Hi pals! Welcome back to the blog! Today I have a new pattern ready to go, my laptop / MacBook crochet sleeve! I have been on a kick of making kindle pouches and kindle bags, and I thought, hang on, what about my MacBook? That’s also one of my favorite things I’ve ever purchased (and yes, it was a BIG purchase), so this one deserves hand-dyed yarn to snuggle up in too.
So let’s talk about the beginning of the design. My sweet friend Sunset Fiber Co sent me this yarn a few months ago, and I was struggling to come up with a design because everything just kind of jumped out to me at once. At first I was thinking a shawl, then a Tunisian project of some sort, maybe a beanie set, or maybe a triangle scarf. But this yarn, ya’ll this yarn finally spoke to me. I was sitting there, minding my own business (probably knitting or lurking in Twitch chats), when I looked over and it was sitting there, right on top of my Mac, looking cute as could be. Fast forward 30 minutes later, I had a swatch and a full drawn out plan.
This yarn is a dream to work with. First off, the colors are perfect.
Day Dream is the softest of pinks, think baby pink if it was a teenager with a little sass.
Clear Skies is the prettiest of blue, very crisp and 100% reminds me of a clear winter sky. Not quite summers dark blue, but the pretty light blue that pops through the clouds at the end of the day, right before the sunset during the Seattle winters.
And Cotton Candy Clouds. COME ON. This color way is the color of my dreams and I am not exaggerating. When I can I will make a cardigan out of this and it will be the dreamiest, drapiest, softest cardigan ever. I already have the stitches mapped out and the swatch ready to go. The way it intertwines Day Dream and Clear Skies and holds its own as a main color, I love how this design showcased this color way..
On top of that, this is her 80% SW, 10% Cashmere, and 10% Recycled Nylon base. So think soft, but soft as in “I just got home from driving 24 hours straight across the country and my bed that is all set up the way I like with everything fluffed and ready for me to land in and someone added in a down comforter on top for extra softness.” soft. Like I really cant convey how soft it is without shoving it into your hands. It’s perfect for skin, delicate items, and, well, my MacBook!
This design is made up of a few different stitches, but each color has their own stitch, so it’s a pretty easy repeat after you get the first one done. I have the definitions below for you, but if you have any questions of course reach out.
I also didn’t include a “notes” section this time, but I think that’s gonna be normal from now on. I prefer writing these patterns as if I am showing you in person how to make something, so the notes and things are where they belong, instead of at the top where you have to scroll back up every time, it was just annoying. Just be sure to read the whole post/pattern before diving in, just so you don’t miss anything you might want to highlight ahead of time.
Speaking of highlighting, you can also snag a PDF version on my Ravelry. They are the same pattern of course, but I format it a little simpler, and I add in a “basic” version in at the end. Again, it’s the same pattern, same photos, but for the “basic” version I remove the images and format it to fit on 1 page (if possible).
Materials
- 3 skeins of dk weight yarn, in 3 colors – or solid/variegated/yarn – it looks cute either way, but I HIGHLY recommend snagging some of Sunset Fiber Co’s yarn for this one. And if you do go that route, I have another pattern set coming in January to use up the remaining yarn from the 3 skeins.
- 3.5 mm crochet hook
- Tapestry needle
- Scissors
Stitch Abbreviations & Definitions
- Ch = Chain
- HDC = Half double crochet
- HDC3Loop = Half double crochet in the 3rd loop (not the “v” on top, but the loop on the back.)
- Puff = Yarn over, insert hook into stitch and pull up a loop, repeat until you have 7 loops on the hook, yarn over and pull through all loops.
- St = Stitch
Measurements & Adjustments
Fits a 13 inch MacBook Pro with a bit of room at the top where the opening is, maybe an inch or 2? .
Final Measurements (without anything inside) 13 inches x 8 inches. If you don’t want this stretchy I recommend using a cotton yarn, or a smaller weight yarn, but check your fit as you crochet by sliding it over your computer once you finish your starting chain.
Mine is stretchy so it could fit a larger one if wanted (I stuck my partners 15 inch gaming laptop and it fit just fine, but much larger would be a little tough and you might want to make your starting chain a little bigger. Just chain until it fits snugly around the width of your laptop and then follow the pattern as written. The stitch counts won’t match, but that’s okay.) and I fold the extra over to “close” it when I stick it in my bag, but if you want it a little more snug just decrease the amount of repeats you’re doing and it will shorten it down a bit. You could probably find a few buttons or even sew a zipper onto it, but I only had magnets and I feel like magnets vs a computer was a bad idea. I may add a zipper once I get my sewing machine though, or I’ll crochet it on at a later date and update here with how I did it. We will see. 😉
Pattern
- Note: since we are using 3 different colors there will be a few options for you when it comes to changing them as you work. I carried mine, meaning I didn’t cut my yarn after changing colors, and then I just pulled it up to the row needed when I needed it next. You can also cut your ends after each color change and weave those in too, but that’s a ton of ends so I don’t recommend that way.
- This pattern is worked in joined rounds from the bottom up. You will seam the bottom (starting chain) at the end.
Starting chain: Holding Cotton Candy (we will call it (v) for variegated through the pattern). Chain 75. Slip Stitch the chain together, being careful not to twist your stitch.
Row 1: (v) hdc in the first ch from the hook and in each ch across. Slst to join, ch1. (75)
Row 2: (v) hdc in each st across. Change to Clear Skies (we will call it (b) through the pattern). Slst to join, ch1. (75)
Row 3: (b) hdc in each st across. Change to (v). Slst to join, ch1(75)
Row 4: (v) hdc3loop in each st across. Slst to join, ch1 (75)
Row 5: (v) hdc in each st across. (Change to Daydream (we will call it (p) through the pattern) Ch 2 and turn your work. (75) *Note: you turn your work here so the puffs will push out through the right side of your work, if you don’t turn and work from the inside your puffs will face the inside of your project.
Row 6: (p) hdc in the first stitch. Puff in the next 73 stitches. Hdc in the last stitch. Ch 1 and turn your work. (75)
Repeat rows 1-6, until you have 8 puff stitch rows. (you can adjust here if you want it shorter or longer, but mine has 8 puff rows before we finish it.)
After completing your last “Row 6”, continue the pattern as written until you reach the end of “row 5”. Finish off and weave in your ends.
Seaming
With the right side facing out and the starting chain is at the top, attach your (b) yarn with a slip stitch, and then, using the zig-zag slip stitch method, seam the bottom of your sleeve shut.
Alright pals, I think that covers everything! If you have any questions of course, please reach out. I hope you have a blast making yourself (or someone else) a Laptop / MacBook sleeve, and if you do make sure you post on Ravelry or tag me on Instagram so I can see!
Love you, mean it <3
Sam
Super cute and useful. Thanks, Sammy Sam!