When I purchased a mobile workstation I immediately thought of two things that would make it better: a desk mat and a pocket organizer. This is a mobile workstation pocket organizer tutorial. You may wish to read my desk mat tutorial.

Introduction

A common type of mobile workstation is a laptop desk with castors. Some mobile workstations include storage, but mine does not. I created a mobile workstation pocket organizer to hang from the 16.5” by 4” tall horizontal support bar of my mobile workstation. It provides a place to store some of my laptop accessories when I’m not using them. My inspiration for this project comes from both hanging pocket organizers and bedside pocket organizers.

This Sewn By Tanya project is for personal use.

This beginner to intermediate tutorial shows you how to make a 15” wide by 6” tall by 3/4” deep mobile workstation pocket organizer with three pockets. Experience sewing bias tape is recommended.

Materials

• 21” x 11” quilting weight cotton for the front and pocket exterior
• 21” x 11” broadcloth or quilting weight cotton for the back and pocket interior
• 21” x 11” fusible fleece
• 15” x 4” silicone shelf liner
• 16” x 3/4” hook and loop tape
• ~27”, 1/4” wide double fold bias tape

Tools

• fabric marking pens/chalks
• scissors or rotary cutter
• ruler
• iron & ironing board
• sewing machine

Seam allowance: 1/4” (0.6 cm)

Step 1 Gather Materials

For this project you will need a some quilting weight cotton, some broadcloth or quilting weight cotton (contrasting colors/patterns are optional), some fusible fleece, some silicone shelf liner and, some hook and loop tape.

Cut the following:

• 15” x 6” quilting weight cotton for front
• 15” x 6” fusible fleece for front
• 15” x 6” broadcloth for back
• 15” x 4” silicone shelf liner for back
• 21” x 5” quilting weight cotton for pocket exterior
• 21” x 5” quilting weight cotton for pocket interior
• 21” x 5” fusible fleece for pocket
• 4, 4” x 3/4” pieces of hook and loop tape

Step 2 Fuse

Apply the fusible fleece to the back of your quilting weight cotton front and pocket exterior, according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Step 3 Assemble Back Panel

Place your front piece right side up. Make a mark midway along the long edge that will be the top of your organizer. Mark 7/8” from each the left edge and the right edge and 2.5” from the center mark. Align the centres of the hook sides of your hook and loop tape with these marks. Place the hooked sides facing the right side of your fabric.

Place your back piece right side down on top of the 4 hook strips so that it’s right-sides together with your front piece. Pin you back piece together and sew along the top edge with a 1/4” seam allowance.

Open your back panel and fold it so that the raw edges are aligned. Press your back panel flat along the seam you just sewed. The hook strips will stick out the top with the hooks parallel to the right side of the front piece. Top stitch 1/4” from the edge with the hooks and 1/8” from the other three edges.

Loop & Silicone

Place your back panel face down on your work space. Draw a horizontal chalk line 1” down from the top edge and another 4” down from the top edge. Make a mark 1.25” from the short edge of each piece of loop tape. Line these marks along the bottom edge of your back panel so that the pieces of loop tape line up with the pieces of hook tape along the top edge. The loop tape must be fuzzy side up. Sew through all layers 1/4” away from the short edge of the loop tape.

Place the silicone shelf liner on the back of your back panel, making sure it fits between the 2 chalk lines. Its bottom edge will overlap the top ends of the loop tape. Sew through all layers, ~ 1/8” from the edge of the silicone shelf liner. My silicone shelf liner was so grippy that it wouldn’t feed properly. Placing a small piece of tissue paper on the shelf liner made it easier to sew through.

Step 4 Assemble Pocket

Place your exterior pocket piece right side up and then place your interior pocket piece on top of it with right sides together. Pin along the top edge and sew with a 1/4” seam allowance.

Turn your pocket right side out and press. Top stitch 1/4” from the sewn edge and 1/8” from the other three edges.

Place your pocket on your workspace with the top edge up and the interior facing out. Use a marking pencil or fabric chalk to draw vertical lines 1.5”, 6.5”, 8”, 13”, 15.5”, 20.5” and 22” from the left hand side. These lines indicate where the 3 pockets and the 4 pleats will be. Stitch along these lines.

Form the two end pleats by folding each 1.5” wide end section over then fold them in half and pin them in place to create a pleat. Press these pleats flat.

Form the two centre pleats by pinning the remaining pairs of 1.5” wide stitches together to pucker the pocket. Press these puckers flat.

Your pocket piece is now 15” wide.

Step 5 Attach Pocket to Back Panel

Remove the pins from your pocket. Draw chalk lines down the middle of the two central puckers on the exterior side of the pocket.

Attach the hook and loop tape on the back of the back panel to keep it out of the way.

Turn the back panel over so that the hook & loop tape is on the bottom. Place the pocket on top of the back panel and align the bottom edges. Pin the pocket’s short ends to the sides of the back panel. Sew with a 1/4” seam allowance.

Refold the pleats for each pocket. Pin along the bottom edge then sew along the vertical chalk lines you drew earlier.

Step 6 Bias Tape

Sew bias tape to the short ends of your organizer. Sew it to the back first, folding over the raw edge of the bias tape at the top ends of your organizer. Leave the bottom edges raw as they will be covered latter.

Refold the pleats in the pocket. Sew the bottom edge of the pocket to the bottom edge of the back panel. Go slowly over the thicker parts.

Sew bias tape along the bottom of your organizer. Remember to fold over the ends of the bias tape to prevent fraying.

Here are some photos of my finished mobile workstation pocket organizer:

Conclusion

This mobile pocket organizer is a great addition to my mobile workstation with a horizontal support beam. The silicone shelf liner and hook and loop tape work together to secure it in place. This organizer can easily be removed for washing (check the washing instructions for your shelf liner). I use mine to store extra accessories for my laptop. What will you use yours for?

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Tanya