Introduction: Easy Tactical Surface Tablet Bag

By Stuff I Make
About: I'm an engineering driven maker. Most of the stuff I make is not very artistic. Not to say it's not beautiful or nice. But I deal a lot in squares. I enjoy woodworking, sewing, welding, machining, a bit of cod…

This bag is an easy but time intensive bag to make.

Approximately 7 Hours. If you have a Laser Cutter you can use it to speed up things. I've included an Adobe Illustrator file. You can use this as a template if you are hand cutting the components.

The Molle Webbing will be hard to do if you don't have a laser. However. If you really want this you can use standard 1 inch webbing and space it properly and solve that issue. The nice thing about Cordura Nylon is that heat seals the edges. Same for webbing.

This is a fun project and is very practical. I enjoyed making this bag and I know you will too!

Supplies

Tools:

  • Laser Cutter
  • Sewing Machine
  • Pins
  • Binder Clips
  • Scissors
  • Cutting Mat
  • Ruler

Supplies

  • 2 Yards of Cordura Nylon 500D or 1000D
  • Velcro
  • Nylon Webbing
  • Thread – Colors of Material and Webbing
  • 12 Inch Zipper
  • Bias Tape ½ inch (for edging)
  • Padding to thicken Back

Step 1: Cut Parts As Directed

Cut your material to size appropriate to the tablet or small computer.

I drew out my idea and added 1.5 inches to each side for a seam allowance. You could keep this smaller and in future projects I'll likely only have .5 inches on the sides. But better to have some extra material you can cut off than not enough.

Here is your Cut List.

  • L Side
  • R Side
  • Bottom
  • Flap
  • Front Molle Panel
  • Front Molle Panel Back with Zipper Hole
  • Front Molle Panel Back without Zipper Hole
  • Divider
  • Rear Panel Outside
  • Rear Padding
  • Rear Panel Inside

Feel free to adjust and add pockets and ideas to your bag.

Attachments

Step 2: Sew the Sides and Bottom

Make sure to test your thread tension and spacing. You will use a straight stitch for most of this project so unless I mention a zigzag from this point forward I'm talking about a straight stitch

Use binder clips to hold parts together. With the corners cut with the 1 inch square cut out you should easily be able to line up everything. Your initial stitch should be long. So if you mess up you can pull it out easier. This will be used a lot as a guide for the closer final stitch. I like this method as I'm not great making straight lines without a reference. It's why I have such a large seam allowance.

You should have 3 pieces sewn together.

After you've sewn the sides you can trim the excess and fold them over and sew them down.

Now it's time to make your webbing the length you need and sew it to the side pieces. Remember to switch thread colors if this webbing is a different color.

Step 3: Front Molle Panel

Pieces:

  • Front Molle Panel
  • Front Molle Panel Back with Zipper Hole
  • Front Molle Panel Back without Zipper Hole

Sew the Zipper to the front molle panel. This is tricky. It was the hardest part to get the pins through and have it align where I wanted. Once the zipper is on you need to sew the Front Molle Panel to the Front Molle Panel Back with Zipper Hole. DO NOT do the edges first. Sew the top edge. Then sew the center line between the molle holes and alternate left and right till you reach the edges. Then sew the other sides.

Now sew what you just finished to the Front Molle Panel Back without Zipper Hole.

Just sew the edges.

Step 4: Rear Panel

Pieces:

  • Divider
  • Rear Panel Outside
  • Rear Padding
  • Rear Panel Inside

This is a complicated part.

First cut your padding to the size you need. As you can see no seam allowance is needed for this part.

You need to sew the velcro on next and you'll have to determine where you want the flap to attach. And sew the velcro to that. I added an extra strip for morale patches or nametapes. You can do the same or leave that off.

Fold over the top parts and from the Rear Panel Outside and Rear Panel Inside and sew them down. Use the binder clips to hold them in place.

Now sew the Rear Panel Inside to the other parts.

Next is the divider. This needs to be larger. Think Baggy. Cut this piece as needed or desired. Fold over and sew the top edge. Then Sew the crease down at the bottom. And sew it to the Rear Panel Inside.

Step 5: Flap

Custom cut and fold and sew the edges. Use the Bottom pieces to determine the width size you'll need.

Sew the Velcro on the top INSIDE, you want the good part of the material on the outside.

Now figure out when this flap is folded over where the TOP of it will be. This is important. We are going to make a handle out of webbing.

Once you size the handle sew it as seen in the photos and attach it in the center of the TOP of the flap.

Step 6: ASSEMBLY

Now all the hard work is paying off.

Sew the Rear and Front panels at the base.

Make sure they are aligned properly.

Before you sew the edges fold the tops over. And Sew them down. Now cut the Bias Tape to length and sew it to the top edge.

Once this is done sew the sides to the Rear and Front panels.

Now sew the Flap on.

Once the flap is on sew Bias Tape to the edge to clean it up. This isn't required but it looks really nice.

DONE!!!!

Enjoy your new bag.