I’ve been not-so-patiently waiting to show off the gift I made for my brother Roger’s birthday (which was 08-08-08, by the way) I was a little late sending it to him and didn’t want to post it here until I knew he had received it. The anticipation has been killing me!
Here it is! The felt laptop cozy I custom made for his iBook….the Rog-A-Sketch. Since my brother is very nostalgic about his childhood and the toys we loved back then, I knew this was the perfect idea for him.
I used 100% wool felt in a simple wrap design that closes in the front with velcro. The button nobs turn, but sadly are non-functional.
On the silver “screen” I stitched with black thread in vertical and horizontal directions. After stitching I backed the screen area with fusible interfacing since I knew that area would get some wear with use. My sewing machine has a block letter alphabet that I used to add his name…
This shows the basic construction. The back is about 1/4″ bigger in length and width than his laptop. (I used an 1/8″ seam allowance) The bottom flap is the same with about 1″ added to accommodate the thickness of the laptop. The top flap is the same as the back with 2″ extra top to bottom since it has the extra overlap in the front. The side flaps are long enough to overlap an inch in the middle when it’s all folded up.
That little cutie is the prototype I made first when I was figuring out my construction…I call it the Betz-A-Sketch. Yup, I made a practice cozy for my sketchbook! 🙂
That is so cute. I think I can figure out how to do that from the measurements you included, but a tutorial would be great, if you are so inclined.
Anna
oh – this is too cute!! no wonder you’ve been so excited to share.
what a thoughtful gift, too 😉
uhhh cool!
~simply~
This. Is. Brilliant.
Sara
OMG! I didn’t even realize it was felt at first. I was too busy looking at the design. That is too cute!!
You going to sell any? I might get one for my sister for christmas.
GOD! The Best. Cozy. Ever. For anything, laptop or otherwise. Seriously. You’re a genius. Can’t wait for your next book! Yeah, I’m being a little pushy but you just have the most wonderful ideas. Thanks so much for sharing.
I just pulled every geeky muscle in my body when I looked at this. You are amazing.
betz, this is amazing! what a great sister and a lucky brother!
My first time here. What a great idea!!
That is fabulous! Etch a sketch was my favorite along with spyro graph. I even had the “super spyrograph”!
love it so much, very thoughtful and crafty!
Oh, this is a great idea! And so fun also!!!!
That is adorable!!
this is the cutest laptop cover i have ever seen. you are super talented. i love it. awesome job.
What a great cozy!!! You better enter it in the Craftster craft challenge this month – its all about cozies. I’ll vote for you – it is so cool!
That is so COOL! You are amazing.
Totally sketchalicious! Nice one Betz! I have “sketchbook bag tute” on my list – but no action yet! I won’t come close to this puppy!!!!
WOW! Bloody brilliant!
Absolutely the cleverest thing ever!
I am in awe of your imagination.
I wish I had such a lovely sister to make me something like that :0)
What a fabulous idea!
You are are brilliant! Can you imagine your brother wandering into a meeting with his cozy and derailing the agenda altogether? What a perfect red color you found. Where do you find your wool felt?
You ROCK!! Lucky brother!
BRILLIANT ~ so fun and cute. I bet he was thrilled to receive such a unique and personalized gift.
I’m s glad you all like it! He loves it as well…
Re: wool felt. For this project I bought 100% wool (a wool blend is what I usually use) as thick as I could find. It is the “premium” felt from “A Child’s Dream”…I linked to it in the post.
So. Cool. Your brother is seriously lucky!
that is crazy-wonderful! love, love, love it!!
Soooo creative! And I love the cover for your sketch book–the original etch-a-sketch.
this rocks!!!
WOW! That is great! I would sooo love to make one of these for my sketch book! Will you be doing a tutorial??
So clever!!! I love it!!!
Such a great interpretation from the nostalgia of youth! I got here from the CRAFT blog. I am new to the blogging and love seeing the likes of yours. Especially your book! I need to peruse each page. The Amazon sneak peek wasn’t sufficient.
