Sunday, March 31, 2013

laptop sleeve... am i a hipster now

i acquired a new laptop (gently used by relatives)
consumerism ftw


i'm trying not to destroy this one

i impromptu decided I should make a laptop bag, having spotted a bag of cloth i picked up off reuse last semester, and deciding i need a laptop bag right now because two days is too long to wait

http://www.ispydiy.com/2012/08/my-diy-envelope-laptop-case.html
[x] img src
that made it seem so easy, like something i could finish in 15 minutes

well
i went to MITERS and turns out we don't have fabric glue. so i decided this would be an excellent opportunity to learn to use the really cool sewing machine we have! i also picked up an old shirt and some strips of leather lying around MITERS (on top of the lathe -- turns out we have a good selection of odds and ends of material)


This sewing machine is so amazing. It's actually very clearly laid out, with instructions screenprinted right on the machine, and alkdjbnwet just amazing. It has this bobbin winder on top which works like a charm and maybe I will go back and take a picture of it. Actually no here's a video: http://youtu.be/lDiTi6C-66Q?t=2m16s which shows how it will mechanically "automagically" stop winding when the bobbin is full.

The manual is very clear too.

anyway, in retrospect I cut the triangle very off-center. it looked roughly even at the time. whatever.


i also used the strips of leather for padding on the sides. I'm most worried about putting it in my bookbag and the corners/hinges getting damaged when I forget and set my bookbag none too gently. I don't know if this is an actual cause of damage but for my own ease of mind...


i wish i'd found two shirts because i ended up only padding one side because I was getting tired of my emergency project. also lol it turned out so derpy but i am owning up to derpy projects because i feel like it would have encourage me as a beginning project doer ^__^


i made the strap with some velcro i sewed on.

one thing i would change going back is cutting it a little closer to form -- it tends to slip so that the leather strips aren't protecting the ends but rather the edges of the laptop.

project took 2.5 hours in total

1 comment: