It's great being asked to create a project when it's something you actually need! I've had my current laptop for a while but didn't have a case for it. My youngest has adopted my previous laptop, since all the online schooling started it made sense for her to use it. She has adopted my last homemade case to go with it. Clearly we don't need them for travel but it's nice to put devices away at the end of the day and keep them safe from dust and spills and the like. 


The brief was to design a laptop case use bow tie blocks, a classic block that was calling out for some fussy cutting. I've had the kerchief girls prints in my stash for a while and this was the perfect project to finally cut into them for. I mixed in some scraps of low volume prints and pulled the library stamp print from JOT by Heather Givans for the lining fabric. I tried to pair the colours of kerchief girls with prints in my stash to coordinate the bow tie blocks. Not my normal colour palette but I only picked the kerchief girl colours I was drawn to and I wasn't in a yellow mood!


I used Essex Manchester Yarn Dyed in Metallic Onyx for the back and for some of the bow tie blocks, I love the texture of this fabric so much. 


The quilting was done with Aurifil Forty3 thread in #2310, simple straight lines to showcase the blocks and I carried the lines onto the back for added texture.

My favourite part was the picking buttons for the closure. I have a wonderful tin of (mostly) mismatched buttons that I inherited from my Nan. I dove in and chose some contenders, it was a bit Goldilocks... some were too big, some were too small but there were no pairs that were just right!

Ultimately I went for two completely mismatched button, one clear and one brown but I like them equally and since this is handmade it does not bother me one bit that it's not 'perfect'. The elastic is actually hair bands, they make such great closures and are very easy to attach. Also they are easy to get hold of and cheap!



It turned out to be cute and the buttons add character!


I filmed a tutorial to make the case and also give ideas of how to adjust it for different devices. You can watch the demo as part of the Take3 club at CraftyMonkies. Just a reminder you can also book to take a live class with me and now you can buy some of my previously recorded live classes too - currently that's Big Stitch Hand Quilting & Tying or my Stitchy Pie Needle Case.

This project would also look lovely with some hand quilting, it's always an option to add hand quilting to already completed projects too ;)


For now I will pack my laptop away in it's cosy case and admire those fabrics some more!