DIY – Leather Laptop Case

In case you didn’t realize it, it’s been a little chilly on the east coast lately. Me being cooped up inside, together with my knee injury that has taken me out of derby for a while means I get bored. And when I get bored, I pick up new activities.

So, for Elise’s birthday I decided to make her a handmade leather laptop case. I found some step-by-step instructions online and using those and some other tutorials I found on YouTube, I decided to have at it.

The case is made out of full-grain latigo leather. It’s hand stitched using the saddlestitch method which I found to be quite relaxing. I made a little flap to hold the laptop in the case and secured it with a brass snap.

The inside is lined with blue fabric that I first glued to the backside of the leather and then stitched through. When I was done, the leather was conditioned using mink oil. Conveniently, Elise and I have the same laptop, so I was able to use mine for a test fit. 

For my first try at leatherworking, I think it came out pretty well. It’s certainly not perfect, but I was satisfied with my stitching and I finished the case in a reasonable amount of time and I only hit myself with the rubber mallet once.