happy birthday husband

Being a maker, its funny how i've never actually made anything for my husband. 

He's turning 35 this September, and had been given a Mac Book Pro as a gift from his super generous producer. In need of a new case, he naturally asked me to make one for him.

Looking around in my studio the next day, i found a stash of faux leather that would be perfect for my first experiment in making something with a unisex appeal. Unfortunately, with such thickness, it was impossible to stitch two layers of them using my home sewing machine. I had no choice but to hand-stitch the whole thing (God, have mercy on my fingers).

After some painful hours, i panicked when i realized the case was too short for the Mac. I bet you crafters know how that feels. You feel dizzy and slightly short-of-breath, thinking of the most possible ways you could to save the project. There is no room for failure! (or maybe i just owe it to my fingers).

The most genius invention from the 18th century finally came to the rescue... the zipper!

Putting a zipper seems like the most logical thing to do, not to mention it will be a bonus on practicality if he can get the Mac out with just one hand. (Do you remember that line from "Up in the Air" where Clooney character says the Chinese has a thing for slip-ons (shoes)? i'm that kinda person so i can totally relate to that haha)

So the next day, off i went to a bag repair shop asking if they could put the biggest zipper they have to my handmade case. It didn't take long for me to decide to sew it myself after figuring out it would cost double for them to do it.

Luckily, this time hand-stitching the zipper was not painful at all because i only needed to do one layer at a time (yay!). I also stick a piece of foam on the inner side of the zipper so it wont scratch the Mac surface when it's being opened and closed (a.k.a problem solved!)

Here's how it looks when it's finished... 

faux leather mac book pro case

opened with zipper

The feeling after finishing a project is always priceless, not to mention i was happy to have the opportunity to experiment with a new material and making something for my husband. Talk about feeling of being the best wife ever :D