There are many things you can do with the many plastic bags floating around in the world, such as make plastic yarn and knit a funky bag from it, or make a kite! Either way, the durability that makes plastic bags bad for the environment can make them good accessories. In this article, you'll learn how to turn plastic bags into a sturdy laptop case by fusing them together.
Step 1
Cut off the handles and save them.
Step 2
Cut off the bottom of the bag.
Step 3
Turn the bag inside out if there's a logo on it.
Step 4
Fold the bag twice so you have eight layers. You can fold horizontally then vertically to create a square, or fold the same way twice to make a long rectangle.
Step 5
Get ready to start fusing. Open your windows for ventilation and turn on your iron to a medium setting.
Step 6
Sandwich the plastic bag between two pieces of wax paper.
Step 7
Iron over the "sandwich". Keep the iron moving at all times. After 20-30 seconds, flip the "sandwich" over and repeat on the other side.
Step 8
Peel the wax paper away from the plastic bag. Check for bubbles in the plastic; if there are any, don't use it for your laptop case because it'll lead to tears.
Step 9
Fuse about 10 plastic bags. One thing you can do is cut out logos and fuse them onto another plastic bag, if you're feeling whimsical. Save the wax paper for later.
Step 10
True up all the fused plastic bags by trimming the sides. (This means making sure all of them are rectangles or squares with nice, straight sides and square corners.)
Step 11
Arrange them in a rectangle that's large enough to fit your laptop twice, plus a little extra for a flap.
Make sure there's a 2.5" seam allowance all around.
Step 12
Sew the pieces together by overlapping them slightly and using a zigzag stitch.
Step 13
Cut out a piece of lining fabric (in this case, an old sweatshirt) that's the same size as the fused plastic bag piece.
Step 14
Stack the pieces together, right sides facing in. Hold them together with bobby pins (not straight pins, see Warnings below).
Step 15
Remove the bobby pins from one short side. Sew the pieces together along the edges, but leave this one side open.
Step 16
Turn it inside out.
Step 17
Sew a seam about one inch in from the sewn edges.
Step 18
Sew a seam about two inches in from the bottom edge (the sewed short edge).
Step 19
Stuff the inside with the handles and wax paper you set aside, and/or additional plastic bags. When you've stuffed four inches up from the bottom, sew a seam (parallel to the bottom). Every time you stuff four inches, sew another seam. Do this until you get about six inches from the top.
Step 20
Fold and sew the open edge closed.
Step 21
Place the case right sides together, leaving room for the flap. Sew down both sides and turn it right side out.
Step 22
Fold in and sew the edges of the flap.
Step 23
Add velcro to close the flap.
Step 24
Put in the laptop and you're done!
