bag. I added pockets inside as well. Below is a drawing of my pattern pieces with dimensions.


Making the bag



  1. Apply the fusible fleece to your fabric. I applied it to only the outer shell pieces so that it did not make it too tight for my sewing machine. Using the walking foot made it a lot easier to sew on top of the fusible fleece as well as on leather. **Reminder: when sewing on leather make sure to adjust your stitching length.
  2. Line the outer pocket. I understitched mine to that the lining did not poke out on top. Stay-stitch the pocket to your Front Piece. I top-stitched down the center line to make 2 pockets.
  3. Sew together the Back Top Piece to the Back Lower Piece.
  4. Sew Inner Pocket to one of your lining pieces.
  5. At this point you can apply handles to your pieces if you prefer, or do this after Step 8 if you are doing a shoulder strap.
  6. Apply zipper to the top of your outer pieces (I had to continue using my walking foot as my zipper foot would not allow me to sew with the fusible fleece. This was a HUGE pain.) Be very careful where you end your zipper so that your laptop can still squeeze through. I had to readjust mine multiple times.
  7. Apply lining piece to zipper.
  8. Sew your front pieces together on the side seams.
  9. Sandwich your bag inside the lining and sew the lining together leaving a good 4-5" opening at the bottom. Pull your bag right side out and edge-stitch the opening together to close it up.
Your bag is now complete!!