Learn to Sew Series – Rainbow Laptop Case

learn to sew

learn to sew rainbow laptop case
For the past six weeks, I have been following the Learn to Sew Series by Crazy Little Projects.  Amber is a great teacher and we have created some amazing projects!  This past week, in lesson #6, she showed us how to put in a zipper.  I used her tutorial and took it a whole other direction and created a Rainbow Laptop Case!

But first, lets review what we have learned so far:

Learn to sew -creating designer dust clothslearn to sew series dinosaur hooded towel

learn to sew messenger bagquilted plastic bag holderruffled grocery bag tutorial

In lesson #1, we learned how to sew a straight line and created some great Designer Dustcloths.
In lesson #2 , we learned the use of the zig-zag stitch and made up a cute Dinosaur Hooded Towel.
In lesson #3, we learned how to turn and topstitch.  I was able to use up some of my cute bunny fabric and make a Reversible Messenger Bag.
Lesson #4, we learned how to make a casing and put in elastic.  I created a Quilted Plastic Bag Holder.
Lesson #5 – How to make ruffles!  I created a ruffled tote from a grocery bag!

Are you following along?  There are lots of great prizes available!  Be sure to look at the bottom of this post to see what the giveaway is this week!

Our homework for last weeks lesson on how to put in a zipper was a skirt.  Well, I’m a jeans kinda girl, so I figured I’d come up with my own project- a Rainbow Laptop Case (with a zipper!).

Are you new to the Sitcom?  Be sure to check out my Frequently Asked Questions Page!

For this project I used:

learn to sew rainbow laptop case

1 Package (80 ea.) 100% Cotton Cosmetic pads*
RIT Dye in various colors
Salt
Dark Colored fabric- cut 12-1/2″ x 24-1/2″
12″ Zipper

*Yep.  I used cosmetic pads.  Why? Because they are awesome looking and there absolutely has to be other uses!  (This project is experimental and I cannot guarantee the durability of the final project, but it definitely has the awesome factor).

learn to sew rainbow laptop caselearn to sew rainbow laptop case

 I used liquid RIT Dye to color my cosmetic pads.  RIT Dye is easier to work with than you think.  For this project, I boiled some water and for each color, poured about two cups of hot water and about 1/4 of liquid dye into a tupperware container.  Add about 1 tablespoon of salt, stir, and the mixture is ready to dye your cosmetic pads.  Being that cosmetic pads are made to soak up stuff, it is no effort at all to get them to soak up the dye.  Rather than squeeze the excess water out of the pads, I found it better to press them between my hands to push extra water out.  Lay them out on paper towels to dry.  (Be sure to put foil on the counter under your paper towels to avoid staining your countertops!)

learn to sew rainbow laptop caselearn to sew rainbow laptop case

I used a dark piece of fabric to make the colors pop, cut 12-1/2 x 24-1/2″.  The 12″ zipper that I used came from my stash.  If you decide to make this project, I recommend a dark colored zipper just to make it look nicer.  I began by lining up the colors to see how I wanted them.

learn to sew rainbow laptop caselearn to sew rainbow laptop case

I then sewed each row of colors onto the fabric, catching the top of each cosmetic pad in the seam line, and overlapping the next row so that the seam wasn’t as obvious.  Once all pads were sewn on, I then sewed a line diagonally across each colored row to give them more texture.

learn to sew rainbow laptop case

Cool looking, right? At this point, be sure to clip all your loose threads.  I can see quite a few of them hanging around in the photo above.

learn to sew rainbow laptop caselearn to sew rainbow laptop case

Now we are going to make our bag.  Pin the zipper face down on the top edge of your fabric.  (Right sides together).  Use your zipper foot to sew the zipper to the fabric just on the right side of the zipper teeth.

learn to sew rainbow laptop caselearn to sew rainbow laptop case

Flip your piece over and fold it so that the top edge meets the bottom edge (right sides together).  Pin the other side of the zipper to the bottom edge right sides together and sew along the zipper teeth.  Now open up the zipper. (Everything is currently inside-out).  Once the zipper is open, sew a 1/4″ seam along each side edge.  Now flip it right side out, using the opening on the zipper edge.

learn to sew rainbow laptop case

And there you have it, a nice little bag.  It is the perfect size for my little laptop, or any other small device that you would  like to protect.

rainbow laptop case15

This is an experimental project and I cannot vouch for the durability of the cosmetic pads yet.  I would not recommend washing the final project.  So far, my little case is doing well, and it is definitely awesome to look at!

This week, Amber is teaching us how to sew a button hole and how to applique.  This is our last week of lessons!  There is no project to go with this lesson, but this week we kick off the FINAL project. This is when you pick a project of your choice and work on it for the next 2 weeks. Then enter to win one of our GRAND PRIZES including a $50 gift card for fabric! Full details on the final project, our grand prizes and sponsors and a chance to show off your project will be posted at Crazy Little Projects tomorrow.

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