Make your own 60% keyboard sleeves (pic heavy)

[hoggy]

[edit] since photobucket isn't being nice, the pictures are now available here. https://imgur.com/a/UGJ6G[/edit]


Useful tools


Iron the fabric.

It's best to assume that your fabric isn't exactly square.  The easiest way to cut a square/rectangle is to make a template out of card or paper first.  Measurements that work for me: 376mm x 314mm.   Edit - I also use 15mm seams (quite large, but easier to work with).

Paper template pinned to fabric


Cut out the fabric using the template as guide


The cut out fabric


Sew the inner bag first to save a bit of time later.
Don't start at the very edge, you'll want the reverse a few stitches to lock the thread


Reverse stitch to the edge


...and forwards, removing pins as you go.


Slow down for the corner


Stop and leave the needle down (through the fabric)


Lift the sewing machine 'foot'


Rotate 90%


Foot down


Sew along the bottom edge


Same again for the outer bag - I've marked the seam






Now we need to trim the corners - this will reduce bulk in the seams


Snip 1


Snip 2


Snip 3


... and again for the outer bag (looks like I rotated the fabric by not quite 90 degrees)


Snip 1


Snip 2


Snip 3


Iron the seams open


Turn to right way out, you can use a pointy thing to get nice crisp corners


Iron the seams on the inner bag, we don't need to turn this one out.


Slide the inner bag into the outer bag


Line the seams up.


Pin the two bags together, make sure you don't pin the bag closed.



To get the 'free arm', I need to remove part of the table.


Now we have the free arm, perfect for sewing along the top edge.


Slide the bag over the free arm


Start to sew - slowly.  The machine will feed the fabric...


Ideally, the start and finish should meet.


How it looks from the inside


Fold the top edge at the stitching towards the inside of the bag


Iron it as you go to get it to stay in place


Fold it over again, this will completely hide any raw edges


Yet more pins


Sew using the free arm.  (for best results. snip that thread before sewing over it)


Final product.

[thatllbeme]

Wow, awesome stuff and great guide! I really ought to make one of these myself one day. Whereabouts do you get your fabric from? I love the design.

[hoggy]

A local haberdashery should have something interesting in the way of fabric.  I've used 'fat-quarters' which are 50cm x50cm - but the measurements will almost certainly vary a bit.

You could try Spoonflower.com if you want something custom printed - I haven't used them myself.

If you want to make one, but don't have any kit, it might be cheaper to pay for a quick sewing lesson - these sleeves might not take long to make so take enough fabric to make two sleeves just in case.
 

[philphilphil]

Very well illustrated, thanks for sharing! I sent it to the gf and we will try it next weekend. Gonna post results

[hoggy]

You're welcome - hope it turns out well.  I've updated the text a bit because I forgot to mention the seam allowance - I use a pretty large seam allowance of 15mm (so the row of stitches is 15mm from the edge of the fabric) as it makes aligning the seams of the two bags at lot easier.

Looking forward to seeing the results.

[romevi]

Nice, dawg! Bookmarking this.

[carlossless]

Oh wow, thanks a lot for posting this!

[philphilphil]

I did it! It looks a bit messy and the stitches aren't perfect but for the first try it looks alright i think . Thanks again for posting, now i gonna make one for my TKL!
Edit: i just saw that i folded the edge only once what would explain why it looks so ugly. gonna get some nice fabric and try again

[hoggy]

Looking good!  It's always satisfying to make something like this yourself.  You could always fold the top edge in again, but I think it adds character as it is.

I think you're being a bit hard on yourself, your corners look pretty neat and the stitching on the top edge starts has the same start/end seam allowance.  Even better, your keyboard fits inside.

Are there any changes to the tutorial that you think would help?  Were any parts tricky to suss out?

[CPTBadAss]

This guide is great. Thanks for doing it hoggy. My guide looks similar but my first step is "Beg sister to do it for me since she's a fashion major then watch her sew" )

[philphilphil]

Looking good!  It's always satisfying to make something like this yourself.  You could always fold the top edge in again, but I think it adds character as it is.

I think you're being a bit hard on yourself, your corners look pretty neat and the stitching on the top edge starts has the same start/end seam allowance.  Even better, your keyboard fits inside.

Are there any changes to the tutorial that you think would help?  Were any parts tricky to suss out?

