Laptop Case

Last semester (during finals, unfortunately) my old iBook died. Since I couldn't afford my new MacBook, I definitely couldn't afford a case, bag, or sleeve. So I made this laptop sleeve out of one of dad's old sleeping bag pads, some duct tape, an old flannel shirt, some upholstery fabric, and some embroidery floss. I got the idea from this post on Isoglossia. I don't really like the foam and duct tape look, so I covered mine with fabric. Follow the directions on Isoglossia for the inner part. If you want to cover it,
1. Get some non static-y fabric (I would't use wool or flannel for the inside)
2. Sew a pillowcase shape twice the depth of your foam sleeve that fits it snugly from bottom to top and side to side.
3. Put the foam sleeve inside the "pillowcase," sew the opening of the pillowcase closed, and tuck the fabric inside. You should now have a liner that covers the foam inside and out. You might need to untuck the inner part and take it in slightly if it's too loose.
4. When the liner fits to your satisfaction, you should then sew through the matress pad (it's not that hard) along the back of the sleeve (where the back of your computer would touch) so that the inside lining doesn't pull out every time you take your computer out. Also, put your computer in ocassionally and check the fit.
To finish it, just sew the lining down in places. Because I didn't like the polyester liner fabric I used, I took apart a flannel shirt and covered the outside. I used the cuff of the shirtsleeve for the strap (I also opened it and inserted a strip of foam for extra protection). If you use a shirt with pockets for your case, you can incorperate the shirt pockets for iPod cords, post-its, library cards, or anything else you want to carry with your laptop! The whole project took me about 3 hours for the case and lining, and an extra hour and a half for the outer lining with strap and embroidery stitching.