I have waterproof laptop backpacks, but I’m always paranoid about getting a drop or two of rain through the zips or when I open the bag.
So I picked up some rip-stop waterproof fabric from Homecraft Textiles and made two laptop sleeves with a slight variation.
The pillow case method
The “pillow case” laptop sleeve has a fold-over lip on the inside of the case.
My laptop bags have padding so I didn’t need the waterproof sleeve to have any padding.
To fit my 14~15inch laptops:
Rip-stop waterproof fabric was cut out at 90cm x 30cm.
(It’s made to be roomy enough to fold the inner lid over the laptop.)
The two short edges were double-folded and sewn.
The fabric was folded longways, leaving about 7cm on one side. Then the 7cm flap was folded over on top.
The two long edges were serged together (along the red clips).
The sleeve was turned right way out, and laptop was slid inside.
The flap can fold over the laptop inside the sleeve, like a pillow case.
The tea bag method
The “tea bag” laptop sleeve has a flap lid that goes over the sleeve.
If you’ve used manual tea bags before – where you add your own tea leaves and flip the flap over to close it- you might’ve noticed it’s the inverse of a pillow case.
To fit my 14~15inch laptops:
Rip-stop waterproof fabric was cut out at 90cm x 32cm. (Slightly wider this time to accommodate an outer flap.)
The two short edges were double-folded and sewn.
The fabric was folded longways, leaving about 7cm on one side. Then the 7cm flap was folded in between the two layers.
The two long edges were serged together (along the red clips).
The sleeve was turned right way out. The laptop was slid inside, and the lid was folded over.
The flap folds over the laptop on the outside of the sleeve this time – safer from the rain.
Now I feel much better about taking my laptops out on a rainy day!
These laptop sleeves will go into the laptop compartment of my backpack, so no padding was needed this time. Just a sleeve to protect it from a few drops of water that might get in by chance, like when I open the bag at my destination, or through the zips somehow.
The pillow case version is a little eaiser to use imo, but the tea bag version gives me more sense of security.
It’s a big step up from covering my laptop with a plastic shopping bag inside the laptop bag lol.
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