No, i think you did pretty well describing everything in detail
I ordered some cloth yesterday to make the TKL one. I also plan on adding a cord inside the folding to close the bag. Do you have any tipps how i could do this? I thought about adding the holes and inserting the eyelets before folding the edges and than fold and stitch it and when its done add the cord.

[FoC_Tow]

Nice in depth tutorial, and lots of great pics to go a long with it!

Really wish I still had a working sewing machine here to do some my own.
Kinda tempted to get a new one for this purpose now 

[hoggy]

Phil Phil Phil, that's pretty much my thought.  You could make the template a bit longer to accommodate a larger fold and to allow the bag to close around the board.  If your machine can sew a buttonhole then that might be a better way to go.  You're right, you would have to do this before sewing the other seams.  Looking forward to seeing the results.

FoC_Tow, go for it.  Alternatively, ask a friend who has one to help you with it, it's more fun.

[funderburker]

Well, now I know what I'll ask my girlfriend to do next weekend! Maybe someone knows what measurements do I need to make a 40% sleeve?

[user 18]

Well, now I know what I'll ask my girlfriend to do next weekend! Maybe someone knows what measurements do I need to make a 40% sleeve?

You can probably get appropriate measurements by measuring your keyboard, and adding a bit of a margin.

[hoggy]

To get a rough idea just fold the fabric in half around the keyboard. You'll want it to be able to slide in and out without a struggle so add a margin for 'ease'.  Pin the fabric in place and remove the board.

If you uneasy with the size, use a long stitch on the machine so it's easier to unpick.

I'm interested to see how it turns out,  and please let us know the measurements!

[funderburker]

To get a rough idea just fold the fabric in half around the keyboard. You'll want it to be able to slide in and out without a struggle so add a margin for 'ease'.  Pin the fabric in place and remove the board.

If you uneasy with the size, use a long stitch on the machine so it's easier to unpick.

I'm interested to see how it turns out,  and please let us know the measurements!

Ok, thanks. My girlfriend isn't a seamstress so any tips&tricks are appreciated. When it'll be made I'll post some pictures (and measurements) here!
 

[philphilphil]

Phil Phil Phil, that's pretty much my thought.  You could make the template a bit longer to accommodate a larger fold and to allow the bag to close around the board.  If your machine can sew a buttonhole then that might be a better way to go.  You're right, you would have to do this before sewing the other seams.  Looking forward to seeing the results.

So i made a few over the last two weeks, one got really nice one and one really ugly (was the first with a cord, so its ok). Instead of the buttonholes i did cut the fabric at the end of the one flat site so the cords can go out there. It works but i think i have so sew the edges of it to prevent the fabric from fraying. One big problem i had was when folding the fabric twice for the front edge, the pile of fabric gets so big at the edge that my sewiwgmachine can't really sew it and missplaces the seam. I didn't see it until i was done and sewed it again which lead to some ugly seams. Not sure what i can do there, maybe iron it more.

[hoggy]

Still looking good!  The top one looks really good.

The problem you're having sewing over that bump is because the sewing 'foot' can't climb over the bump.  You can cheat with a humper-jumper, or even a scrap of fabric folded over a few times.

When you are almost at the bump, leave the needle down (in the fabric) and lift the foot.  Take your folded fabric and place it behind the needle and lower the foot.  The foot should now be parallel to the ground.  Sew a few stitches and then leave the needle in the fabric, raise the foot and move the folded scrap in front of the needle (not too close, you don't want to sew it!), then lower the foot.  This way, your machine can feed the fabric through, and the foot is kept level.  Once the needle is past the bump, remove the scrap of fabric.  I hope this makes some sense...

[philphilphil]

Still looking good!  The top one looks really good.

The problem you're having sewing over that bump is because the sewing 'foot' can't climb over the bump.  You can cheat with a humper-jumper, or even a scrap of fabric folded over a few times.

When you are almost at the bump, leave the needle down (in the fabric) and lift the foot.  Take your folded fabric and place it behind the needle and lower the foot.  The foot should now be parallel to the ground.  Sew a few stitches and then leave the needle in the fabric, raise the foot and move the folded scrap in front of the needle (not too close, you don't want to sew it!), then lower the foot.  This way, your machine can feed the fabric through, and the foot is kept level.  Once the needle is past the bump, remove the scrap of fabric.  I hope this makes some sense...

Yes that makes sense I'll try that Thanks for all the help and effort!