Stacy
It’s amazing! Wonderful! Can’t find the right words…I just love it!
This is really, really cute. Great gift.
o, that is amazing and so, so cool. what a sweet (and clever!) sister you are!
Oh my gosh! That is so cute!
Oh I love it!!! what a great idea!!
I am going to have to show people your post, this is too good not to share!!
That is fantastic!!! I love it and am sure he did too. I’ve just bought your book and I just adore it – well done!!!
What a cute idea!
Your brother is so lucky. That is made of awesome.
This is wonderful! I hope you don’t mind: I made a post about this on my craft blog, Paisley Cupcakes. I gave you full credit, and full props, of course. This was just too ingenious not to show.
u r super awesome!! he’s sooo lucky to hav a caring and thoughtful sis like yoU!!
its just beautiful!!
-Keyomi
Get OUT!!! That is so awesome, did your brother freak out when he got it?
Hi Kristen Mary,
Yes, he did freak out! On top of that, my husband and kids made a dummy laptop/birthday card out of cardboard and duct tape to go inside and keep the cover’s shape during shipping. It was over the top! I love hitting the nail on the head when it comes to birthday gifts!
betz
Very cool! My birthday was also 8-8-08 and I turned
44 🙂
So cool…I wish I had a laptop now so I could make one for myself…
that is beyond cool!
Missy
This is awesome! Great idea and so well made.
how adorable! my brother could draw amazing things on the etch-a-sketch and i teased the other day about buying him one for his hand therapy since he shattered his thumb. i think i’ll really do it!!
That is such a great idea for a personalised present. I’m sure that he will love it!
what a fabulous idea.. I have to link to this!
dot
dabbled.org
Pure awesomeness!
What can I say? This is so fabulous! At first glance I thought it was a real etch-a-sketch. Ah… the memories!
That is hilarious!
This is super adorable and clever Betz, you never cease to amaze with your creativity. Love the idea, I bet your brother was over the moon 🙂
Etch a sketch laptop very very clever.Wonderful tutorial
hugs ginger
OMG! I absolutely love tis. It is too fun! Are you going to sell them?
Tammy
¡me encantan tus trabajos, son muy creativos!!!
Very Clever you are! Even teens would love this – I think everyone has their own love affair with the etchasketch !
This is ingenious! I have an impossible-to-craft-for brother of my own, so I hope you don’t mind if I make my own knockoff. LOVE IT!!! The small one would be great for his iphone too!
(Saw this posted at sewmamasew, btw.)
I saw this on Sew, Mama, Sew and had to stop by and check it out. I love it! Both as a laptop cozy and as book cover.
This is sooooo cute!! I loved my etch-a-sketch. I’ve wanted to get one but I know my boys would kill it.
Also, I got your book from the library last week. So many cute ideas!!!! Now to get my hands on some old wool sweaters. 😀
Wonderful! I took your idea and modified it a little to create a laptop sleeve for my dell!
It fits my proper laptop sleeve right in it, so its more like a cover to a sleeve. All hand stiched using felt, since I don’t have access to a sewing machine, or the knowledge to use it. All the way down to the Chels-A-Sketch in the front.
Thanks for a genious idea!
Hi…do you sell these,I would love one for my new netbook.I would try myself but am a little confused about the gray ( screen part)
Hi…do you sell these,I would love one for my new netbook.I would try myself but am a little confused about the gray ( screen part)
Hi Buyucu,
Sorry! I don’t make these to sell…just this one as a gift!
Betz
That’s fantastic! I love all the pictures. Based on them, it wouldn’t be that hard for the rest of us to try making our own.
More laptop covers
I love this cover! I recently bought myself a laptop and I remember seeing this one awhile back on DIY.com
I can’t wait to make my own 😀
Wow! brilliant idea. I really wish to send this as a gift for my brother who is a geek. Keep up the good works!
Can u list the steps for sewing this together?