Ed81 Report post Posted November 24, 2013 Hi All, I'm totally new to leather working. I recently bought a new Macbook and was looking around for a nice leather laptop sleeve. After a lot of browsing, I didn't find anything I liked so I thought I would try making my own. Initially I was thinking "Oh, it's just two pieces of leather sewn together, how hard can it be?" and "If I mess it up, I can turn it into an iPad case.... then an iPhone case" and I figure it'll be a good skill to have to make more nice personalized items in the future. Well I'm working out the details now before I do anything and I see there is a lot more skill to it than I initially thought and I probably should have done more research before just going out and buying the materials based purely on the look I wanted. In any case I like this new challenge and I have a few questions that I'm hoping you could help me answer. One of the nicest sleeves I could find is made by Picasolab (picasolab.com). I'd like to emulate some their design but I'm not sure how to achieve some of it. I like how they incorporated a semi rigid frame. It gives the laptop some protection and makes it easier to slide the laptop in and out of the case. I've seen other flimsier/poorer designs that make it a pain to get the laptop in and out of. They have a few videos showing some of their process and features here: http://picasolab.com...king-your-case/ 1. What are some ways of emulating the rigidity? I've read a bunch of threads about hot wax, wet leather forming, interfacing, kydex, fiberglass strapping but it all seems like overkill and I would like to think that there is a more elegant approach. 2. The leather I have isn't as thick (about 1/2 or 1/3) as what they're using and I'm considering adding a middle layer in between my outer and inner material. Although it's probably asking for a different kind of trouble stitching through that, I'm thinking it will be required to be able to give the sleeve some rigidity. The outer material I have is a brown oily pull up and the inner material is a lambskin. What would you suggest for adding a bit more structure to the final product using what I have? 3. I think this is a bit more of a oops and just a fyi for the future but I left the material lying on the floor on top of each other overnight and it looks like the oil from the dark outer material may have transferred to the lambskin leaving some slightly darkened streaks on it both sides (outer and flesh). If I glue/stitch the pieces together, is it going to absorb more oil over time? Is there something I should do about this? It looks like I'll get to learn a lot about the various skills without getting too complicated in terms of shapes so I'm looking forward to getting going with this. Any help is much appreciated. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
electrathon Report post Posted November 24, 2013 1. What are some ways of emulating the rigidity? I've read a bunch of threads about hot wax, wet leather forming, interfacing, kydex, fiberglass strapping but it all seems like overkill and I would like to think that there is a more elegant approach. I would laminate x-ray film between the leather. 2. The leather I have isn't as thick (about 1/2 or 1/3) as what they're using and I'm considering adding a middle layer in between my outer and inner material. Although it's probably asking for a different kind of trouble stitching through that, I'm thinking it will be required to be able to give the sleeve some rigidity. The outer material I have is a brown oily pull up and the inner material is a lambskin. What would you suggest for adding a bit more structure to the final product using what I have? Same as above. The x-ray film accomplishes both. 3. I think this is a bit more of a oops and just a fyi for the future but I left the material lying on the floor on top of each other overnight and it looks like the oil from the dark outer material may have transferred to the lambskin leaving some slightly darkened streaks on it both sides (outer and flesh). If I glue/stitch the pieces together, is it going to absorb more oil over time? Is there something I should do about this? Yes, it will continue. It will also transfer to your clothes, the car seat, table cloth you set it on, etc. This is a by product of the leather you have chosen. Some sealers my help with the bleeding, but you are not going to stop it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dwight Report post Posted November 24, 2013 I have a case I made for my I-pad mini, . . . I call it my "shoulder holster" for it, . . . as I detest carrying things in my hands. BUT I digress, . . . It is made of black, drum dyed, 8/9 oz leather, . . . and it more than adequately protects it, . . . and of course it slides in and out real easy. Being veggie tan leather, . . . I made it the "right" size, . . . got it wet, . . . and forced a wooden mockup of my I-pad into it to shape it. The mockup was very slightly over sized so the case would be slightly over sized. Really easy construction, . . . top / bottom / stacked leather pieces around 3 sides to add rigidity as did the video. Contact cement the pieces together, . . . sew, . . . burnish the edges, . . . done. May God bless, Dwight Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hillbilly tim Report post Posted November 25, 2013 Dwight, I really like that! most everyone makes cases that slip on from a narrow side. Nice design! Hope all is well my Brother! Bro. Timothy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
