Cushioned Duct Tape Laptop Sleeve

What is it about duct tape?
Here is my entry for a padded laptop sleeve that recycles a sheet of foam packing material and uses about a half a roll of duct tape. The project only took about 2 hours and the end result is a pretty sturdy cushioned sleeve perfect for your eeepc or any other laptop you want to protect.

The materials you'll need are:
Duct tape
Metal ruler
Marking tool
Cutting knife ( I recommend a snap-off blade knife)
Scissors
Sheet of foam packing material (I recycled mine from a package I received)
Masking tape
Laptop computer

The first thing I did was to put my computer in its original sleeve and place it on the foam packing.
I cut the packing approximately the width of the original case, maybe slightly wider. Since I was recycling the foam I did not cut away from the length. In fact if I were to do this again, I would use a longer piece of foam to create a longer flap.
Save any excess you may have. The strip I cut away was used later to pad the sides of the bag.

This takes some patience but is pretty easy once you get the hang of it. Using a large cutting mat with a grid on it is most helpful. These mats are available at sewing and fabric stores (cheaper) and art supply stores (expensive). I got mine at a fabric store.

I measured the foam and decided to make this base layer of tape about 2 inches wider on each of the long sides and about 4 inches longer either end. The tape has to be laid out sticky side up and I just use a piece of masking tape to hold the ends down.


I overlapped each strip about 1/4 inch.

Center the foam piece on top of the base layer of tape.
The next layer of tape sandwiches the foam in between. This second layer of tape should be laid out in rows with about 1/4 overlap and they should run perpendicular to the first layer.

I completely overlapped the sides of the first layer but stopped at either end at the edge of the foam.

I trimmed the edges and used the original PC laptop sleeve to help with the final fold-over. This is when I realized i should have used a longer piece of foam cushioning.

Then I made a final trim to the top and bottom edges and then then folded them down.

Turn the main body of the bag with the exterior facing up and secure it with a couple pieces of masking tape.

The side panels are composed of 2 strips of duct tape on the exterior side, overlapping again by about 1/4 inch. Then turn the whole thing over and place one strip of tape down the middle.

There are lots of photographs for this step and I think this step is more easily explained through the images.
I cut the side panels at an angle to main body and then stuck them to the main body. I reinforced the joints and created a channel that I could insert a piece of padding. I then laid a layer of tape from one side to the other making sure I had enough tape overlapping on either end to fold inside the bag. I made sure that this piece of tape was a continuous strip.

For the first step, crease the exposed edge of the tape on the side panel keeping the sticky side up, and then join it to the main body of the bag where the cushioned edge starts. Do this on both sides and you'll end up with what looks like an opened lidded box. At this stage, reinforce each seam on the inside of the sleeve with a strip of duct tape folded in half along its length.

Then crease the other exposed edge of the side panel and join it to the front of the sleeve. Do this for both sides. Reinforcing these seams is a bit harder but if you use a ruler to hold the tape, it can make this step a little easier. If you end up with a few wrinkles, no one will see them anyway.

Then attach a long strip of tape around the the sides to reinforce everything and neaten up the sides. You may have to apply a few pieces here and there to clean up everything.

Finally, cover the exposed side edges of the flap as well as any exposed edges o of the side panels with strips of tape. I even laid down a new strip of black tape to make it look a little cleaner.

As a finishing touch, I added snaps to the flap. I did this only because I thought the flap was a little too short. Snaps are available at sewing notions stores and I used heavy duty snaps suitable for denim, etc. To install snaps follow the instructions included in the package. I also put a piece of tape over the back of each fastener (inside the bag) to protect my laptop from being scratched.

When I make my next sleeve I'll make sure it has a longer flap and I'll post photos to this instructable.

Thanks for looking.