Tutorial: DIY Lap Desk

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Now, on to the reason you are here in the first place...

When I was in high school and college, I had this great beanbag lap desk.  I did all my homework on it...I could sit on my bedroom floor, on the bed, on the couch...wherever!  It was just perfect.  I decided that I wanted to get my kids each their own lap desk for doing their own homework.  Well, have you looked online lately?  The best price I could find was about $24 + shipping.  As IF!   

So, with a little sewing (straight lines only, I promise!), a little hot glue, and a lot of resourcefulness, I made my kids each their own lap desk, and spent $2.50 total, by using mostly what I had around the house.  Now, of course, this will vary from person to person, but I know that anyone can do this project for under $5.  I'll show you how!

STEP 1: Find a suitable board for the top of the desk.  
Wanna know what I used?  A hard (cork-backed) placemat for one (the one in the pictures), and the bottom of a kids' wooden puzzle for the other one (with decorative contact paper on the top - that was my $2.50).  I raided my kids' playroom and found the puzzle (that they no longer play with), and I had the placemat from at least a year ago.  I found it on clearance somewhere and thought it would someday be useful.  Don't have these things?  Look in Goodwill!  You could use almost anything!  You just want a good surface to be able to lean on to write.  Be resourceful!  The approximate size you want your board to be is about 12x16 inches. 

STEP 2: Cut out your main fabric.
Measure your board, and add 6" to the width, and 6" to the height.  These will be the dimensions for your fabric.  If you have a board that's 12x16 (or close), a fat quarter (which you can get for like .99) will work great, and you won't have to cut anything!  Precision is not all that necessary; we're not doing quantum physics here!

That's about an extra 3" all around.  Won't this fabric look cute?

STEP 3: Make your piping*. 
*Fear not!  Piping seems like it would be difficult to make, but it's actually not.  If you want to impress your friends and amaze your neighbors, try it out.  You'll even amaze yourself.  Piping makes this lap desk look great, and it also makes it super-easy to assemble.  It's worth the extra step, trust me!
Check out my piping tutorial here.  

STEP 4: Sew your fabric into a box-like shape.
With right sides together, one corner at a time, fold each corner over onto itself, like this: 

Measure on the raw edge: 3" from the point.  Make a little mark.  Then, from that mark, draw a line perpendicular to the raw edge, like this: 

Repeat with each of the other corners.  Cut off the "flaps," and turn right side out.  

I present to you: the Floppy Fabric Box that is impossible to get a good picture of.

Now we're getting somewhere!

STEP 5: Sew piping to the main fabric.
With raw edges together, on the right side of your main fabric, sew the piping to your fabric.  Use a zipper foot (on your sewing machine) to make it easier.  Do yourself a favor, and don't start at a corner!  Start sewing in the middle of a side.  Trust me.  And leave about an inch of un-sewn piping at the beginning, so you can easily tuck it in when you get to the end.  Again, trust me.  ;)

raw edges lined up

don't freak out when you come to a corner of your main fabric; just keep sewing.  No problem!

No pinning necessary.  Just pinch the piping to your fabric and sew away!

When you come to the end, you'll have some overlap.  Do this: veer the first part you did (remember, you left an inch of un-sewn-on piping) off of your fabric, like this:

Then, overlap the end part over top.  Like this:

kinda messy looking, but don't worry.  It'll turn out fine.

sew right over top of that baby!  Go slowly so you don't break a needle.

trim off the excess piping

At this point, you'll have this:

a nice little hat for your sewing machine! ha ha

STEP 6: Fire up that glue gun!
(Hot glue worked best for me.  I tried E-6000, and all it did was smell bad.  But use whatever you want, of course!)  Start at a corner.  Lay down a bead of hot glue, and push the cording down onto the glue.  Go from one corner to the next, adjusting and finagling as you go.  

you'll glue that to the bottom of the board.

No having to fold fabric!  No burnt fingers!  This is why piping is so great for this project.  :)

Here's the tricky part we came to...it doesn't look too bad, huh?  Just make sure it all gets glued down here.

Remember to leave a "short" end open, for stuffing.

STEP 7: Stuff that thing like a Thanksgiving turkey.
I thought about using beanbag filler, but #1, it's (surprisingly) expensive, and #2, it seemed like it would be a pain to use.  Not to mention the mess!  So I used Poly-fil, and it worked beautifully.  No Poly-fil?  You could un-stuff an old pillow and use that.  I've done that once or twice before.  :)

Stuff till your little heart's content.  When you have stuffed enough, glue the last side down.  Fluff it up to evenly distribute the filling, and.............


You've got yourself a lap desk!

Here's the one I made for my little guy.   That's the upside-down puzzle bottom (on top) with faux bois contact paper from the dollar store.

I'd love to hear from those of you who try this...and please, if you have questions, feel free to email me and ask!   

Love these link parties...
The Shabby Creek Cottage * Somewhat Simple * Beyond the Picket Fence * A Glimpse Inside * A Little Tipsy * Christina's Adventures * Chic on a Shoestring * Tidy Mom * The Shabby Nest * Fingerprints on the Fridge* Skip to My Lou * Sumo's Sweet Stuff * Keeping It Simple * The Girl Creative * Making the World Cuter