The Gizmo Garage Laptop Bags

The first week of December has passed already and I still haven't put up my tree and decorations. I'll have to do that in the next couple of days.

As usual I've been busy. This week has been quite productive. I've finished these two Gizmo Garage Laptop Bags by Christine Welsh, check out Christine's and the other tester bags HERE, which were started just before December came along. Since these two I've also made another two bags that were custom orders.

These two were a custom order for a lady who wanted one for herself and the other for her sister. She had seen the one I tested for Christine when I took it with me to her office. She works for a cookery magazine, they are in the process of putting together another magazine for craft tutorials and my daughter is doing the tutorials. I can't wait for it to be published to see how they came out. I just had a thought, being as I don't have the time to do tutorials for my blog maybe I can get permission from the magazine to put them on my blog. I'll have to remember to ask.

Ok onto my laptop bags. Just let me say that a lot of sweat and swearing went into making these LOLLL

I don't know why these gave me so much trouble because I used the same fabrics as my first one. Some parts got so thick that even my heavy duty machine groaned.
Just goes to prove that you should follow the designers fabric recommendations.
Rather than make one at a time I made them both at the same time which meant if I made a mistake on one then I'd do the same on the other and I did so it meant unpicking two.

I swear that if these hadn't been an order they would have been in the bin by now which would have been a shame becasue I'm really happy with the way they turned out. I'm not one to persevere with a project that doesn't go smoothly so these were a real test on the nerves.
Lesson learned is never to give up.

Here's the front and back view.

I didn't have the same fabric as mine for the two front and back panels so I bought this one and the customer liked it.

My hooks were shorter than the ones Christine used and didn't take that into account when I tested mine so this time I made the D ring strap a little longer to compensate.

The inside main pocket doesn't have any other pockets so your laptop won't get scratched.

All the pockets are on the outside and there's more than enough to hold everything you need. In the photo below you can see I've put my mouse in one, external hard drive in the one next to it. Under that are two more pockets, one for a cell phone and pen and just above that which is hard to see is another pocket where you could store your charger.

You can see the third pocket better in this photo.

The back pocket is perfect for an ipad or tablet.

The bag has an adjustable strap and I chose to do the stitching in red to match the lining of the bags.

The customer also ordered a Necessary Clutch Wallet by Janelle the pattern for which you can find HERE.

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Despite the problems I had, which were totally my own fault for using fabric that was so thick and then padding it for fear of the laptops getting bumped and damaged, this is an easy pattern. There are no zippers so it's classed as an intermediate bag.

The pattern comes in three sizes to accommodate different laptops. I made the largest one.
These are the sizes.

Finished bag size.

Approx. size of SMALL version: W 21.5cm X H 35.5cm X D 5cm. (W 8 1/2" X H 14" X D 2")

Approx. size of MEDIUM version: W 24cm x H 40.5cm x D 5cm. (W 9 ½” X H 16” X D 2")

Approx. size of LARGE version: W 26cm X H 43cm X D 5cm. (W 10 1/4" X H 17" X D 2")

The pattern for the Gizmo Garage has a full requirements list with suggestions on where to obtain your hardware, 36 pages of comprehensive instructions which include 69 step by step color photos. Included are printing instructions and test squares to print to check your scale. 23 Pattern pieces in total for three bag sizes are included PLUS measurements were possible for those that prefer to cut from measurements!

PLUS a TEXT ONLY version of the instructions (8 pages) comes  with your pattern for printing purposes, should you not need or wish to print all of the photos! Simply refer to your electronic versions for photos if needed! Saves on ink!

If you follow Christine's fabric suggestions, like I didn't, then you'll have no problems making yourself one of these. I love Christine's patterns becasue not only are the patterns first class but you get a nice professional looking bag at the end of it.

Give it a go I know you'll love it. You can find the pattern HERE on Christine's Etsy. Whenever I go out with mine it always gets loads of attention. Mostly becasue everyone has the ordinary standard black laptop bags and also becasue of the shape, it goes in length wise rather than the normal width wise.

Now I'm off to test a wallet/clutch which I've been dying to start. After that it's back to my orders. Only another three wallets to make and that should be it.

Happy Sewing

 ~ Maria ~

Ooops just popping back in to do an edit. I forgot to show you how I deal with realllly thick seams. I squeeze the heck out of them with a pair of pliers protecting my bag with some fleece. Another method I use is to take hammer to them, again protecting my bag fabric.